Michael Chirieleison
Michael Chirieleison is a partner and managing director at DeBrunner & Associates in PA. He’s an expert on Medicaid policy and reimbursement, with extensive bipartisan relationships in PA’s government.
717-219-1157
Michael Chirieleison
Michael Chirieleison is a partner and the managing director of DeBrunner & Associates’ health policy consulting and government relations practice in Pennsylvania. An expert on Medicaid policy, reimbursement, and practices, he has extensive relationships throughout Pennsylvania’s state government – in both the executive and legislative branches and on both sides of the political aisle.
Mike works closely with the firm’s Pennsylvania clients, develops their policy and legislative strategies, and directs DeBrunner & Associates’ Pennsylvania lobbying. Mike is a respected source of information and expertise on the state’s Medicaid program and health care regulatory environment on matters affecting health care providers across the continuum of care. He has been a guest presenter at various hospital board meetings, legislative hearings, and association events, speaking on matters such as the impact of the Pennsylvania state budget on provider-related finances, Medicaid reimbursement issues, and regulatory reform. He also serves as president of the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania, one of DeBrunner & Associates’ largest clients.
Mike joined DeBrunner & Associates in 1998 after serving on the staff of a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and working as a legislative liaison for the state Treasury Department. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Franklin & Marshall College and has completed course work toward a master’s degree in health administration at Pennsylvania State University.
Outside of work Mike can usually be found spending quality time with family and friends, on the sidelines of lacrosse fields cheering for his son and daughter or rooting for Penn State and Philadelphia sports teams.
Contact Mike at mike@debrunner.us
Ellen Kugler, Esq.
Ellen Kugler is a partner and the managing director of DeBrunner & Associates’ federal health policy consulting practice in Washington, D.C. Ellen was present at the creation, joining the firm as a partner when it was launched in 1995.
703-433-5053
Ellen Kugler, Esq.
Ellen Kugler is a partner and the managing director of DeBrunner & Associates’ federal health policy consulting practice in Washington, D.C. Ellen was present at the creation, joining the firm as a partner when it was launched in 1995.
Ellen is an expert in government health care policy, especially Medicare and Medicaid, and represents a broad range of health care clients on a variety of issues before Congress and the administration. She is skilled in legislative drafting, has extensive contacts on Capitol Hill, is a seasoned lobbyist, and enjoys an excellent track record for helping her clients obtain federal program and demonstration grants, much-needed legislative and regulatory changes, and more.
Over the years Ellen has helped countless health care organizations forge better, more productive relationships with their elected officials in Washington and make concrete changes in federal laws and regulations. She has led successful efforts to change federal funding formulas, delay proposed reductions of Medicare and Medicaid payments, and persuade legislators and regulators to recognize the distinct needs of specific types of health care providers and adopt payment and other policies that reflect those distinctions.
On the provider-specific level she has helped organizations improve their Medicare cost reporting as a means of gaining larger supplemental payments; secure increases in their Medicare area wage indexes; gain recognition as teaching programs so they could receive supplemental federal medical education payments; and become sole-community hospitals, rural referral centers, critical access hospitals, and more to enhance their Medicare revenue so they can better serve their communities. She also works with providers in states establishing provider assessments and federal Medicaid waivers to ensure that their interests are protected in such endeavors and that they receive the greatest benefits possible from the implementation of new policies.
Prior to joining DeBrunner & Associates, Ellen served on the staff of prominent members of the health subcommittees of both the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. A lawyer by training, Ellen is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and urban planning from the University of California at Berkeley.
Ellen and her husband have two adult daughters. In her spare time she enjoys traveling and running marathons, occasionally combining those two passions.
Contact Ellen at ellen@debrunner.us
Chris Beck
Chris Beck, DeBrunner & Associates’ state government relations director, strategizes to achieve policy goals. He monitors legislation, budgets, and builds relationships with legislators and administration officials.
717-234-6976
Chris Beck
Chris Beck is DeBrunner & Associates’ director of state government relations. In this role he serves as the firm’s liaison with the Pennsylvania General Assembly and key administration officials. Chris is responsible for understanding the legislative and political environment, assessing how they affect the firm’s clients, and developing and implementing tailored strategies to achieve clients’ public policy goals. He monitors the introduction and progress of legislation and closely follows legislative activity, including committee proceedings, the annual budget process, and other legislative activity. Chris works closely with the firm’s clients to develop relationships with legislators on both sides of the aisle, key legislative staff, and administration officials.
