Session #2: Introduction to Congress and the Legislative Process

Michael F. Cannon is the Cato Institute’s director of health policy studies. His scholarship spans public health; regulation of clinicians, medical facilities, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices; employer‐​sponsored and other private health insurance; Medicare; Medicaid; CHIP; the Veterans Health Administration; medical malpractice litigation; administrative law; international health systems; political philosophy; and more. Cannon is “an influential health‐​care wonk” (Washington Post) and “the most famous libertarian health care scholar” (Washington Examiner). Washingtonian magazine named Cannon one of Washington, DC’s “Most Influential People” in 2021, 2022, and 2023. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal; the New York Times; USA Today; the Washington Post; the Los Angeles Times; SCOTUSBlog; Forum for Health Economics and Policy; JAMA Internal Medicine; Health Matrix: Journal of Law‐​Medicine; Harvard Health Policy Review; the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics; the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law; and Quinnipiac Health Law Journal. His latest book is Recovery: A Guide to Reforming the U.S. Health Sector. Cannon was previously a domestic policy analyst for the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, where he advised the Senate leadership on health, education, labor, welfare, and the Second Amendment. He is a member of the Board of Advisers of Harvard Health Policy Review and the Federalist Society Regulatory Transparency Project’s FDA & Health Working Group.

Megan Hauck Marshall has spent over 25 years in Washington developing an in-depth knowledge of health policy, Senate procedure, and the complex budget process. Prior to launching Nathanson+Hauck, Megan served as Health Policy Advisor to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) working directly with members of the Republican Conference to develop health policy addressing Medicare, Medicaid, and FDA reauthorization as well as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Megan’s executive branch service for President George W. Bush began in 2003, when she was named Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Legislation at the Department of Health and Human Services. She transitioned to the 2004 re-election campaign as Deputy Policy Director then went to the White House where she served as a Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. Before joining the Administration, Megan spent eight years in the office of Senator Don Nickles (R-OK), both in the Whip Offices as well as the Senate Budget Committee.

Alex Brill is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies tax, budget, health care, retirement security, and trade policies. He also works on health care reform, pharmaceutical spending and drug innovation. He has testified numerous times before Congress on tax policy, labor markets and unemployment insurance, Social Security reform, fiscal stimulus, the manufacturing sector, and biologic drug competition. Before joining AEI, Brill served as the policy director and chief economist of the House Ways and Means Committee. Previously, he served on the staff of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Mr. Moon is an Executive Director of Government Affairs at Amgen. Mr. Moon is responsible for directing Amgen’s advocacy with the House of Representatives, working directly with key Members of Congress and their staff. Mr. Moon provides strategic advice to senior executives on policy matters important to Amgen and works to educate federal stakeholders on the important role Amgen’s products play in improving the lives of patients. Prior to joining Amgen, Mr. Moon spent a decade working in the U.S. House of Representatives. Howard served as a Senior Policy Advisor and Floor Assistant to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. In that capacity, he was responsible for coordinating legislative business and assisting Democratic Members of Congress with parliamentary and policy matters. In addition, he was a Floor Assistant for the former Democratic Whip David Bonior (D-MI) and worked for the late Congressman Robert Matsui (D-CA), former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Mr. Moon received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College in Claremont, California, with a major in Politics and Public Policy Analysis.

Kate served as Vice President for Government and Community Relations for Montefiore Medicine, the umbrella organization encompassing both Montefiore Health System as well as the Einstein College of Medicine, based in New York. In that capacity, Kate managed of all aspects of advocacy strategy and lobbying for Federal, State, City, and local government concerns. She also managed all staff and infrastructure for the health system and medical school’s government relations, community relations and community-based economic development. Prior to joining Montefiore, Kate was appointed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to serve as Special Deputy Director for Health Planning and Reform Implementation at the Illinois Department of Insurance. In that capacity, Kate managed the team responsible for implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on behalf of the Department of Insurance, including adoption of all of the consumer protections passed by Congress, and she served as the state’s first director for the Illinois Health Benefits Exchange effort. Kate began her career in health care policy in Washington, D.C. working for various members of Congress in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Most recently, Kate served as Health Legislative Assistant for Senator John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee. In that capacity, Kate worked directly on the drafting and passage of key portions of the ACA with particular emphasis on health care quality, Medicare payment and coverage policy, prevention, and health insurance market reforms. Prior to that, Kate worked as Senior Advisor for Health for Representative Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), a member of both the House Ways and Means and the Budget Committees. Specifically, she focused on electronic-prescribing, health IT and the HITECH Act, insurance market reforms for children, primary care incentives/patient-centered medical home, comparative effectiveness, and health insurance coverage expansion. Kate earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from James Madison University in Virginia and her Master’s in Public Health from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.