About Director Michelle Baass​​

Michelle Baass was appointed Director of the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 10, 2021. DHCS supports the health of about 14 million Californians on Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. Ms. Baass leads a team of more than 4,8​00 individuals at DHCS.

Before her appointment to DHCS, Ms. Baass served as Undersecretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency (Agency) since 2018 and Deputy Secretary of the Office of Program and Fiscal Affairs at Agency from 2017 to 2018. Prior to joining Agency, she worked for the California Legislature for 13 years, including in positions at the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Senate Office of Research, and Legislative Analyst’s Office.