Chris’ efforts have resulted in the enactment of legislation that increased reimbursement for health care providers and reformed Pennsylvania’s regulatory environment for the health care community. Additionally, Chris has successfully built coalitions to champion various legislative and administrative policy priorities. Chris has also secured targeted funding on our clients’ behalf and spearheaded high-level briefings for the General Assembly and senior administration officials.
Chris has an extensive background in government relations and health care policy. Prior to joining DeBrunner & Associates in 2020 he spent nearly a decade developing, managing, and executing government relations strategies for Vertex, a biopharmaceutical company, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and he most recently served as director of public affairs for the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Before working in government relations, Chris was an aide to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. Chris graduated from Drexel University with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science. Born and raised in southeastern Pennsylvania, Chris is a fan of all things Philadelphia.
Contact Chris at chris@debrunner.us
Ben DeBrunner
Ben DeBrunner, the firm’s director of policy analysis, tracks federal and state legislative changes impacting clients. Since 2003, he analyzes policy shifts and builds a foundation for client responses to regulatory and policy developments.
717-234-6974
Ben DeBrunner
Ben DeBrunner is the firm’s director of policy analysis, focusing on federal and state legislative, policy, and regulatory changes with potential implications for the firm’s clients. Since joining the firm in 2003 he has been responsible for understanding the policy environment, analyzing new policy directions, and developing a policy foundation for the firm’s responses to those changes on its clients’ behalf.
Providers often receive various supplemental payments from Medicare and their state Medicaid programs and Ben helps ensure that they receive all of the money to which they are entitled by verifying the accuracy of the calculations on which those payments were based; reviewing how they reported the data on which those payments were based – and recommending changes when appropriate; and reviewing their eligibility for types of payments for which they believe they are not eligible.
For hospitals that receive Medicaid disproportionate share payments, Ben helps calculate their DSH limits, identifies and resolves inaccurate interpretations of federal rules, and often enables them to find new room under existing DSH limits that makes them eligible for larger payments. He has done this for hospitals in a number of states. Ben also plays a major role in developing alternative Medicaid DSH and supplemental payment methodologies.
In addition, Ben helps hospitals determine whether changing their Medicare designations can improve their reimbursement and has helped some gain increases in their Medicare area wage index; reclassify from urban to rural to gain better Medicare payments; and gain sole-community hospital, critical access hospital, or rural health clinic status, all of which increase their Medicare revenue.
Across the country, state and county governments have been introducing provider assessments – taxes – to underwrite their Medicaid programs. Ben has worked with provider groups in several states to model the assessments their states have proposed and advocate changes in those assessment methodologies that better meet their needs.
Ben graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts. He feels grateful to live in the era of YouTube, which has enabled him to dabble in a wide range of interests, from cooking to computer science to maintaining a hobby farm outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his wife Cheryl and son August.
Contact Ben at ben@debrunner.us
Kate Finkelstein
Kate Finkelstein is a senior associate in DeBrunner & Associates’ federal health care consulting practice in Washington, D.C, serving since 2005 as the firm’s primary contact between its clients and federal elected officials.
703-444-8671
Kate Finkelstein
Kate Finkelstein is a senior associate in DeBrunner & Associates’ federal health care consulting practice in Washington, D.C, serving since 2005 as the firm’s primary contact between its clients and federal elected officials.
Kate represents both individual health care providers – hospitals, health systems, and others – and associations and coalitions of providers, working to build consensus among stakeholders over the challenges they face and the solutions they seek.
In this role she represents her clients’ interests before Congress, explaining their issues and pursuing solutions to the challenges they face. To do this she develops and cultivates relationships with congressional staff while facilitating her clients’ relationships with those same officials. In support of these efforts she arranges meetings with members of Congress and their staff; develops talking points, position papers, and background materials and directs the development of data to support her advocacy; follows up with members of Congress to reinforce her advocacy and her clients’ needs; and sets a general tone for productive, respectful relationships that transcend individual issues.
