Chart: Medicare Drug Plan Architects Now Drug Company Lobbyists

Medicare Drug Plan Architects Now Drug Company Lobbyists

by Olga Pierce, Sabrina Shankman, and Jeff Larson ProPublica - October 20, 2009 6:17 pm EDT

The 2003 law that created the Medicare prescription drug plan was a windfall for the drug industry. After the bill passed, many of its architects left Capitol Hill to become lobbyists. And now they’re back on the Hill, as lobbyists for drug companies and fighting healthcare reforms that would cut into the industry’s profits from Medicare.

Staffers

Name	Then
Jeremy Allen	Policy Coordinator (Also, Health Policy Adviser to Rep. Michael Bilirakis, one of the House negotiators), House Energy and Commerce Committee Jeremy Allen was the policy coordinator for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He also served as health policy adviser to Rep. Michael Bilirakis, one of the House negotiators on Part D.	Allen is now director of government affairs and public policy at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Doug Badger	President's lead health policy adviser, Bush Administration As the president's lead health policy advisor during the Bush administration, Doug Badger helped author the Part D legislation and served as the White House's chief negotiator with Congress.	Badger is now a partner at Nickles Group, working on behalf of Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, and Hoffman-LaRoche.
Kelly Bingel	Chief of Staff, Blanche Lincoln Kelly Bingel was chief of staff for Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), who was a member of the Senate Finance subcommittee on Health Care when Part D passed.	Now, as a lobbyist at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, Bingel lobbies on behalf of Abbot Labs, AstraZeneca, Biogen, GE Healthcare, Humana, Merck, PhRMA, and Procter & Gamble.
Rick Desimone	Chief of Staff, Patty Murray Rick Desimone was chief of staff for Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who was a member of the Senate HELP Committee when Part D passed.	Now he is a lobbyist at McBee Strategic Consulting, lobbying for PhRMA, on behalf of We Work For Health.
Colette Desmarais	Health Policy Advisor, Charles Grassley Colette Desmarais was Health Policy Advisor to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), who was one of the legislators involved in the closed-door Part D negotiations, and was chair of the Senate Finance Committee when Part D passed.	Now she's a lobbyist at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, where she lobbies on behalf of Abbot Labs , AstraZeneca, Biogen, Forest Labs, GE Healthcare, Humana, Merck, PhRMA, and Procter & Gamble.
Raissa Downs	Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation, HHS As deputy assistant secretary for legislation for Health and Human Services, Raissa Downs helped spearhead Part D implementation.	Now Downs is a lobbyist at Tarplin Downs & Young, lobbying for Amgen, AstraZeneca, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Boston Scientific, Genzyme, PhRMA, Vertex Pharma, WellPoint, and Wyeth.
Michelle Easton	Staff Director (working for Sen. Breaux's office), Senate Special Committee on Aging Michelle Easton served as staff director for the Senate Special Committee on Aging while Part D was debated and passed. Later, after leaving briefly to serve as vice president of PhRMA while Part D was being implemented, she worked as chief health counsel to Sen. Max Baucus.	Now Easton is a lobbyist at Tarplin Downs & Young, lobbying for Amgen, AstraZeneca, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Boston Scientific Genzyme, PhRMA, Vertex Pharma, and Wyeth.
Steven Elmendorf	Chief of Staff, Rep. Dick Gephardt Steven Elmendorf was the chief of staff for former Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-MO), who was House Minority Leader when Part D was passed.	Elmendorf now heads up Elmendorf Strategies, lobbying for PhRMA
Elise Finley Pickering	Chief of Staff, John Shadegg Elise Finley Pickering was Chief of Staff for John Shadegg (R-AZ), who was a member of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health and a key opponent of Medicare negotiating drug prices.	Now Pickering is a lobbyist at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, lobbying for Abbott Labs , AstraZeneca, Biogen, Forest Labs, GE Healthcare, Humana, Medicare Cost Contractors Alliance, Merck, PhRMA, and Procter & Gamble.
Rebecca Hawes	Legislative Assistant/Counsel to Sen. John Breaux Rebecca Hawes was also a legislative assistant and counsel to former Sen. John Breaux (D-LA),	Hawes now lobbies on behalf of Boston Scientific for Alpine Group.
Stacey Hughes	Senior Policy Advisor, Sen. Don Nickles Stacey Hughes served as senior policy advisor to former Sen. Don Nickles (R-OK), who played a key role in Part D passage, and was a negotiatior in the closed-door talks for Part D.	Hughes is a founding member of Nickels Group, where she is the manager of health care clients, working on behalf of Alcon, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, and Hoffman-LaRoche.
Steve Irizarry	Health Counsel, Senate HELP Committee Steve Irizarry is the former health counsel for the Senate HELP Committee, which helped draft Part D legislation.	Now Irizarry is a lobbyist for Capital Hill Strategies, working on behalf of Astellas, DFB Pharma, Eli Lilly, Endo Pharma, Novartis, PhRMA, and Purdue Pharma.
