Like many other health care staffers, Clapton points to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act as his greatest accomplishment. Enacting the Medicare Modernization Act is “the most significant change to Medicare in a generation,” he said, and demonstrates the potential to use a “competitive, market-based structure to deliver a high-quality health care benefit in a cost-effective way.”
Clapton is seen as a strong asset to the HELP minority because of his experience working in health care in both chambers, one insurance lobbyist said.
Debbie Curtis, chief of staff to Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.); professional staff, House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health
Age: 42
Birthplace: Arlington, Va.
Education: B.A., Boston University
Curtis is quick to minimize the influential role she has played for more than a decade in setting health policy agenda on Capitol Hill.
“I am part of a talented team on the Ways and Means Committee working to pursue better health care policy,” Curtis said. “We shine by the policy we accomplish.”
Lobbyists say Curtis does not give herself enough credit for the many policy items she has shepherded through the House, from securing preventive benefits in Medicare to passing both the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 and the Patients’ Bill of Rights.
“She’s like a great player-manager in baseball,” said a Democratic health care lobbyist. “She brings out the best in her boss and then can take the field and pitch a no-hitter.”
Curtis says achieving health care reform will hinge on both securing a public health insurance option and the willingness of all stakeholders to approach the issue with an open mind.
“Success hinges on consensus and the ability to maintain the momentum President Obama has clearly given to health care reform,” Curtis said. “It will be the difference in our ability to put together what is a very large bill in a time frame that is not very long.”
Liz Fowler, senior counsel and chief health counsel to Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.)
Age: 42
Birthplace: Taipei, Taiwan
Education: B.A., University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins School of Public Health; J.D., University of Minnesota
Fowler leads the Finance Democrats’ health care team. She coordinates health care reform efforts and works closely with the staff of ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with Senate and House leadership.
The role requires Fowler to be a troubleshooter. “It is my job to find that common ground and mend fences if they need to be mended,” she said.
That skill was put to the test when Fowler helped pass the Medicare Modernization Act, which provided a prescription drug benefit for seniors and was one of the hallmark health care accomplishments of the Bush administration.
This effort was “personally and professionally, one of the most challenging times in my life,” Fowler said, because the issues were so complex and Democrats found themselves left out of much of the Republican-led negotiations.
Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
