Hart Health Strategies |

Vicki Hart, RN, MPH

President & Founder

Vicki Hart is the Founder and President of Hart Health Strategies Inc. and provides a breadth and depth of knowledge and experience in health care policy, politics and process. Ms. Hart has counseled policy makers, business leaders and association executives for more than twenty years. Ms. Hart is a Registered Nurse and has a Masters in Epidemiology and Public Health.

Prior to establishing the Firm in 2002, Vicki Hart served as a senior lobbyist and policy advisor and headed the health policy practice for the law firm of Verner Liipfert. Her expertise includes knowledge of health care reform, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, quality, health information technology, and other health-related issues. She has successfully built coalitions to advance health care priorities, including the establishment of the Alliance of Specialty Medicine.

Before moving to the private sector, Ms. Hart was a Presidential fellow and worked for nearly a decade as a senior health policy advisor for two Senate Majority Leaders. In this high-level position, Ms. Hart provided technical and strategic advice to the Senate Majority Leader, members of the United States Senate and their staff.

Ms. Hart holds B.A. (English) and B.S. (Nursing) degrees from Fairfield University and a Masters in Epidemiology and Public Health from the Yale School of Medicine.

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Sue Ramthun

Principal & Senior vice president

Sue Ramthun is a Principal and Senior Vice President with Hart Health Strategies Inc. Ms. Ramthun has been with the firm since it was established. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Ramthun worked as a Government Relations Specialist with Verner Liipfert, working specifically with the health care team. Ms. Ramthun worked on Capitol Hill for more than 12 years handling health care legislation and shepherding many health care laws through the legislative and implementation process.

During her time on Capitol Hill, Ms. Ramthun served as Staff Director for the Senate Subcommittee on Public Health, HELP Committee. In this capacity, she managed the regulatory oversight and legislative authorizing responsibility for the many programs within the United States Public Health Service. Ms. Ramthun also was a staff member on the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. She served as health policy advisor to Senator Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN), managed his health policy staff, and staffed a number of congressional conference committees.

Previously, Ms. Ramthun worked with Senator David Durenberger (R-MN), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance where she had primary responsibility for Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, Ms. Ramthun handled health issues for Congressman Bill Frenzel (R-MN), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee.

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Tim Yehl

Principal

Tim Yehl is a Capitol Hill veteran, logging fifteen years of service with several prominent Members of the House and Senate.

Most recently, Tim served as Chief of Staff to Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), where he directed all aspects of legislative strategy, constituent services, press and media relations for the Senator's Washington, D.C., and New Jersey operations. Before working for Senator Lautenberg, Tim spent six years as Chief of Staff to Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), current Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Tim also served as a Legislative Assistant to Rep. Gerald Kleczka (D-WI), who was a Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, and he served as an aide to Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN), former Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology.

Moving to the private sector in 2007, Tim was named Executive Vice President and General Manager at the Washington office of MWW Group, a mid-size PR firm. There, he managed all office operations and led MWW Group through a dramatic expansion, including several healthcare clients. He joined Hart Health Strategies in 2009.

Tim has also held leadership roles in several local and statewide political campaigns. Before coming to Washington, he served as a volunteer in the United States Peace Corps, serving in Cameroon, West Africa. He graduated from Marquette University with a bachelor's degree in political science and was named Marquette's "Young Alumnus of the Year" in 2005. Tim serves on the Board of Visitors for Marquette's Les Aspin Center for Government. He is also a member of the Governing Board of Rainbows for All Children, an international non-profit that helps grieving children.

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Matt Duckworth

Vice President, Government Relations

Matt Duckworth joined the Hart Health Strategies Inc. team in June 2013 as Vice President of Government Relations. In this role, Matt works directly with Members of Congress and their staff from key healthcare committees on Capitol Hill, as well as agency officials within the Department of Health and Human Services. He also provides guidance in the areas of strategic and grassroots advocacy, coalition management, social media, meeting and coalition facilitation, and the planning and implementing of advocacy conferences. In addition to these areas, Matt produces and hosts the Hart Health Strategies Inc weekly podcast, Health on the Hill.

