Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios
With last week's key hire in Majority Leader Steve Scalise's office (see our scoop), House Republican leadership has rounded out its health policy brain trust, just in time for what could be a frenetic new session.
- It's a fairly seasoned group that will bring Hill and executive branch experience to the first task at hand: vetting what health provisions could be included in a government funding deal.
- Here's what you need to know about the top health staffers in leadership offices.
Drew Keyes, health policy advisor to Speaker Mike Johnson
- We detailed Keyes' expertise and world view here. He came from Paragon Health Institute to the speaker's office in November.
- While at Paragon, he focused much of his work on public health, including writing papers on reforming the CDC and reauthorizing the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act.
- Keyes was a former health staffer to Johnson when the lawmaker was the chair of the Republican Study Committee.
- Notably, Keyes while at Paragon authored a takedown of PhRMA that called the big drug industry lobby a "dying trade association" that is "desperately point[ing] the finger away from themselves and toward PBMs." It took a fairly pro-PBM stance.
Dominique Yelinski, policy advisor to Majority Leader Steve Scalise
- Yelinski has been the deputy chief of staff and legislative director for Rep. Kevin Hern and also helped to handle his health care portfolio. She worked in his office for almost three years.
- As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Hern was the lead sponsor of the CHOICE Arrangement Act, which passed the House floor in June and would codify a Trump-era 2019 health reimbursement arrangement rule.
- Hern is also a co-sponsor on one of the House's "fair billing" measures which requires hospitals to have a separate billing identifiers for off-campus outpatient departments. That bill was included as part of the House's transparency package that passed on the floor last week.
- Yelinski earlier had worked for HHS during the Trump administration as a staffer in the Office of the Secretary.
- Before that, she worked for various members on the Hill, including former Rep. Mark Meadows and current members Reps. Bill Posey and Jodey Arrington.
Nolan Ahern, senior policy advisor to Majority Whip Tom Emmer
- Ahern is a senior policy advisor in Emmer's office, where he helps with the health care portfolio. He started the position in January when the GOP took the House majority.
- He's worked as a professional staffer on both the Ways and Means Committee for two years and the Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee for a year and a half.
- Before going to Energy and Commerce, Ahern worked in the office of Rep. Greg Walden, for over four years, during some of the time period Walden served as E&C chairman.
- Walden notably helped to pass the No Surprises Act in 2020 which bans most surprise medical bills for patients, and the SUPPORT Act in 2018 which provides resources to combat the opioid epidemic.
Ben Nyce, deputy policy director for House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik
- Nyce has been the deputy policy director for the House GOP conference for the last year, where he oversees the health care portfolio as well as other domestic issues. He first joined the GOP conference as a policy advisor in 2021.
- Before that he was a legislative staffer in Stefanik's office, where he handled a variety of policy areas, including rural health care issues.
- Nyce also previously worked for Rep. Ann Wagner.
