--- title: Health Advocate Bernard J. Tyson Dies at 60 description: Health advocate and Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson died unexpectedly on Sunday morning. canonical: https://time.com/5723514/bernard-j-tyson-dies-60-obituary/ author: Sanya Mansoor article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-11-10T23:13:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T08:42:58.612Z article:section: Health og:title: Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson Dies at 60 og:description: He was widely praised for his commitment and contributions to holistic affordable care og:url: https://time.com/5723514/bernard-j-tyson-dies-60-obituary/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72e90ed61f5a4c0e/698a05a54ee2622d8f31691f/bernard-tyson.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Bernard Tyson og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson Dies at 60 twitter:description: He was widely praised for his commitment and contributions to holistic affordable care twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72e90ed61f5a4c0e/698a05a54ee2622d8f31691f/bernard-tyson.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson Dies at 60 > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=f8ad7981-253b-4283-b62b-01f60befe4d3&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Bernard J. Tyson Gives a Toast at the 2017 TIME 100 Gala [Watch (HLS stream): Bernard J. Tyson Gives a Toast at the 2017 TIME 100 Gala](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/r84PnXl8.m3u8) (4:27)  _Published 2017-04-26. Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente and TIME 100 Honoree Bernard J. Tyson gives a toast at 2017 TIME 100 Gala._  by [Sanya Mansoor](https://time.com/author/sanya-mansoor/)  ## Sanya Mansoor Nov 10, 2019 11:13 PM UTC  by [Sanya Mansoor](https://time.com/author/sanya-mansoor/)  ## Sanya Mansoor Nov 10, 2019 11:13 PM UTC Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente [Bernard J. Tyson](https://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4742745/bernard-j-tyson/), who was widely praised for his commitment and contributions to holistic affordable care, died on Sunday morning. He was 60. Kaiser Permanente [issued a statement](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kaiser-permanente-mourns-the-loss-of-bernard-j-tyson-chairman-and-ceo-300955198.html) Sunday expressing “profound sadness” and extending their sympathies to Bernard’s family. “An outstanding leader, visionary and champion for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans, Bernard was a tireless advocate for Kaiser Permanente, our members and the communities we serve,” the statement said. Tyson, a San Francisco Bay Area native, was named [one of the world’s most influential people on the 2017 TIME 100 list](https://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4742745/bernard-j-tyson/). Rep. John Lewis, who wrote the tribute for Tyson, referred to him as “one of the leading authorities on public health in America.” “He is smart, gifted, thoughtful and a highly respected voice in the struggle to make high-quality health care affordable for every American,” Lewis said. Lewis also praised Bernard’s unique contributions to an “often overlooked aspect of medicine” — mental and emotional health. He had worked for more than three decades at Kaiser Permanente, one of the country’s largest nonprofit health plans, where he first became CEO in 2013 and served the medical needs of over 11.3 million people. During his time at Kaiser, he prioritized preventative care and accessibility to the public. Under his leadership, Kaiser emphasized wellness programs that focused on nutrition, smoking cessation and exercise. Kaiser’s membership base, annual revenue and workforce grew significantly under his tenure. When he became CEO in 2013, the company had 9.1 million members and employed 174,000 people. Today, it provides care and coverage to 12.3 million members, employs 218,000 employees and generates an annual revenue of more than $82.8 billion. Tyson had repeatedly argued that health care must [focus on affordability](https://time.com/4951803/bernard-tyson-health-care-bill/) and [equity](https://time.com/5709383/health-care-zip-code-inequality/). He wrote for TIME in 2017 that “it’s time for the health care industry to reflect the changing needs of America.” “Too many Americans who are poor and considered the ‘working poor’ are locked out of the front door to the health care system,” [Tyson wrote](https://time.com/4951803/bernard-tyson-health-care-bill/). “For many, the process of obtaining and maintaining coverage is still too difficult, and this lack of health care impacts their ability to contribute as much as they could to our collective community and to America.” Tyson was also on TIME’s 2018 list of the [50 people transforming health care](https://time.com/collection/health-care-50/5425148/bernard-tyson/) for his commitment to investing in wellness development for zip codes who need it most. Kaiser’s Future Baltimore initiative was [recognized](https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/community-health/news/kaiser-permanente-of-the-mid-atlantic-states-and-bon-secours-rec) by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for