Tracy Hayes

Ms. Hayes brings significant regulatory experience at the state level to her role as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Vaya Health. Prior to working for Vaya, she served as Special Deputy Attorney General at the N.C. Department of Justice, where she exclusively represented the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on a wide variety of civil and administrative matters involving the Medicaid program, including two federal class action due process lawsuits and a lengthy negotiation with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding allegations of ADA non-compliance in the state’s behavioral health system. 

In her role at Vaya, Ms. Hayes is responsible for developing and implementing the organizational compliance plan, managing administrative and civil litigation involving the agency and providing general legal advice and counsel to management and staff. She oversees the Legal and Compliance, Network Performance and Integrity, Business Integrity and Office of Communications departments, which together encompass litigation, privacy, waiver contract management, risk management, internal audits and investigations, contracting and procurement, records management, provider contract performance, special investigations (provider fraud and abuse), quality improvement, marketing, internal and external communications and event management. 

Ms. Hayes obtained her undergraduate degree from New College of Florida and her juris doctorate from Tulane Law School. After practicing maritime law in New Orleans for more than five years, she and her family moved to North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. She is a member in good standing of the North Carolina (active) and Louisiana (inactive) bars, and is certified in Health Care Compliance by the national Health Care Compliance Association. For nearly ten years, she has served as a pro bono faculty member on trial advocacy, evidence, motion practice, deposition and negotiation skills for the National Attorneys General Training & Research Institute, the educational wing of the National Association for Attorneys General.