State Health Care Luminaries Joining Families USA Board: Deborah Bachrach and Angela Monson Bringing Wealth of Leadership and Expertise to Families USA - Families USA Skip to Main Content
01.22.2020 / Press Release

State Health Care Luminaries Joining Families USA Board: Deborah Bachrach and Angela Monson Bringing Wealth of Leadership and Expertise to Families USA

Washington, D.C., January 22, 2020 – Deborah Bachrach and Angela Monson have been appointed to the Board of Directors at Families USA.

Bachrach, a leading Medicaid and health care expert, has held senior health care roles on both the state and national levels. She served as New York’s Medicaid director and deputy commissioner of health. In that role, she managed coverage, care and payment policies for more than four million children and adults enrolled in the state’s Medicaid and Child Health Insurance programs. And she led reforms to streamline Medicaid’s eligibility and enrollment process and implement value-based purchasing strategies. Bachrach has also served as New York State Chief Assistant Attorney General and as chief of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau.

In her current capacity as a partner at Manatt Health, Bachrach has advised states on health care reforms that improve access to care and strengthen the health and health care received by families in states across the nation.  She also has advised a number of foundations and public commissions including the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. She holds a B.S. degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. degree from New York University School of Law.

Monson, a former Oklahoma politician, has been engaged in activities related to health care policy for more than 35 years. She previously served as Associate Provost for the Office of Community Partnerships and Health Policy at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. In addition, she was a member of the OU Medical Center Board of Trustees and the Oklahoma City/County Board of Health.

A former member of the Oklahoma State House of Representatives for 3 years and the State Senate for 12 years, she was the primary sponsor or co-sponsor of much of the legislation pertaining to health care coverage, financing and delivery systems in Oklahoma—and was one of the chief architects of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the state’s Medicaid agency.

Monson has previously served on Families USA’ board and has received the organization’s Health Advocate of the Year Award. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Corrections from Oklahoma City University and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma at Norman.

Frederick Isasi, Families USA executive director, said, “Deborah and Angela are such accomplished authorities on a wide range of health care issues and have spent so much of their careers fighting and advocating for the most vulnerable families in our nation. We will benefit immeasurably from their expertise.”

“Families USA has been at the forefront of efforts to ensure access to comprehensive, affordable coverage and quality care,” Bachrach said. “I’m delighted to join the board and contribute to the organization’s vital work expanding Medicaid coverage, reducing healthcare disparities and giving a voice to healthcare consumers.”

“It’s great to be a part of the Families USA board again at this critical time for health care—especially as we gear up for our 2020 Health Action Conference,” Monson said. “Our conference theme, Our Nation’s Health in the Balance, really underscores the sense of urgency we’re facing as we work to ensure that families have the best health and health care.”