Matt previously served as the Executive Director of a congressional advocacy firm, Prime Advocacy, where he represented the interests of major healthcare trade associations and Fortune 500 companies. In this role, Matt also worked with the founders of an industry-leading PAC fundraising firm. Before Prime Advocacy, he worked on the government relations team at Quinn Gillespie & Associates, where he interfaced with key clients in the healthcare and insurance markets and provided support to the firm's most senior professionals. At the beginning of his career, Matt spent time in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Matt received his B.A. in Speech Communication and Political Science from the University of Georgia (UGA). He is a former President of the Washington, DC chapter of the UGA Alumni Association and currently serves as a mentor to students taking part in the University's Washington Semester Program.

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Emily Graham, MSHIM, RHIA, CCS-P

Vice President, Regulatory Affairs

Emily Graham, MSHIM, RHIA, CCS-P, joined Hart Health Strategies in January 2011 as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, where she helped establish the firm’s regulatory and quality services portfolio. As a member of the Hart Health Strategies team, Ms. Graham works with a diverse range of organizations on complex challenges that impact the quality and delivery of health care that arise from an ever-changing health policy landscape. She routinely engages with key federal agencies under the US Departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Defense, including noteworthy advisors that influence federal health policy, and frequently interacts with Congressional offices as a subject matter expert.

Across her decades-long career in health policy, Ms. Graham has served in multiple roles, including as the Associate Director of Regulatory Affairs for the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), where she focused on a variety of regulatory and quality improvement issues for ophthalmic surgeons. Here, she also served as Chair of the Quality and Health Information Technology and Regulatory Committee for the Alliance of Specialty Medicine, and as a staff liaison to the AMA's CPT Editorial Panel and Revalue Value Systems Update Committee (RUC), the National Quality Forum (NQF), Surgical Quality Alliance (SQA), and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z80, among others.

Ms. Graham also held positions with the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery as a Practice Management Coordinator, where she focused on coding and reimbursement issues, as well as in an acute care hospital billing office and in a physician practice. She also held positions in academia, serving as the Assistant Dean and Program Director for the Health Information Management and Clinical Data Coding (HIM/CDC) Programs at Northern Virginia Community College's (NVCC) Medical Education Campus (MEC), as an adjunct faculty member for the NVCC HIM/CDC program, and most recently, as Chair of the NVCC HIM/CDC Advisory Committee.

Ms. Graham is a Past President of the District of Columbia Health Information Management Association (DCHIMA) and currently holds credentials as a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) and Certified Coding Specialist – Physician-based (CCS-P) from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). She obtained a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in HIM from Stephens College, Columbia, MO. She completed her Six Sigma Green Belt training at Villanova University.

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Robert Jasak, JD

Vice President, Coverage and Payment Policy

Robert Jasak is the VP for Coverage and Payment Policy with Hart Health Strategies Inc. Prior to joining Hart Health Strategies Inc., Mr. Jasak served as the Deputy Director for Regulatory & Quality Affairs in the American College of Surgeons’ Division of Advocacy and Health Policy. In his position, he led ACS efforts to analyze and influence federal regulations and help shape the value-based purchasing and quality programs being incorporated in federal reimbursement formulas. For several years, he also served as the Senior Regulatory Advisor at the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons where he worked on similar issues.

Prior to joining the ACS and AAOS, Mr. Jasak was a Director with The Advisory Board Company, a DC-based research and consulting firm serving America's leading hospitals and health systems. He has also worked in various positions in the federal government. He served as a policy and strategy analyst in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Public Affairs, with an emphasis on Medicare payment and budget issues. He has also provided services to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of the General Counsel.

Mr. Jasak received his law degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and he completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan.

