Michael Monson

Professional headshot of Altarum President and CEO Michael Monson

Michael Monson is the Chief Executive Officer, and President of Altarum, as well as a Trustee of the Board. Altarum is a nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of individuals with fewer financial resources and populations disenfranchised by the health care system. Working primarily on behalf of federal and state governments to design and implement solutions that achieve measurable results, Altarum combines expertise in public health and health care delivery with technology development and implementation, practice transformation, training and technical assistance, quality improvement, data analytics, and applied research and evaluation. Altarum’s innovative solutions and proven processes lead to better value and health for all.

In January 2023, Michael was elected as a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), joining a diverse cohort of distinguished experts who are committed to advancing solutions to challenges facing the nation by increasing public understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security. In September 2023, Michael was selected to serve as Chair of the Board for the Long-Term Quality Alliance (LTQA)—the leading voice focused on improving the country’s long-term services and supports (LTSS) system.

Prior to Altarum, Michael was the Senior Vice President of Medicaid and Complex Care and CEO of Social Health Bridge at Centene Corporation – the nation’s largest Medicaid health plan. He had national product responsibility for Centene’s Medicaid and Complex Care product lines—TANF; CHIP; Foster Care; Medicaid Expansion; Aged Blind & Disabled; Managed Long Term Services and Supports; and Medicare-Medicaid Plans (CMS Financial Alignment Demonstration). These products operate across 30 states and collectively comprise more than 12.5 million members and more than $70 billion in revenue.  

Michael developed Centene’s strategy to address the social determinants of health and led the Centene Center for Health Transformation, a collaboration with academic researchers that improved quality of care across all of Centene’s members.
Previously, Michael was the Chief Administrative Officer and Vice President of Residential Services at Village Care of New York where he had responsibility for a $60 million P&L as well as multiple corporate functions. Village Care is a New York City based integrated health system with more than $200 million in revenue.

Michael began his career in health care leading strategy and innovation at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, a safety net organization that, at $1.8 billion in revenue was the nation’s largest home-based health care company. He also spent six years as a consultant at McKinsey. 

He earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.