C. Duane Dauner, former CEO of the California Hospital Association, died in a single-car crash July 13 near his home in Palm Desert, Calif., according to the hospital advocacy group.
Mr. Dauner served as CEO of the association from 1985 until he retired in 2017. He was succeeded by Carmela Coyle and continued to serve as a consultant until the end of 2018.
"California's hospitals have lost a true champion with the tragic and untimely passing of C. Duane Dauner," Ms. Coyle said in media statement. "For more than three decades, Duane steered California's hospitals through some of the most pivotal moments in our state's healthcare evolution."
Mr. Dauner was an advocate for universal healthcare coverage and the ACA. The association said his leadership also led to the establishment of the Hospital Quality Institute, aimed at improving the quality and safety of care at California hospitals, and the hospital fee program, which has brought billions in new federal funding to the state's Medicaid program.