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Rachel Groman, MPH

Vice President, Clinical Affairs and Quality Improvement

Rachel Groman, MPH, joined the Hart Health Strategies Inc. team in 2012. Prior to joining Hart Health Strategies Inc., Ms. Groman served as the Senior Manager for Quality Improvement and Research at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), where she managed strategic planning and policy advocacy activities related to value-based payment and delivery reforms, including quality and cost measurement, health information technology adoption, and comparative effectiveness research. She also was instrumental in assisting with the implementation of a national neurosurgical clinical outcomes data registry and coordinating neurosurgery’s clinical practice guideline activities.

Prior to joining the AANS/CNS, Ms. Groman was a health policy associate for the American College of Physicians (ACP), where she also focused on quality and performance measurement. She also served as a state health policy analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and a health legislative aide to U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI).

Ms. Groman earned a Masters in Public Health with a focus on Health Policy from the George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan.

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Cindy H. Moon, MPP, MPH

Vice President, Health Care Payment and Delivery Reform

Cindy H. Moon is Vice President of Health Care Payment and Delivery Reform with Hart Health Strategies Inc. Prior to joining Hart Health Strategies Inc., Ms. Moon worked at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) where she advised on policy solutions affecting the Medicare program. In this role, Ms. Moon collaborated with federal stakeholders across the Executive Office of the President, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Secretary, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the oversight of major payment and programmatic changes to the Medicare program. These efforts included implementation of statutory requirements included in the Affordable Care Act, the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), as well as the design and implementation of several innovative models to test payment and health care delivery reforms operated by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation within CMS.

Prior to joining OMB, Ms. Moon held successively increasing leadership positions within the Health Plan of San Mateo (HPSM), a quasi-public health plan offering publicly-sponsored health coverage for qualifying residents of San Mateo County, California. There, Ms. Moon led HPSM's policy analysis, strategic planning, and business planning related to Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, Medicaid long-term care integration, and indigent care.

Ms. Moon earned her Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Health from the University of California at Berkeley and her Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.

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Meghan Lambert, MPP

Director, Health Policy

Meghan Lambert is the Director of Health Policy. In this capacity, she focuses on research and advocacy efforts for a wide range of legislative and regulatory health care issues. Ms. Lambert drafts issue briefs, policy papers, advocacy letters, talking points, testimony, and statements and performs legislative tracking and analysis. She oversees the coverage of congressional committee activity, providing clients with written summaries or overview memos of hearings and markups. She is also responsible for researching and writing Hart Health Strategies Inc.’s weekly Health Policy Briefing newsletter and Health on the Hill, the firm’s daily legislative communication update as well as its Regulatory Supplement.

Ms. Lambert earned her M.P.P. with a concentration in health policy from American University. She joined Hart Health Strategies, Inc. in 2012 after graduating from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg VA, where she received her B.A. in Public Policy and English.

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Kevin Daley

Vice President, State Government Affairs

Mr. Daley is the Vice President of State Government Affairs at Hart Health Strategies where he develops and manages grassroots advocacy approaches for state legislative, regulatory and payer issues of impact to clients. He served as the Northern Director of Communications for the Illinois House Republican Caucus and Campaign Director for the Illinois House Republican Organization for six years. Most recently, Mr. Daley spent five years as the Director of Government Affairs at Naylor Association Solutions, working with healthcare associations across the U.S. in managing their federal, state and payer policy priorities.

Mr. Daley graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in political science. He serves as a representative to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL).

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Jessica Frasco

Vice President, Federal and State Drugs and Biologics Policy

Jessica Frasco has advocated on behalf of prescribers and patients for over 12 years at both the state and national level. She previously advanced state-level women’s health initiatives as the Director of U.S. State Policy & Government Affairs at Organon, a U.S. based woman’s health company that specializes in reproductive medicine, contraception and biosimilars. Jessica also worked at the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), where she coordinated stakeholder strategies and relationships with patient advocates, health care providers, labor unions and the business community. In her role at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Jessica engaged members of Congress and state legislatures on healthcare policy, built coalitions to support patient and physician advocacy priorities, and launched the organization’s annual advocacy conference. Jessica started her career in Trenton, NJ, advocating for several physician specialties and other healthcare clients in the state capital.

