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  • Deborah Bachrach

    Partner
    Healthcare Industry
     dbachrach@manatt.com
    Download Contact (.vcf)

    New York
    Direct: 212.790.4594
    General: 212.790.4500
    Fax: 212.790.4545
    Education

    New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude.
    Editor, Moot Court Board.
    University Honors Scholar; Vanderbilt Medal recipient.

     

    University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, B.S., cum laude.
    Beta Gamma Sigma.
    Bar Admissions
    New York
    • Profile
    • Representative Matters
    • Honors & Awards
    • Publications
    • Memberships & Activities
    • Speaking Engagements

    Profile

    Deborah Bachrach has more than 25 years of experience in health policy and financing in both the public and private sectors and an extensive background in Medicaid policy and healthcare reform. She works with states, providers, plans and foundations in implementing federal health reform and Medicaid payment and delivery system reforms.

    Ms. Bachrach has served as an advisor to the Center for Health Care Strategies, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation as well as state Medicaid agencies, foundations, healthcare providers and other healthcare organizations.  She is currently a member of the electronic enrollment workgroup at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Value Incentives Learning Collaborative at the Institute of Medicine.  She is an adjunct professor of law at the New York University School of Law, where she teaches a seminar on federal health reform.

    Most recently, Ms. Bachrach was the Medicaid Director and Deputy Commissioner of Health for the New York State Department of Health, Office of Health Insurance Programs.  In this capacity, she was responsible for coverage, care and payment policies for over 4 million children and adults enrolled in New York’s Medicaid and Child Health Insurance Programs and led reforms to streamline Medicaid’s eligibility and enrollment process and to improve its purchasing strategies.

    Ms. Bachrach was a partner at Manatt from 1992 to 2006, serving as co-chair of the Healthcare Practice Group.  She provided legislative, regulatory and strategic counsel to academic medical centers, safety net hospitals, community health centers, health plans and other healthcare companies.

    Prior to this, Ms. Bachrach served as Vice President, External Affairs, at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center.  She also worked for four years as New York State Chief Assistant Attorney General and for three years as Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau in the Office of the New York State Attorney General. 

    Representative Matters

    Honors & Awards

    Outstanding Career Achievement Award, New York Association for Ambulatory Care, 2010.

    Forstner Award, Community Health Care Association of New York State, 2008.

    Leadership Award, Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies, 2008.

    Best Lawyers in America, 2006, 2007.

    New York Super Lawyers, 2006, 2007.

    Health Advocacy Leadership Award, Morris Heights Health Center Foundation, 2003.

    Publications

    Coauthor, "High-Performance Health Care for Vulnerable Populations: A Policy Framework for Promoting Accountable Care in Medicaid," The Commonwealth Fund, November 2012.

    Coauthor, "Reasonable Compatibility Straw Models: Federal Requirements and State Options for Constructing a State's Financial Reasonable Compatibility Standard," Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's State Health Reform Assistance Network, August 2012.

    Coauthor, "Healthcare reform is a good deal for states," The Hill, August 8, 2012.

    Coauthor, “Designing Medicaid Benchmark Benefits for New Adult Beneficiaries,” BNA Health Care Policy Report, March 2012.

    Coauthor, “Toward a High Performance Health Care System for Vulnerable Populations: Funding for Safety-Net Hospitals,” Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System, March 2012.

    Coauthor, “The Role of the Basic Health Program in the Coverage Continuum:  Opportunities, Risks, and Considerations for States,” The Kaiser Family Foundation, March 2012.

    Coauthor, “Federally Facilitated Exchanges and the Continuum of  State Options,” National Academy of Social Insurance, December 2011.

    Coauthor, “Medicaid Managed Care: How States’ Experience Can Inform Exchange Qualified Health Plan Standards,” Center for Health Care Strategies, October 2011.

    Coauthor, “Medicaid Supplemental Payments: Where Do They Fit in Payment Reform?”  Center for Health Care Strategies, August 2011.

    Coauthor, “CMS Proposed Rule on Health Benefit Exchange Implementation,” BNA Health Insurance Report, August 2011.

    Coauthor, “Implementing Health Homes in a Risk-Based Medicaid Managed Care Delivery System,” Center for Health Care Strategies, June 2011.