its impact on a West Baltimore neighborhood. Additionally, Tyson had lent his influential voice to a variety of national causes, from [hunger](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/food-life-one-america-should-go-hungry-bernard-j-tyson/) to solving [homelessness](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/destination-health-solving-homelessness-bernard-j-tyson/) to [race](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141204174020-261404895-it-s-time-to-revolutionize-race-relations/). He pointed to his father as one his personal inspirations at [the 2017 TIME Gala](https://time.com/4752345/bernard-j-tyson-time-100-gala/). “My father was a wonderful male image for me. He was a strong individual. He was mighty. He was a preacher. He was a carpenter. He was a man of few words, but he always had wisdom and insights,” he said. Tyson’s death was followed by a flood of condolences from politicians, journalists and health advocates. They referred to his demise as a “momentous loss” and him as an “extraordinary person.” > [](https://twitter.com/choo%5Fek/status/1193606631465971713) > [](https://twitter.com/RepBarbaraLee/status/1193621959478661120) > [](https://twitter.com/ellmcgirt/status/1193610154958303232) > [](https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1193617759625605120) > [](https://twitter.com/MagicJohnson/status/1193627751854403584) > [](https://twitter.com/SmithsonianSec/status/1193624461905453056) Tyson is survived by his wife, Denise Bradley-Tyson and three sons, Bernard J. Tyson Jr., Alexander and Charles ## Transcript Good evening, it is an honor and a privilege to be in this place. And to be amongst you. I have to tell you when I was asked to start this, I started to stay at the hotel, I'm so nervous. [ LAUGH ] But It's worth it to be here. I'm a product of a wonderful family, of a village, of a city. And a lot of people helped me along my life's journey. I consider myself a truly blessed individual. But the person who really came to mind when I was asked to do this kickoff is my father, my late father. I was blessed to be raised in a home where a father and a mother And my father was a wonderful male image for me. He was a strong individual. He was mighty. He was a preacher. He was a carpenter. He was a man of few words but he always had wisdom and insights. I swore one time that James Brown wrote the song Papa Don't Take No Mess. After my father. [ LAUGH ] I remember one time, my father took me to my first party. I was 15 1 / 2 years old. I talked my mom into getting my dad to take me to the party. He took me to the party, he dropped me off at the party. And his final words were, son, before you get out of this truck, if you get in trouble tonight you will go to jail. And your mom and I will not come and get you. [ LAUGH ] And that's all it took. [ LAUGH ] But one time, my father and I were on a trip. And I was just starting to grow in my career Kaiser Permanente. And it was the time that I wanted to give back to my mom and dad So my father and I were outside on the beach, and we were walking around. And I was the proud son who was showing my father it worth all the pain and suffering. So we were walking and my father got into his sort of preachers mode. And he said, son, this is the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life. And I was proud. And he said, son, I never thought people lived this way. I imagined it but I never thought I would have an opportunity to see all of this. And I was like, yeah dad, yeah. [ LAUGH ] He kept going, he kept going and he kept going And then finally he said " You know, if you don't plan to go to Heaven, you should come here. [ LAUGH ] Then I started to get nervous, and a little bit concerned; that maybe, I overreached. So we were walking along; there was an awkward moment for me, and my Dad kept going. And finally, I said to my Dad--- Was a life lesson for me, that I use to this day right now, I said to my father, said dad you see all of this? My father say, yes son, I said I have problems like everybody else, my father pounder that for couple of seconds And he said, this is true. But the difference is people like you can take your problems to places like this. And I've kept that lesson all of my life. Every time I walk in a special room I think about, the only difference, I have problems like everybody else. But the only difference is I get to take my problems to places like this. And tonight I'm in one of those places like this. Where I have the opportunity to meet the most wonderful people walking on earth. And I want you to know it's an honor to honor my father, to understand beauty when I see it. So I wanna raise a toast- [ APPLAUSE ] To my dad. [ APPLAUSE ] And to each one of you, thank you, and God bless you. Cheer, cheer ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5723514/bernard-j-tyson-dies-60-obituary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5723514/bernard-j-tyson-dies-60-obituary/"},"headline":"Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard J. 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