Michelle Long is a senior policy manager for the Program on Patient and Consumer Protections at KFF. Her work focuses on examining consumer and patient experiences as they navigate the health care system, including financial barriers, administrative complexity, lack of transparency, and problems accessing providers.

Prior to joining the Program on Patient and Consumer Protections, Michelle was a Senior Policy Analyst on KFF’s Women’s Health Policy program, where she researched cost, coverage, and access issues at the intersection of women’s health policy and private insurance coverage, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health care. In this role, she also contributed to the Women’s Health Survey and conducted data analysis. Before that, she was a Policy Analyst on KFF’s Health Care Marketplace Project, where she researched trends in the private health insurance market, contributed to the annual Employer Health Benefits Survey, and analyzed premiums in the ACA’s health insurance Marketplaces.

Before joining KFF, Michelle worked as a consultant researching federal and state regulations related to Medicaid managed care and assisting clients in developing Medicaid MCO proposals. She also worked for the University of Missouri in various roles and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Michelle holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Missouri and a Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University.