Office Of Vermont Health Access Names Dr. Michael Farber As Medical Director

Office Of Vermont Health Access Names Dr. Michael Farber As Medical Director

MONTPELIER, VT — Susan W. Besio, Ph.D., Director of the Office of Vermont Health Access (OVHA) of the State of Vermont Agency of Human Services, announced today that Michael C. Farber, M.D., has been named Medical Director for OVHA, the organization that administers the state’s Medicaid programs. Farber, who is board certified in internal medicine, will also join the faculty of the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He will begin his new role on October 1, 2009.

Farber currently serves as Medicaid Medical Director and Medical Policy Chief for California Medicaid (Medi-Cal) Managed Care Division in the California Department of Health Care Services, a position he has held since 2006. In that role, he has responsibility for setting statewide medical standards, developing quality improvement policies, and advising the State on program legislation and regulations for the Medi-Cal Managed Care program. He also directs statewide policy efforts relating to quality of care and access to care by contract health plans, and sets statewide clinical practice guidelines and medical standards for managed care contractors.

“We are extremely pleased that Dr. Farber will be coming to Vermont,” said Besio. “His broad experience and leadership within a statewide Medicaid program, combined with his strong background and first-hand knowledge of medical practice, will be a significant asset as we work to effectively and efficiently manage Vermont’s publicly funded health insurance programs.”

OVHA provides healthcare coverage for over 140,000 Vermonters, and, as the only publicly-run statewide managed care organization in the country, plays an innovative role in Vermont healthcare reform and in improving health outcomes for its citizens. Farber will serve as chief clinical liaison to legislators, insurance providers and other state program units, and will provide medical leadership for key policy decisions and the shaping of administrative strategies to enhance the operating efficiency both of Medicaid and related healthcare initiatives across the state.

“Dr. Farber’s knowledge in the health care policy arena will be of great value as we continue to expand the public/private partnership between Vermont state government and the University of Vermont,” said Frederick C. Morin III, M.D., Dean of the UVM College of Medicine. “We look forward to having him collaborate with faculty colleagues on policy and research, as well as sharing his expertise and perspective with our medical and graduate students.”

Farber joined the California Department of Health Services in 1993, serving as senior medical consultant in the Medi-Cal Policy Section in the fee-for-service division, with responsibility for all Medi-Cal policy on internal medicine and subspecialty medicine, radiology, hospice and pain management, home health agencies, infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS medicine. He also played a key role in shaping legislation and formulating California policy in telemedicine. He was promoted to Senior Medical Consultant in 1999 and Medicaid Medical Director in 2006. Prior to state service, Farber was in private practice in primary internal medicine and the subspecialty practice of infectious diseases. He was also Medical Director for Infection Control at Mercy American River Hospital and Mercy San Juan Hospital in the Sacramento area, where he was a senior attending physician and served on medical and leadership committees.

Farber earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Cincinnati, completed residency at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, and was a fellow in infectious diseases at the University of Southern California/Rancho Los Amigos Hospital and then at Mt. Sinai College of Medicine/Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. Subsequently, he served as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College.

Farber and his family will relocate to Vermont from California this fall.

Source: Department of Health
Last Updated at: August 12, 2009 09:42:34