Kate also represents her clients’ interests among health care regulators. Whether working with legislative or administration officials she carefully tailors her advocacy to the needs, interests, and roles of those with whom she is interacting. The key to her effectiveness in such undertakings is her acute understanding of the politics of every challenge she faces: what every party in any given situation needs both from a policy and a political perspective and her understanding of when a quiet word from a member of Congress can make a difference in securing much-needed action from a Department of Health and Human Services or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services official.
Over the years Kate’s efforts have produced countless benefits for her clients: everything from millions of dollars in federal earmarks to persuading members of Congress to prevail on administration officials to address her clients’ needs in the manner in which they interpret or even write federal regulations to shaking loose seemingly inaccessible funds during the COVID-19 public health emergency from the Provider Relief Fund, FEMA, and other sources.
Kate earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Lamar University and a master’s degree in library and information science from Louisiana State University. Her original exposure to the health care field came through her work for the Georgetown University Medical Center and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Kate lives with her husband and two teenage sons in northern Virginia, where she enjoys walking the trails around the lakes while listening to audiobooks. She became a registered yoga instructor in 2019 and loves teaching at her favorite local studio and in the community.
Contact Kate at kate@debrunner.us
Janel Gleeson, Esq.
Janel Gleeson, DeBrunner & Associates’ senior policy analyst, monitors state/federal policy changes, analyzes regulations, supports clients in policy advocacy, and assists with Medicare provider designations.
717-234-6975
Janel Gleeson, Esq.
Janel Gleeson is DeBrunner & Associates’ senior policy analyst, focusing on state and federal policy and regulatory changes with potential implications for the firm’s clients.
For the firm’s federal clients Janel monitors the release of proposed and final federal regulations and legislation governing Medicare and Medicaid, takes a deep dive into those regulations to ascertain their implications for health care providers, and shares her findings both with her co-workers and with the firm’s clients, doing the latter through detailed memos, one-on-one conversations, presentations, and roundtable discussions with client stakeholder groups and executives. She also plays a pivotal role in pulling together clients’ responses to new regulatory proposals and helping them craft detailed, specific, and persuasive policy advocacy. Once those regulations take effect she remains a continuing resource for those clients as they navigate new guidelines and requirements. She also serves as DeBrunner & Associates’ in-house resource for helping clients considering pursuing new Medicare provider designations, helping those clients understand the different options available to them, the benefits they might offer, and the new obligations they would bring.
For Pennsylvania clients Janel attends state budget, legislative, and advisory committee hearings, performs policy, regulatory, and legislative research in response to client inquiries about Medicaid and state health care practices and policies, and plays a major role in evaluating the potential impact of state budget and legislative proposals on client finances. As a bridge between her work at the federal level and in Pennsylvania, Janel often engages with state officials on policy changes or funding coming from federal sources to ensure that Pennsylvania is taking full advantage of all available opportunities and resources.
Janel joined DeBrunner & Associates in 2019 from the Pennsylvania Homecare Association, where she spent four years as the organization’s public policy director. Before that she worked for the Pennsylvania Bar Association as its legislative counsel and for LeadingAge PA as regulatory affairs manager.
Janel is a graduate of Dickinson College and Penn State Dickinson Law, after which she clerked for the Court of Common Pleas in Adams County, Pennsylvania. She is from Scranton, Pennsylvania and now lives outside of Harrisburg with her husband Chris and two children. Janel spends her spare time directing theater programs for a regional community theatre company and camping with her family as often as possible.
Contact Janel at janel@debrunner.us
Laura Stevens Kent
Laura Stevens Kent is DeBrunner & Associates’ vice president of federal affairs. In this role she helps forge strategies designed to achieve the public policy goals of the firm’s clients.
703-444-2049
Laura Stevens Kent
Laura Stevens Kent is DeBrunner & Associates’ vice president of federal affairs. In this role she helps forge strategies designed to achieve the public policy goals of the firm’s clients. She then leads the execution of those strategies as a strong, effective advocate with extensive relationships in Congress and the executive branch of the federal government and throughout the health care industry, including major provider groups, national health care organizations, and national coalitions.
