Michael J. O’Grady, is a Senior Fellow in the Health Care Research department where he concentrates on health policy research and analysis for public and private non-profit organizations. His current NORC research includes serving as principal investigator for the cost-effective component of a multi-year clinical trial. The trial is part of the development of an artificial pancreas for the treatment of diabetes. Other work at NORC includes the development of policy options for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for an expanded federal role in the development of a national health information exchange; the assessment of new developments in health insurance benefit design and cost sharing. Part of O’Grady’s role as a Senior Fellow at NORC involves service beyond specific research projects. The work has involved providing congressional testimony, numerous speeches, guest lectures and other public events, as well as serving on the Board of Scientific Counselors at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. He also serves as the Chair of the National Academies of Sciences/Institute of Medicine Panel Measuring Medical Care Risk In Conjunction With The New Supplemental Income Poverty Measure.
O'Grady divides his time between NORC and O’Grady Health Policy LLC, a private health consulting firm, where he is Principal. He is a veteran health policy expert with 24 years working in Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). From 2003 to 2005, O’Grady was the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at 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. Prior to his Senate confirmation as the Assistant Secretary, O’Grady served as the senior health economist on the majority staff of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. Previously, he held senior staff positions at the Senate Finance Committee, the Bipartisan Commission for the Future of Medicare, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress. Throughout his career, Dr. O’Grady has worked shaped significant health care legislation and a broad spectrum of reimbursement 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 county.
In April 2011, O'Grady and his team on the Continuous Glucose Monitor project were awarded the 2011 Mary Tyler Moore and S. Robert Levine, M.D., Excellence in Clinical Research Award.