Hi, I’m Greg. I am a dad to three fantastic kids, a husband to an incredible woman, a coach for my kids’ sports, and my family’s biggest fan in life. I am also a career healthcare guy who cares deeply about how our country regulates and delivers health benefits.
After many years in federal service, in 2023 I transitioned to consulting to support the healthcare sector from a different vantage point than in government policy and regulation. Let me tell you a little about myself, my winding path in a long and storied career, and why I’m your guy.
I am originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Like so many young people, I was clueless about what I wanted to do with my life, so I joined the Army straight out of high school. My first assignment was as a medic in an armor battalion. Afterward, I earned an associate’s degree in engineering and a bachelor’s in business and economics from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. I graduated with a commitment to return to the Army and was reassigned to an armor battalion. The second time, I was given an administrative post managing more than 30 healthcare professionals and took the opportunity to manage and observe a variety of disciplines in healthcare. I realized I didn’t want to be a physician but was fascinated by the science and the application of drugs. I met a girl and married her, relocated to Chicago, and went back to school to study pharmacy. I earned a PharmD at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1999 and then went to work for Searle and through some mergers, eventually ended up at Pfizer.
At Pfizer, I Directed the Research and Development Quality Assurance group which provided release and oversight of clinical trial materials by assessing regulatory compliance of various manufacturing (solids, parenterals and biologics) and analytical organizations. In this capacity, I gained expertise in the private sector perspective in U.S. pharmaceutical industry and drug distribution systems.
On the advice of a friend on returning to federal service and feeling called to do more, I applied to the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) in 2003. My first assignment as a uniformed officer in USPHS was at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I was responsible for independent planning, coordinating, and conducting inspections. I evaluated food and drug industry practices against laws and regulations enforced by the FDA. In this role, I gained a deep understanding of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry from a regulatory perspective.
In December 2003, the Bush administration passed the Medicare Modernization Act, which would make the prescription drug benefit known as Medicare Part D available in 2006. This massive legislation would, for the very first time, give millions of people drug coverage. Medicare was targeting to enroll 25 million people for this by the end of 2005. I saw an opportunity and reached out to the regional administrator of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services for a meeting in the Chicago office. Though they had not considered hiring a pharmacist to help manage Part D, I convinced CMS that I was a natural fit. I began at CMS two weeks later in January 2005, working as a key resource during/after the implementation of Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, providing technical and clinical expertise to regional pharmacy associations, hundreds of pharmacies, and beneficiaries throughout the United States. Within a year at CMS, I found myself in a senior role in the development of national drug policy for Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits and publication of the new Part D Program regulations, also serving as a subject matter expert on policies for Part D vaccines and drug definitions. As a senior policy analyst, I worked closely with stakeholders from CMS, HHS, national pharmacy organizations, and state/federal government agencies.
Eventually, I was asked to consider a position at CMS headquarters in Baltimore to write policy. By this time, I had recently earned a master’s in public health. Then I had a decision to make—pursue the path of becoming a technical expert or delve into leadership. I started in CMS management with a position as an associate regional administrator for Medicare fee-for-service operations in the Chicago area. I was eventually promoted to regional administrator and then served as acting consortium administrator. Eventually, I was promoted as the first deputy director at the Office of Program Operations and Local Engagement Innovation and Financial Management, formed in November 2018. My office represented the front face of CMS across the nation by leading the administration of the Medicare fee-for-service program at the regional level, which serves more than 57 million beneficiaries and supports more than 1.6 million healthcare providers, physicians, and practitioners through oversight of Medicare administrative contractors, accountable care organizations, and CMS’s innovation models and ensures the Medicare program’s fiscal integrity. In short, my career culminated in an office fully focused on transforming how the United States pays for and supports healthcare delivery in the U.S.
So, in summary, I have had experience as a working pharmacist throughout my career to keep up my licensure, I have enforced regulations, rolled out and managed the biggest drug plan in the world, and have written policy at the federal level. If you need help interpreting current regulations, anticipating changes with modifications of new laws or under new administrations, or need information to inform your company’s or clients decisions, I’m your guy.