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Senior Staff: Michelle Vogel

Michelle Vogel
Senior Vice President for Health Affairs

Michelle Vogel is Senior Vice President for Health Affairs at American Defense International and oversees ADI’s Health Division.  She holds a Bachelors Degree in Public Communications from American University and a Masters Degree in Public Administration/Health Care from George Washington University.  Throughout her career, Michelle has worked closely with health care organizations, Congress, and federal agencies involved with health care, including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Social Security Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Michelle has an expertise in economics and access issues, particularly on certain blood-product therapies. 

Michelle first spent more than six years as a senior legislative assistant for Congressman Benjamin Gilman (R-NY).  She handled domestic issues and specialized in all aspects of health care, domestic and international.  Michelle wrote the Preventive Health and Promotion Act which became part of the law requiring the National Institutes of Health to use five percent of each institute’s budget to fund disease-prevention research.  In addition, Michelle established a mentoring program for former Head Start/Early Start kids to help them succeed in higher education.  After leaving Capitol Hill, Michelle worked for more than eight years as a senior associate at two firms where she represented academic medical centers, specialty hospitals, blood centers, and health insurance companies.  Michelle then served as the federal liaison for Wisconsin’s Department of Health and Family Services and regularly informed federal officials of any state concerns.  She also drafted and revised legislation, lobbied for federal funds for state health-care programs, and identified emerging federal issues.  In 2003, Michelle entered the non-profit world by joining the Immune Deficiency Foundation as the Vice-President of Government Affairs and Reimbursement Services.  There Michelle worked on issues affecting the community, e.g., Medicare coverage, newborn screening, disability reform, and drug safety.

Two years later, Michelle started a firm, Washington Strategic Consulting, which specialized in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, patient advocacy, disability reform, and health policy.  She testified before Congress and federal agencies several times and gave presentations to patient organizations, provider groups, and medical societies on topics such as Medicare reimbursement, the economics of the plasma industry, access to treatments, Social Security benefits, navigating health insurance, and becoming an advocate.  While at her firm, Michelle founded a non-profit organization, the Alliance for Plasma Therapies, a powerful voice of patient organizations, providers, and industry leaders.  Michelle continues to serve as the director for the Alliance which works to obtain access to plasma therapies for patients who can benefit from this lifesaving treatment.