Barbara Asheld focuses her practice on New York State and federal health care and administrative law, including health facility licensure and regulation, health practitioner scope of practice, emergency preparedness and response, maternal and child health and reproductive health issues, confidentiality of medical information, authority and organization of local health departments, certain Medicaid matters, physician discipline, New York State ethics laws, and legal issues arising in government administration. She has provided legal support at numerous meetings of the Public Health Council and State Hospital Review and Planning Council and their committees, provided trainings in ethics, and delivered continuing legal education in issues involved in public health preparedness and response.
Barbara has spent the past 29 years as an attorney to the New York State Department of Health providing legal advice, drafting formal opinions, drafting and negotiating legislation, regulations, contracts, and memoranda of understanding, and drafting public information documents related to public health and health systems law. For nine years, she was director of the Bureau of House Counsel in the New York State Department of Health, where she supervised attorneys and support staff providing legal support to programs of the Department of Health, the New York State Public Health Council, the New York State Hospital Review and Planning Council, the New York State Governor’s Office, and the New York State Division of the Budget.
Barbara has received several honors, including the Commissioner of Health Recognition Awards for her participation in the Pandemic Influenza Plan Team, the National Security Event (Republican National Convention) Response Team, the Vaccine Shortage Response Team, the SARS Response Team, the Smallpox Vaccination Clinic Team, the Bureau of Professional Medical Conduct, and the Medicaid Managed Care Waiver Development Team. She also was the recipient of the New York State Department of Health Division of Legal Affairs Recognition Award for work in bio-terrorism response and public health preparedness.
Barbara has also served as acting counsel to the New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct; counselor, assistant attorney, and attorney with the Mental Health Information Service of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Divisions of the 2nd and 3rd departments; and clerk for the New York State Select Committee on Insurance.