    Coauthor, “Considerations for the Development of Accountable Care Organizations in New York State,” New York State Health Foundation, June 2011.

    Coauthor, “Medicaid’s Role in the Health Benefit Exchange: A Road Map for States,” National Academy for State Health Policy, March 2011.

    Coauthor, “‘Revisioning’ Medicaid as Part of New York’s Coverage Continuum,” United Hospital Fund, January 2011.

    Author, “Medicaid Payment Reform: What Policymakers Need to Know About Federal Law,” Center for Health Care Strategies, November 2010.

    Coauthor, “Implementing Federal Health Care Reform: A Roadmap for New York State,” New York State Health Foundation, August 2010.

    Author, “Payment Reform: Creating a Sustainable Future for Medicaid,” Center for Health Care Strategies, May 2010.

    State Respondent, “Health Care Reform and American Federalism: The Next Inter-Governmental Partnership,” Academy Health, 2009.

    Coauthor, “The Administration of Medicaid in New York State: Key Players and Their Roles,” United Hospital Fund, 2006.

    Memberships & Activities

    Admitted to practice in the state of New York.

    Speaking Engagements

    "The Purchasing Power of Medicaid as an Insurer: A Foundational Training for State/CMS Staff," Center for Health Care Strategies web seminar, March 18, 2013.

    "Examining the Dual Eligibles Landscape," America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Dual Eligibles Summit, Washington, DC, March 12, 2013.

    "Interactions between Medicaid, CHIP and the Exchanges: Plan Participation," Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) Meeting, Washington, DC, January 15, 2013.

    "Medicaid Expansion Briefing: What's at Stake for States?" The Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation, Washington, D.C., November 30, 2012.

    “Health Care: Next Steps after the SCOTUS Decision,” National Governors Association, Washington, DC, July 2012. 

    “Insurance Exchange Panel: National Health CO-OP Conference,” National Alliance of State Health Cooperatives, March 2012.

    “Federally Facilitated Exchanges and the Continuum of State Options," Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, January 2012.

    “Maximizing Enrollment: New MAGI and FMAP Standards,”  National Academy of State Health Policy, December 2011.

    “Symposium on the Health Care Delivery System as Innovation Zone,” NYU Langone Medical Center, December 2011.

    “Basic Health Plan:  Is it an Option for your State?” National Governors Association, webinar, November 2011.

    “Medicaid’s Role in the Exchange: Making the Continuum of Coverage Meaningful,” National Association of Medicaid Directors, Arlington, VA, November 2011.

    “Key Operational Issues Facing Exchanges: Moving from Theory to Reality,” American Health Lawyers Association, webinar, November 2011.

    “Sustaining Safety Net Hospitals: The Funding Streams that Matter Most,” The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performing Health System, Washington, DC, October 2011.

    “Medicaid, CHIP, BHP and QHP: Making the Continuum of Coverage Meaningful,” America’s Health Insurance Plans Exchange Conference, Washington, DC, September, 2011.

    “Achieving Continuity of Coverage in the Exchange,” Alliance for Health Reform and Commonwealth Fund, Washington, DC, May 2011.

    “Top Ten Medicaid Payment Considerations,” National Association of Medicaid Directors  (NAMD), Washington, DC, May 2011.

    “Hospital Medicaid Payment Reform – A Panel Discussion,” Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Chicago, IL, April 2011.

    “Federal Health Reform: New Responsibilities for States,” New York University, Robert F. Wagner School, New York, NY, March 2011.

    “Medicaid Purchasing Strategies: Containing Costs & Improving Quality,” Ohio Legislators and Stakeholders, Columbus, OH, March 2011.

    “Medicaid, CHIP & the Exchange: Making the Connections Work,” National Academy for State Health Policy, Washington, DC, December 2010.

    “Linking Medicaid Payment Policies to Access, Efficiency & Quality,” Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), Washington, DC, December 2010.

    “Medicaid Payment Policies: The Current Landscape,” Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), Washington, DC, October 2010.

    “Implementing Health Reform: Federal and State Strategies,” Rockefeller Institute of Government, Albany, NY, September 2010.