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Families USA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer health advocacy and policy organization. The organization seeks to change federal, state, and local policies to achieve high-quality, affordable health care and improved health outcomes for everyone.

Families USA is an influential advocate in Washington, D.C. and state capitals, and has played a leading role on virtually every major piece of health care legislation, including President Biden's Build Back Better legislation, federal and state legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, protections against surprise medical bills and abusive prescription drug prices, the Affordable Care Act, defending against efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), numerous Medicaid measures, and the Medicare Part D plan.

President Barack Obama credited Families USA with playing an instrumental role in promoting the enactment of the ACA and for the organization’s work helping to implement and protect the historic health legislation. On a printed copy of the ACA displayed in Families USA’s office, Obama wrote “To Ron and Families USA – You made this happen!” In July 2021, House speaker Nancy Pelosi called Families USA "a champion on health care for a long time now."

Since 2017, Families USA's current executive director Frederick Isasi has testified before Congress on issues including health care costs, payment and delivery reform, and health care coverage. Families USA is one of the leaders of state-by-state campaigns to address the Medicaid coverage gap among low-income Americans, supporting ballot initiatives and legislative strategies and producing analysis documenting the many benefits of extending health coverage for state economies and low-income people. As a result, the organization plays an active role in promoting national and state-specific improvements in this safety-net program. Families USA also works to change state laws and policies related to improving health equity, changing the underlying financial incentives in health care, and improving maternal and child health.

Families USA has organized several structured dialogues on key health care issues among diverse stakeholder organization leaders, including those representing insurers, hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, business, labor, and consumers. One such dialogue led to the creation of the Campaign for Children’s Health Care, which successfully pushed to extend CHIP. Another set of dialogues sought and achieved common ground on extending health coverage to the uninsured. A more recent dialogue developed proposals for promoting increased quality care at lower costs.

Mission
Families USA’s purpose is to ensure that every individual in the nation has access to the best health and health care. Their work is focused on making specific, strategic, and systemic improvements to the health and health care of the nation—improvements that make a real difference in people’s lives, particularly the most vulnerable in the nation.

Families USA employs a goal-oriented theory of change; believing that achieving change rests on the ability to identify moments on the community, state, or national level when the simultaneous activation of diverse coalitions (in terms of ethnicity, economic status, and other demographic dimensions, as well as political and disciplinary perspectives), together with the application of a full range of policy and advocacy expertise—practical policy analysis, inclusive decision maker outreach, and strategic public communications—can make change a reality.

Families USA's advocacy focuses on transparency, reduced costs, and positive health outcomes for patients. Families USA advances its mission by combining policy expertise and partnerships with community, state, and national leaders to forge transformational solutions that improve the health and health care of American families.

History
Technology entrepreneur Philippe Villers and his wife Kate co-founded Families USA in 1981.

On November 23, 2016, Vanity Fair reported that shortly after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Families USA held a conference call with more than 1,000 people from all 50 states to discuss efforts to keep the Affordable Care Act alive. Families USA and national partner organizations also formed the Protect Our Care coalition.

In 2017, Frederick Isasi was appointed Executive Director of Families USA. Prior to joining Families USA, Isasi was a director at the bipartisan National Governors Association, where he worked with leaders of both parties, and vice president of health policy at the Advisory Board Company. He took over the role from Ron Pollack, the organization's founding executive director and leader for 35 years. In his work with Families USA, Isasi leads the organization's advocacy efforts. He prioritizes collaborating with Republican lawmakers when opportunities arise that align with Families USA's progressive objectives. In 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, The Hill named him a top grassroots lobbyist for his work for the organization.

Other leadership at Families USA includes Eliot Fishman, senior director of health policy; Stan Dorn, director of the National Center for Coverage Innovation; Kelly Murphy, a maternal and child health policy expert; Jen Taylor, director of federal relations; Melissa Burroughs, an associate director who leads an oral-health-for-all campaign; Lydia Orth, director of Medicaid initiatives; and Sara Lonardo, the senior director of communications.

Advocacy
The New York Times has described Families USA as a "nonpartisan consumer advocacy group". According to the organization, its four focus areas are coverage, equity, value, and consumer engagement. It advances its mission through public policy advocacy and research. The organization maintains a "story bank" of patient stories as a way to incorporate personal experiences into political advocacy. Families USA operates a lobbying arm, Families USA Action, as a 501(c)4 organization.

Also part of Families USA are the Center on Health Equity Action for System Transformation and the National Center for Coverage Innovation (NCCI). According to Families USA, the Center on Health Equity Action for System Transformation focuses on advancing policies to reduce inequities in the healthcare system. Directed by Stan Dorn, the NCCI advocates for measures to expand access to healthcare coverage, like permitting Maryland residents to begin enrolling for coverage as part of their tax returns.

In 2015 and 2018, Families USA advocated for reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The organization has also advocated for a public option for health insurance, drawn attention to rising drug prices, and expressed support for measures to ban surprise medical bills. Families USA's Health Equity Task Force for Delivery and Payment Transformation published a report on healthcare inequities and proposed payment reforms in July 2018. In May 2019, the organization was one of the founding members of the Consumers First health alliance to end surprise medical bills and take other steps to align health care system incentives with positive health outcomes for patients.

Families USA's advocacy facilitated the addition of "no surprise billing" provisions into the 2021 United States federal budget. As part of this effort, Isasi testified in Congress advocating for the measure in April 2019. In collaboration with West Health, Families USA endowed the 2020 West Health and Families USA Media Fellowship to fund healthcare journalism.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Families USA released research finding that 32 percent of COVID-19 deaths through August 31, 2020, were related to a lack of sufficient health insurance. The organization also released research, shared by PBS NewsHour, finding that approximately 5.4 million U.S. workers were uninsured after losing their jobs between February and May 2020. In early 2021, Families USA worked to address barriers preventing BIPOC from getting vaccinated. A November 2021 paper for the National Academy of Medicine coauthored by Families USA executive director Isasi provided an overview of the pandemic's impact on patients and communities and opportunities for systemic improvement.

In late 2021, Families USA advocated for Medicare to include dental care as part of a budget bill in Congress at the time and argued against means testing for access to dental benefits. The organization also advocated to make health insurance premiums more affordable and to address the Medicaid coverage gap, particularly for people of color, in states that did not opt to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Isasi led the organization's efforts in fall 2021 to advocate for lowered prescription drug prices as part of the Biden administration's Build Back Better Plan. He also testified before the Senate Finance Committee on federal programs' future role in healthcare coverage.

Achievements/Accreditation

 * Obama credited Families USA with playing an instrumental role in promoting the enactment of the ACA and for the organization’s work helping to implement and protect the historic health legislation. On a printed copy of the ACA displayed in Families USA’s office, Obama wrote “To Ron and Families USA – You made this happen!”
 * The Hill named Isasi a top grassroots lobbyist for his work with Families USA in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
 * Consumer Action gave Families USA a Consumer Excellence Award in the community category in 2020.
 * In April 2021, the Government Accountability Office added Families USA executive director Isasi to the newly formed State All Payers Claims Databases Advisory Committee.