Health Policy and Evaluation Department

(301) 634-9333

o'grady-michael@norc.org

Medicare prescription drug reform

Public/private plan competition

Medicaid/SCHIP

The uninsured

Ph.D., Political Science.  University of Rochester

B.A., Political Science.  Alfred University

Michael J. O’Grady is a Senior Fellow in the Health Policy and Evaluation Department at NORC and Director of O’Grady Health Policy, LLC, a private health consulting firm.  He is a veteran health policy expert with 24 years working in Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

From 2003 to 2005, Dr. O’Grady was the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where he directed both the policy development and policy research across the full array of issues confronting the Department. During his tenure as the Assistant Secretary, he increased the quality and rigor of the Department’s research and analysis significantly, providing rapid and critical analyses of legislative and regulatory proposals.  He consulted extensively with Members of Congress and their staffs, media, consumer groups, patient and provider groups, and was often requested by the Secretary and/or the White House to develop innovative proposals on highly controversial and technical issues.  

Prior to his Senate confirmation as the Assistant Secretary, Dr. O’Grady served as the Senior Health Economist on the majority staff of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress.  At the Committee, his work focused primarily on Medicare reform, the uninsured, and other national health issues.   Previously, he was a Senior Research Director at Project Hope’s Center for Health Affairs, where his work focused on Medicare reform issues.

For several years, Dr. O’Grady was a Senior Health Advisor to the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.  In this position, he designed the Senate versions of key provisions of the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) and the Beneficiary Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA), including Medicare+Choice and Medicare covered drugs.  In the final rounds of the Senate, House, and White House negotiations, Dr. O’Grady developed compromise provisions resulting in the successful passage of legislation permitting Medicare beneficiaries their first opportunity to enjoy cash rebates on their Medicare HMO premiums.  

Before joining the staff of the Senate Finance Committee, Dr. O’Grady was a senior analyst for the Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare (Breaux/Thomas), the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), and the Physician Payment Review Commission (PPRC).  He also spent several years with the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress and the Office for Civil Rights in both the Department of Health Education and Welfare and the Department of Education.  At CRS, he developed econometric and actuarial models of social legislation including reform of the federal employee pension system. 

Throughout his career, Dr. O’Grady has helped to shape significant health care legislation and a broad spectrum of issues.  He has been instrumental in the development of key Federal policy and programs tackling some of the most complex and controversial health issues facing the country.