Zachary Baron is a director of the Health Policy and the Law Initiative at the O’Neill Institute. He focuses on providing technical assistance for policymakers and public education on health policy legal issues with an emphasis on access to coverage, affordability, transparency, and equity.
Prior to joining the O’Neill Institute, Baron served as health counsel for the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives, where his portfolio included health and tax matters, such as coverage provisions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), surprise billing, and the private health insurance market. He also led congressional investigations on discrimination in the child welfare system, the coronavirus pandemic, and private equity’s expansion in the health care system.
Baron previously served as senior counsel for the Energy and Commerce Committee concerning legal and policy issues related to access to reproductive health care, and as special counsel to the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee during a pending Supreme Court nomination. His additional past government experience includes working on regulations and guidance implementing provisions of the ACA at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Baron also served as an attorney in private practice, handling high-profile litigation disputes as well as health regulatory and antitrust matters.
Baron received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, and his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.