Families USA

History

Technology entrepreneur Philippe Villers and his wife Kate co-founded Families USA in 1981. Families USA's advocacy in Washington, D.C., has influenced health care legislation and policy, including the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, federal and state legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), defending against efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

In 2014, National Journal named Pollack one of the top 25 players in Congress, the Administration, and the lobbying community on Medicare prescription drug benefits.

President Barack Obama credited Families USA with playing an instrumental role in promoting the enactment of the ACA and for the organization’s work in helping to implement and protect the historic health legislation. On a printed copy of the ACA displayed in Families USA’s office, Obama wrote, “To Ron and Families USA – You made this happen!”

In 2017, Frederick Isasi was appointed Executive Director of Families USA. He took over the executive director role from Ron Pollack, the organization's founding executive director and leader for almost 35 years. Isasi has testified before Congress on issues including health care costs, payment and delivery reform, and healthcare coverage.

On November 23, 2016, Vanity Fair reported that shortly after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Families USA held a conference call with organizations from around the country to discuss efforts to prevent the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and formed the Protect Our Care coalition.

Ron Pollack, also a co-founder, became executive director of the organization, a role he filled until 2017.

The Hill named Pollack one of the nine top nonprofit lobbyists in 2010.

Overview and advocacy

The New York Times has described Families USA as a "nonpartisan consumer advocacy group" and advocates for public policy and research. It has been involved in state-by-state campaigns to address the Medicaid coverage gap among low-income Americans, supporting legislative strategies and producing analysis documenting the benefits of extending health coverage.

The organization has organized several structured dialogues on key healthcare issues among diverse stakeholder organization leaders, including those representing insurers, hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, businesses, labor, and consumers. One such dialogue led to the creation of the Campaign for Children’s Health Care, which successfully pushed to extend CHIP. Another set of dialogues sought and achieved common ground on extending health coverage to the uninsured. A more recent dialogue developed proposals for promoting increased quality care at lower costs.

Families USA's organization includes the National Center for Coverage Innovation (NCCI) which advocates for measures to expand access to healthcare coverage.

References

References

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13. (5 January 2017). "Families USA names Frederick Isasi executive director".
14. (12 April 2012). "Families USA founder Pollack stepping down after 33 years". Modern Healthcare.
15. (6 November 2018). "Liberal health advocate looks to move beyond defense on ObamaCare". [[The Hill (newspaper).
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20. (3 May 2016). "Leader of Families USA, pivotal in passing Affordable Care Act, will step down". Washington Post.
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