Session #3: Introduction to the Regulatory Process 

Rob Lott joined Health Affairs in 2013 and currently serves as the Senior Deputy Editor overseeing day-to-day operations for all of the journal’s special content including Health Affairs Forefront, Health Policy Briefs, long-form journalism, and Narrative Matters. He also hosts the journal's weekly podcast, A Health Podyssey, featuring in-depth conversations with the authors of recent health policy research articles. Rob previously served as a senior speechwriter at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a position he held from 2010 to 2012. In that capacity, he worked closely with Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Deputy Secretary Bill Corr during the early implementation of the Affordable Care Act. From 2005 to 2010, Rob held several positions as a speechwriter on Capitol Hill working with: the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and its chair, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.); Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn); and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wa). Previously, Mr. Lott served as an editor and Dutko Fellow at the Democratic Leadership Council. He is a graduate of Tufts University and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He lives in Chicago with his wife Jessica and their two very silly children.

Yvette Fontenot has nearly 25 years of Federal health care experience and has held senior positions on Capitol Hill as well as in the White House and at HHS. She is an expert on the Federal legislative and regulatory process and has longstanding relationships with lawmakers, regulators and thought-leaders. She is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Impact Health Policy Partners, a health care consulting firm focused on expanding access to more equitable, cost-effective, quality care.

Yvette was a Senior Policy Advisor in the Obama White House and at the Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to her work in the Administration, Yvette served as Professional Staff with the Senate Finance Committee where she was a principal author of the Affordable Care Act. Yvette has also served as Professional Staff for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in the U.S. House of Representatives; as Senior Legislative Advisor for Senator John D. Rockefeller; and as a program analyst for the Office of Management and Budget.

Yvette currently sits on the Board of Experts of Axios News; the NYU Wagner Graduate School Health Advisory Board; and the Board of Breast Care for Washington

Yvette received her Master’s degree from the University of Chicago and her Bachelor’s degree from Duke University.

Kimberly Brandt is CMS’s Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer. Previously, she was a Partner at the Washington, D.C.-based policy firm Tarplin, Downs & Young, LLC, where she provided strategic advice on a broad array of healthcare regulatory, enforcement, and policy matters. She also served as an Advisor to the private equity firm Enhanced Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm focused on healthcare and held board positions at two of its portfolio companies. Kim has held multiple senior executive positions in government, including serving as Principal Deputy Administrator for Policy and Operations during the first Trump Administration. In that role she oversaw all activities necessary for the operation and management of CMS’s $1.4T budget in addition to leading efforts to reform the Physician Self-referral regulations and develop the first CMS interoperability rule. Kim previously served as Chief Oversight Counsel and General Counsel on the staff of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee where she led multiple healthcare investigations, the investigation into IRS political targeting and oversaw the political nominations process. Before joining the Finance Committee staff, Kim was a Senior Counsel at Alston & Bird in Washington, D.C. Her previous government service includes serving as the CMS Director of the Medicare Program Integrity Group and working at the HHS Office of Inspector General as a Senior Counsel and Director of External Affairs. Kim has a JD with a concentration in health law and an MA in legislative affairs.