JANET REHNQUIST, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL AT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, JOINS VENABLE
Ms. Rehnquist will co-chair Washington health care practice and take major role in litigation and pharmaceutical matters
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 8, 2003) Longtime senior government attorney Janet Rehnquist has joined Venable LLP in Washington where she will co-chair the firms Washington health care practice.
For the past two years, Ms. Rehnquist has served as the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the chief enforcement position at that department.
Ms. Rehnquist bore primary responsibility for the oversight of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, along with over 300 other HHS programs in 12 different agencies and with a combined annual budget of over $400 billion.
Ms. Rehnquist, 46, returns to private practice after 10 years in the federal government which began with positions as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and Associate Counsel to the first President Bush, followed by nearly seven years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney where she prosecuted civil enforcement actions in health care fraud, often leading to multi-million dollar resolutions.
In all, she has spent 10 years in health care litigation and enforcement. She has served as a trial attorney, senior government enforcer and spokesperson on national health care policy issues.
Janet is an outstanding addition to our health care and pharmaceutical practices, said Robert Zinkham, a health care lawyer who chairs Venables Business Division. Her breadth of experience as a White House advisor, federal prosecutor and Inspector General uniquely position her as a valuable resource for our health care and pharmaceutical clients facing significant regulatory challenges.
In her role as Inspector General for HHSs massive array of programs, Ms. Rehnquist managed a staff of over 1,600 auditors, investigators, lawyers, and evaluators who worked out of more than 80 cities nationwide. She reported directly to HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson and Congress, and frequently was called on to brief other high-level Department and Administration officials as well as members of Congress and their staffs. She also testified regularly before Congressional committees, particularly on Medicare and Medicaid.
Janet takes an aggressive and pragmatic approach to her job that produces strong results, said Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of Health & Human Services. She deftly tackled the complexities of the health care system and strengthened protections for health-care consumers. Janet is a smart, tough and fair-minded person, who develops common-sense solutions to challenging problems. She is a tremendous asset to any organization.
Thomas A. Scully, Administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said, I have known Janet for more than 20 years. She is a tremendously talented and hard working lawyer who did a great job as the Inspector General at HHS, and Im sure she will be a great fit at Venable. I look forward to working with her in her new role.
Ms. Rehnquists move follows the addition to Venables Health Care group of Ted Ramirez, who represents multi-hospital systems and health care providers in their operations, governance issues and business transactions. Mr. Ramirez and Ms. Rehnquist will co-chair Venables Washington health care practice. Venable has over 40 attorneys practicing nationally in the related areas of health care, pharmaceuticals, food & drug, and bioscience.
It was important for me to come to a Washington-based law firm that already had established health care and pharma practices and a strong base in litigation, said Ms. Rehnquist. I also wanted to be at a firm that has shown a lot of forward movement. I did a gut check, and decided that Venable is the place I want to be.
Ms. Rehnquist sees significant change on the horizon for the entire health care industry: We are in the midst of a sea change in health care, with the Medicare reform bill high on the Congressional agenda and an unprecedented amount of public debate on issues such as drug pricing, marketing, access and re-importation of medicines from Canada, Mexico and other countries, she said.
She noted that issues surrounding pharmaceutical companies are front and center in public consciousness largely because prescription drugs are becoming even more successful and life-changing for large segments of the population, particularly seniors. Consequently, the public is demanding that the government ensures their access to these drugs and that costs are kept down.
The Wall Street Journal reported that in just the last three fiscal years, the government has collected $4.21 billion in fines, settlements and restitution payments from its health-care investigations, far greater than the $3.29 billion it had collected in the previous ten years combined. Aggressive policing of alleged fraud and other violations will be a continuing trend, says Ms. Rehnquist, as the government makes unprecedented forays into health care and the public continues to ratchet up spending on pharmaceuticals.
The side-effect of increased government involvement in the economic and business aspects of the pharmaceutical industry is greater government scrutiny, which in turn engenders greater enforcement, said Ms. Rehnquist. I look forward to helping Venables pharma clients successfully meet both the governments and the publics high expectations.
Janet has a remarkable combination of credentials in public sector law, said Venable Chairman Benjamin R. Civiletti, himself a former U.S. Attorney General. She has experience that is of tremendous value to our clients in litigation, compliance, investigations and regulatory matters. And she is part of a new generation of leaders in Washington. We welcome her enthusiastically.
Ms. Rehnquist is a 1985 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.
FV SAYS: MEDICAID??? PROSECUTED HEALTH CARE FRAUD? OOPS! She missed Terri's health care fraud while at HHS.
Isn't TERRI SCHINDLER SCHIAVO ON MEDICAID since her rehab monies were taken from her??? To be in Hospice, Terri has to be re-certified every six months that she's terminally ill which she is not.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST with Wm Rehnquist getting to decide if Terri's Law is accepted or turned down??? His daughter MISSED PROSECUTING TERRI'S MEDICAID FRAUD CASE. Clearly, there is one.
The major problem is there are so many involved in the coverup, we need a complete housecleaning. To the the bureaucrats & judges, it would simply be easier to just get rid of Terri. READ THIS...
http://oig.hhs.gov/testimony/docs/2002/020305fin.pdf