Years of experience inform Laura’s work as a health policy consultant and lobbyist. She joined DeBrunner & Associates after more than a decade as senior vice president of federal advocacy for the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), leading the group’s federal advocacy and stakeholder engagement initiatives and the political action and communications activities that supported them. She also led HAP’s interdisciplinary team responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency, overseeing its emergency management support, regulatory direction, and public information and data efforts. Prior to joining HAP she spent more than ten years as a senior legislative aide on Capitol Hill, working for members of Congress who served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the House Appropriations Committee, and the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. During that time she also served as executive director of the Tuesday Group, a right-center House caucus that pursues legislative solutions to public policy challenges.
Laura earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Vermont. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband and three children, and when she is not working Laura can be found cheering on her kids at natatoriums and sports fields across the region and also loves cooking with neighbors, playing golf, and skiing.
Nancy McNeilly
Nancy McNeilly wears many hats as DeBrunner & Associates’ business manager, human resources and benefits director, corporate executive assistant, scheduling whiz, and more and has managed the firm’s financial and administrative operations for 20 years.
717-234-6972
Nancy McNeilly
Nancy McNeilly wears many hats as DeBrunner & Associates’ business manager, human resources and benefits director, corporate executive assistant, scheduling whiz, and more and has managed the firm’s financial and administrative operations for 20 years.
A native of Florida, Nancy earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of South Florida but has now resided in the Washington, D.C. area for 25 years, where she lives with her husband John and Hal, her furry best friend. She considers herself a lifelong learner, dabbling in art and DIY projects.
Contact Nancy at nancy@debrunner.us
Joseph Steinbock
Joseph Steinbock, DeBrunner & Associates’ staff writer since 2002, specializes in federal health policy. He crafts diverse documents, including position papers, advocacy pieces, and blogs for the firm and Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals.
717-219-1150
Joseph Steinbock
Joseph Steinbock has been DeBrunner & Associates’ staff writer since 2002 and currently writes for the firm’s federal health policy and consulting practice. He prepares position papers, policy documents, advocacy pieces, news releases, newsletters, presentations, letters to public officials, and other documents, including the firm’s weekly federal health policy update. He also writes talking points to help clients in their meetings with federal officials, formal responses to proposed federal regulations, and responses to agency requests for information. In addition, he writes the blogs for both the DeBrunner & Associates and the Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals web sites.
Joe has spent most of the past 40 years as a public policy writer, including for health care providers, health policy consultants, and government relations consultants. He has extensive experience as a grant writer and in preparing responses to requests for proposals from both the public and private sectors.
Joe was born, raised, and educated in Philadelphia, including at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in urban studies; bleeds Phillies red; and is working in his spare time on what he is confident will become his third unpublished novel.
Contact Joe at jsteinbock@debrunner.us
James A. Tomkins
James Tomkins, DeBrunner & Associates’ data and information services director, manages databases, analyzes legislative and budgetary impact on clients, assesses hospital mergers’ effects on Medicare and Medicaid revenue, and prepares responses for Congress inquiries.
717-234-6973
James A. Tomkins
Since joining DeBrunner & Associates in 2006, Jim has worked at the heart of most of the firm’s policy development engagements. Over the years he has modeled the potential impact of proposed regulations and programs from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, MedPAC, and various provider associations; modeled proposed provider assessments and developed alternative proposals that better meet the needs of the firm’s clients; created health equity proposals for clients to advocate; created alternative methodologies for the distribution of disproportionate share and other supplemental payments at the state and federal levels; and even created the foundation for a methodology for redistributing state Medicaid supplemental payments when hospitals close.
Jim joined DeBrunner & Associates after more than seven years with the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4), where he worked first as manager of data collection and then as director of data and information services. He also served as manager of marketing and product planning for the Hamot Medical Center, in Erie, Pennsylvania, and as a project manager and statistical analyst for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Jim has bachelor’s degrees in statistics and economics from the State University of New York at Buffalo, a master’s degree in health services administration from Gannon University, and an MBA from Pennsylvania State University. He lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with his wife Kristin. Jim has taught computer information systems at the local community college since 1996, is active in his church, plays a lot of softball, and is a serial home remodeler.
Contact Jim at jim@debrunner.us