Ken Johnson	Communications director, Rep. Billy Tauzin As head of the communications team for former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), Ken Johnson helped sell Part D.	Johnson is now senior vice president of communications at PhRMA, where he has served as spokesman on health care reform. PhRMA is a trade group that is heavily involved in lobbying, Johnson is not himself a lobbyist.
Patricia Knight	Chief of Staff, health policy director, Sen. Orrin Hatch Patricia Knight was the chief of staff and health policy advisor to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who was one of the Senate negotiators on the bill, and a key opponent of drug price negotiations.	Knight is the founder of Knight Capitol Consultants, which lobbies for PhRMA, Sanofi-Aventis U.S., Inc., and Genzyme.
John McManus	Staff Director (under Chairman Bill Thomas - one of the House negotiators), House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health John McManus' bio calls him "the chief staff architect of the landmark Medicare Modernization Act of 2003," the law that established Part D. He was staff director, under Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA), of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health.	McManus is the president and founder of McManus Group, which lobbies on behalf of Allergan, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Genentech, and PhRMA.
William Pierce	Dep Asst Sec, Public Affairs, HHS As the former deputy assistant secretary of public affairs at Health and Human Services, William Pierce helped sell the legislation that created Part D.	Now he is a lobbyist at APCO Worldwide, lobbying for PhRMA, the drug industry's trade association on behalf of We Work For Health.
Catharine Ransom	Senior Advisor, Sen. Bob Graham Catharine Ransom was senior advisor to former Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL), who, at time of Part D passage, was a member of Senate Finance Committee's health care subcommittee.	Now Ransom lobbies for PhRMA at The Accord Group .
Dean Rosen	Health Care Advisor, Bill Frist In the late 1990s, Dean Rosen was majority counsel to the House Ways and Means health subcommittee, then he was senior vice president of policy and general counsel for the Health Insurance Association of America, an industry trade group. He later returned to Capitol Hill, first as staff director for the United States Senate Subcommittee on Public Health, then as health policy director for Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN).	Now a lobbyist at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, Rosen lobbies for Abbott Labs, America's Health Insurance Plans, AstraZeneca, Biogen, Forest Labs, GE Healthcare, Humana, Merck, PhRMA, and Procter & Gamble.
Beau Schuyler	Legislative Director, Rep. John Tanner Beau Schuyler is the former legislative director for Rep. John Tanner (D-TN), who was on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee when Part D was handled. Tanner said he supported negotiating drug prices, but his second largest source of contributions was the pharmacuetical industry.	Now Schuyler is a lobbyist with Capital Hill Strategies, lobbying for Advamed Amgen, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Merck, PhRMA, , and GlaxoSmithKline
Thomas Scully	Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Thomas Scully was an administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He was the head of Medicare during negotiations on the bill. As the bill was passing, he was negotiating his departure to Alston & Bird.	As a lobbyist at Alston & Bird, Scully lobbies for CSL Behring, Dey, and the Generic Pharmaceutical Association.
Shanti Stanton	Aide, Nancy Pelosi Sheri Stanton was an aide to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) when Part D was passed.	Now she's a lobbyist at Elmendorf Strategies, lobbying on behalf of PhRMA.
Sarah Walter	Legislative Assistant to Sen. John Breaux, legislative director of Senate Special Committee on Aging, Sen. John Breaux Sarah Walter was a legislative assistant to former Sen. John Breaux (D-LA), who was instrumental in the passage of Part D. Breaux, now a lobbyist too, was also on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which is charged with overseeing health care for seniors.	Now she works at for Walter Consulting, lobbying on behalf of Boston Scientific.
Kathleen Weldon	Professional Staff, House Energy and Commerce Committee As a staff member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Kathleen Weldon was one of several committee staffers thanked from the floor by Tauzin for their help in crafting and shepherding the Part D legislation.	Now she is vice president of government strategy for Biogen, a major biotech company. .
Michael Woody	Legislative Assistant to Rep. Marion Berry, professional staff of Senate HELP Committee, Rep. Marion Berry Michael Woody worked on Part D legislation as a staff member of Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR), one of the House negotiators on the bill, and also a staffer of the Senate HELP Committee.	Now Woody works at PhRMA, where he is a lobbyist.
Jennifer Young	Assistant Secretary for Legislation, HHS Jennifer Young oversaw all legislative efforts for the department of Health and Human Service, where she was assistant secretary for legislation. Young was an integral part of the administration's efforts to pass and implement the law that created Part D.	Now she's a lobbyist at Tarplin Downs & Young, lobbying on behalf of Amgen, AstraZeneca, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Blue Cross Blue Shield Assocation, Boston Scientific, Genzyme, PhRMA, Vertex Pharma, and Wyeth.