Deputy Director, Medicaid & CHIP Operations Group
Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Barbara Richards has over 25 years of health policy experience focusing on Medicaid and CHIP at the federal, state and local level. In CMS’s Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services (CMCS), Barbara is the Deputy Director of the Medicaid and CHIP Operations Group (MCOG). Prior to MCOG, Barbara served as a Senior Advisor in the CMCS Office of the Center Director (OCD) coordinating the COVID-19 response. Previously in OCD, Barbara implemented the Affordable Care Act as part of a Center-wide team. In between these two roles in OCD, Barbara started and led for five years the Division of Business and Data Analysis in the Data and Systems Group. Under her leadership, the division brought greater access and use of data to CMCS and the public. Barbara has also led the CMS Seattle Regional Office’s Medicaid Division, worked at the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, in the District of Columbia’s Medicaid Program and on Capitol Hill.