Judyann Bigby, MD

JudyAnn Bigby, M.D. served as Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from January 2007 through January 2013. As Secretary she was responsible for implementing many of the aspects of the 2006 Massachusetts health care reform law. With this implementation, Massachusetts achieved a nation leading health insurance coverage rate of 98% of adults and 99.8% of children. As Secretary, Dr. Bigby also worked to achieve higher quality of health care and better health for Massachusetts residents while leading Governor Deval Patrick’s efforts to address the high cost of health care. Her efforts have made the Commonwealth of Massachusetts one of the nation’s leading states in forging efforts to reform health care delivery systems to build a strong primary care foundation, integrate service delivery, and reform payment based on outcomes including for the most vulnerable populations. She managed the state’s largest state agency through the recession while achieving significant improvements in the delivery of mental health services for children, outcomes for foster children, community-based services for people with disabilities, suicide prevention for veterans, and in smoking rates, HIV deaths, and cancer deaths in Massachusetts. Prior to her appointment as Secretary, Dr. Bigby served as the Director of Community Health Programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and as the Director of the Center of Excellence in Women’s Health at Harvard Medical School. She attained national recognition for her pioneering work to eliminate health disparities among low-income and minority women through the design of clinical programs, education of health professionals, and community based research in areas such as breast and cervical cancer mortality. She practiced primary care internal medicine, specializing in women’s health, for more than 25 years. Dr. Bigby is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the National Quality Forum. In 2011 President Obama appointed her as one of the inaugural members of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health of the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council. Dr. Bigby holds a BA from Wellesley College and an MD from Harvard Medical School as well as honorary degrees from Lesley University, Pine Manor College, and the New England College of Law.