A New Jersey native, Jessica graduated from Villanova University and splits her time between Washington, DC and Chicago, Illinois. She serves on the board of Chicago Street Medicine, a non-profit committed to serving the medical needs and improving the wellbeing of Chicago’s unhoused population.

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Eleni Valanos

Director, Government Relations and Advocacy

Eleni Valanos joined Hart Health Strategies Inc. in January 2021 as the Director of Government Relations and Advocacy. Prior to the joining the firm, Eleni served in the United States Senate for nearly seven years, most recently as a Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship under the leadership of Chairman Marco Rubio. The committee was responsible for writing, negotiating, and implementing the small business provisions of the major health and economic relief legislation, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and additional COVID-19 health and relief packages in 2020. Prior to her time on the committee, Eleni served as a Legislative Aide and Legislative Correspondent for U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), where she worked to advance the senator’s legislative policy agenda. This included managing and securing the senator’s national and Florida-specific priorities in various appropriations laws as a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, including as a member of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. Prior to joining Senator Rubio’s office, Eleni served as a staff member for Ranking Member Jim Risch on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.

Eleni interned at Hart Health Strategies Inc. during her undergraduate summers supporting the team in advocating for various healthcare clients.

Eleni holds a Master's in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Political Science from the College of Charleston.

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Andrew Vogt

Vice President, Public Health and FDA Policy

Andrew Vogt joined Hart Health Strategies in September 2022 after more than eight years of combined experience lobbying and working in the U.S. Senate. Prior to joining the Hart Health team in April 2021, Andrew founded Andrew Vogt Strategies LLC to help businesses and nonprofit organizations more effectively navigate Congress and the federal government.

Andrew's time on Capitol Hill included more than four years as a Health Professional Staff member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). In that role, he planned more than 20 hearings and drafted or negotiated approximately 50 health policy provisions that were signed into law with bipartisan support.

Among the significant laws Andrew worked on are policies related to maternal health, childhood cancer, substance use disorders, public health data modernization, the healthcare workforce, and community health centers. His proudest achievement was leading the Senate's work on the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (P.L. 115-271), the 2018 "landmark" legislation to confront the opioid and substance use disorder crisis.

Prior to his work for the Senate HELP Committee, Andrew spent nearly three years working for former Senator Mark Kirk. In that capacity, he advanced the Senator's "stroke agenda," a series of bills introduced after Senator Kirk's 2012 stroke to improve access to, and quality of, rehabilitation services in the United States. Two of those bills were signed into law as part of the 21st Century Cures Act.

Andrew earned a B.A. in political science from Marquette University and currently lives in Seattle with his wife.

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Lupe Gonzales

Director of Operations

Lupe Gonzales, Jr. joined the Hart Health Strategies Inc. team in November 2023 as Director of Operations. Prior to joining Hart Health Strategies Inc., Mr. Gonzales served as the Director, DC Operations at the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), Washington, D.C. office for 26 years. In this role he was responsible for managing day-to-day office operations, monitoring division budgets, implementing employee/office policies, ensuring compliance with regulations, assisting department directors in meeting deadlines, and providing executive assistance to the Division Senior Vice-President. Prior to ACEP, Lupe was a Consultant Services Assistant at the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, United States Air Force. Lupe served in the United States Air Force for 14-years; his duty assignments included basic training at Lackland AFB, TX; technical training at Keesler AFB, MS; Howard AFB, Panama; The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; Persian Gulf War Campaign, Al Kharj & Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Lajes Air Base, Lajes, Portugal. He was also recognized with the Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal (2-oak leaf clusters), Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, Air Force Good Conduct Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. While in the service he received a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Organizational Management.

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News

Health on the Hill Podcast: Record Scratch Edition

September 3, 2024