Health Care: 10 Staffers to Know

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Kate Leone, senior health counsel to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
Age: 37
Birthplace: Princeton, N.J.
Education: B.A., Cornell University, American studies; J.D., Columbia University

While Leone may see herself as a troubleshooter — watching for potential problems within the Democratic caucus — her health care peers view her as a deal-maker.

Leone, said one health care activist, is “more of a realist than an activist” who’s not interested at “tilting at windmills.” This approach is necessary because part of her job is to balance the various interests of the Senate Democratic Conference.

A Senate Democratic aide agrees. “I think she is going to want to guide any health reform to whatever is best for the caucus, not for what’s best for certain Members’ legacies.”

The aide added that one of Leone’s greatest strengths is to know where the caucus is on any particular issue, where individual Members are and where she can lose a Senator or two without hurting the legislation’s overall goal.

Leone says her greatest accomplishment in health care thus far is helping to pass a slew of bills in 2006, including shortfalls in funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and problems with the Medicare program — issues that had been long stalled in Congress.

Liz Murray, senior policy adviser to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)
Age: 33
Birthplace: Rochester, N.Y.
Education: B.A., Yale University; M.P.P., Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government

Murray has spent her entire career focused on health care issues. And lobbyists say it shows, describing her as someone with unmatched expertise on the issues and an ability to bring people together to get things done.

“People in my job need to be willing to meet with everyone to bring as many viewpoints back to our bosses as possible,” Murray said. “The most productive meetings are ones in which people are informed and can speak to their issue, as a lobbyist but also from the perspective of an everyday American.”

In her 10 years on Capitol Hill, Murray points to President Barack Obama’s signing this year of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program bill as her proudest achievement to date.

She sees today’s health care debate as the greatest opportunity so far for real reform because the public is finally ready for more certainty and affordability in their health care services, and an inspirational president who has made the issue a priority.

“This debate is going to have so many varied interests,” said a health care lobbyist who is following the debate closely. “Liz will be the one to build consensus.”

Karen Nelson, deputy committee staff director for health for the House Energy and Commerce Committee
Birthplace: Elgin, Ill.
Education: B.A., Cornell University, graduate work at Harvard University

Nelson brings more than 30 years of health care and legislative experience to her role as the top health care staffer on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, including 18 years with Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.).

Lobbyists say it shows in her ability to harness a talented staff and execute her boss’s legislative priorities.

“Karen is the heart and soul of the health team,” said Rich Tarplin, a Democratic lobbyist and former Clinton health care administration official. “She applies strong policy expertise with strategic ability and strong management skills to get things done.”

Nelson has had a hand in almost every piece of major health care legislation to pass through the chamber in the past three decades, from holding the earliest hearings on the AIDS epidemic to developing a food labeling system and securing the Hatch-Waxman provisions that brought generic drugs to market in the 1980s.

“It helps to work for a Member who’s both very dedicated to the issues and a skilled legislator,” Nelson said. “That, and having a talented and able staff who can define solutions to problems and move legislation forward.”