William Winkenwerder , Jr . William Winkenwerder , Jr . ( born April 27 , 1954 ) is an American physician , health care industry consultant , former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs , and health insurance industry executive . Career . Winkenwerder has founded the " Winkenwerder Company LLC " in 2007 , an Alexandria , Virginia consulting firm specializing in strategic advisory services to health care companies and organizations . Winkenwerder also serves as the company ' s chairman . In addition , Winkenwerder has served as a practicing physician , health insurance industry executive , and government health policy advisor . In addition to his consulting firm , Winkenwerder now serves on the boards of or otherwise advises several consulting and health care companies , Logistics Health , Inc . including Athenahealth , Inc . , and Capgemini Government Solutions . He is also on the board of C - Change , a philanthropic alliance of organizations fighting cancer that was founded by George H . W . Bush and Barbara Bush . He is also an advisor to The Bob Woodruff Foundation dedicated to the assistance of military members who have suffered traumatic brain injury founded by former ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff . He is a director of the Davidson College Athletic Foundation . On June 4 , 2012 , it was annouched Highmark Inc Board of Directors elected him President & CEO . Department of Defense . Prior to founding his consulting business , Winkenwerder served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs in the U . S . Department of Defense from October 2001 through April 2007 . At the Department of Defense , Winkenwerder was the leader of the Military Health System and the principal medical advisor to the Secretary of Defense . With a $ 40 billion budget and over 130 , 000 personnel , the Military Health System provides care for 9 . 2 million people through an extensive network of private physicians and hospitals known as TRICARE and through more than 70 military hospitals worldwide . During his tenure there were significant advances in battlefield medicine , new programs to address mental health issues and new health benefits for guard and reserve members . Winkenwerder also led the implementation of a new worldwide electronic health record system ( AHLTA ) , guided the merger of Walter Reed Army and Bethesda Naval Medical Centers , and responded to numerous humanitarian crises . He served on the American Health Information Community ( AHIC ) Commission charged by the federal government to develop a plan for electronic health records for all Americans . He was also elected Chairman of the International Committee of Military Medicine ( ICMM ) a 90 country organization representing all the major nations of the world . Prior . Prior to his government service , Winkenwerder worked as a senior health executive and practicing physician for more than 20 years . He was an early advocate of evidence - based medicine , prevention , and clinical practice guidelines . He held senior positions at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts , Prudential Healthcare ( now part of Aetna ) and Emory University . He also served on the Board of America ’ s Health Insurance Plans , the national trade association representing health plans and insurers . Recognition . Winkenwerder has been recognized for his work by the American Medical Association , the University of North Carolina , the Wharton School of Business , and the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs . He has appeared in the national media , before Congress , and as a public lecturer . He served in 2008 as an Advisor to Presidential Candidate John McCain . Winkenwerder is a graduate of Davidson College , the University of North Carolina School of Medicine , and is board certified in internal medicine and received an Master from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania .