Category: Health and Life Sciences

CHRIS KELLY JOINS BGR GROUP AS VICE PRESIDENT IN HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES PRACTICE

Washington, D.C. (January 10, 2025) – BGR Group, Washington, D.C.’s premiere bipartisan lobbying and public relations firm, announced today that Chris Kelly will join its Health and Life Science Practice as a Vice President later this month. Chris will join BGR from the office of Senator Marsha Blackburn (TN) where he has led the Senator’s health policy portfolio since 2022, most recently as Health Policy Director. He will work with health care clients in both the Nashville and Washington regions.

“We are excited to welcome Chris to BGR Group,” BGR Group Chairman and CEO Bob Wood said. “Given his broad health care portfolio and experience with Senator Blackburn and the burgeoning health care sector based in Tennessee, Chris will be a tremendous asset to our health care practice and the entire BGR team.”

“Chris Kelly has been an exceptional member of our team, demonstrating leadership and a deep understanding of health policy,” Senator Blackburn said. “His ability to work effectively with Tennessee’s diverse healthcare stakeholders has been instrumental in advancing our goals and ensuring collaboration across the board. I am deeply appreciative of Chris’ contributions and know that his future endeavors will be met with the same success and excellence he brought to our team.”

Chris, a Nashville native, brings significant expertise in health policy and a profound connection to one of the nation’s most vibrant healthcare ecosystems. With a long-standing legacy of innovation and leadership, Nashville has cemented its status as a global epicenter for health care entrepreneurship and management. The region boasts a thriving network of over 900 healthcare companies, ranging from groundbreaking startups to industry-leading giants, all working to revolutionize patient care.

In his role as Health Policy Director for Senator Blackburn, Chris has managed the Senator’s health portfolio and advised her policy and oversight efforts on the Senate Finance Committee. During his time with the Senator, he has successfully advanced key legislative priorities including reforming pharmacy benefit managers, combating the opioid crisis, expanding access to mental health services, and driving innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Chris has also helped spearhead bipartisan initiatives on Medicare Payment Reform and worked to develop policy solutions that strengthen financial stability for healthcare providers, improve patient outcomes, and enhance access to quality care. Chris also served as Senator Blackburn’s lead staff for the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and worked on her successful 2018 Senate campaign.
 
Prior to joining Senator Blackburn’s team, Chris was an associate at Baker Group Strategies, where he advised multiple federal, state, and local campaigns. Chris graduated magna cum laude from Middle Tennessee State University, earning a degree in Political Science with a minor in History and Political and Civic Engagement.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 1, 2023) – BGR Group, Washington, D.C.’s premiere lobbying and public affairs firm, has welcomed Raghav Aggarwal as a Vice President with its bipartisan Health and Life Sciences Practice. Raghav is a leader in federal health care payment policy, having held a variety of senior roles within the Executive Branch and on Capitol Hill. He possesses deep knowledge and expertise in drug pricing and Medicare payment policy and the federal regulatory and legislative processes.

“Raghav is an outstanding addition to the bipartisan BGR team,” Health and Life Sciences Practice Group Co Head Remy Brim Mason, PhD, said. “He has been involved in every major health care policy debate at CMS and on Capitol Hill over the last several years and his policy expertise is second to none. Raghav’s experience and insider knowledge of federal health care policymaking will be a tremendous asset to BGR and our clients.”

Before joining BGR, Raghav most recently served as Senior Advisor for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) leadership and helped oversee a vast array of policy and operational work for the Agency related to a more than $400 billion per year health care portfolio, including the implementation of the drug pricing and payment reform provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Raghav also served on detail as Senior Health Policy Advisor with the Majority Staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, where he managed legislation and advised the Chairman on the prescription drug pricing, Medicare Part D, and Medicare Advantage policy portfolios, among other health care issues. During his time with the Senate Finance Committee, Raghav most notably led the development of the drug pricing and payment reform policies included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and helped to successfully negotiate passage of the landmark legislation.

Raghav began his federal career during the Obama administration. Prior to and after his time with the Senate, Raghav served as a lead advisor and technical authority on the Medicare program for senior officials across the Executive Branch under three different administrations. During his time with CMS, he executed multiple initiatives including cross-cutting projects and completed special assignments for senior political and career leadership on a broad range of significant management, operational, and policy issues. He also contributed to the development of legislative, regulatory, and litigation strategies, participating in senior-level discussions and planning sessions, collaborated with policy staff to execute and brief senior leadership on complex program-related studies and data analyses to provide critical quantitative and qualitative context for policy decisions, and spearheaded the development, clearance, and implementation of policy guidance and regulations related to the Medicare Advantage and Part D programs, including the annual rate notices.

During his CMS tenure, Raghav oversaw the formulation, rollout, and implementation of significant Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D policy changes related to the treatment of manufacturer rebates, payment for insulins, benefit design and reporting requirements, value-based insurance design, risk adjustment, applications of Medicare Advantage encounter data, end-stage renal disease enrollment and payment, Medical Loss Ratio, coverage and payment of COVID-19 vaccines and testing, plan formulary design, Parts C and D coverage and contract requirements, and Parts C and D Star Ratings.

Raghav has received numerous honors and awards for his meaningful contributions to federal health care policy, including the HHS Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Management, one of the highest honors granted by the Department and conferred by the Secretary.

He previously interned for the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and served as a Fellow in the Office of the former Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar.

Raghav has a Master of Public Administration and Bachelors of Sciences in Economics, Mathematics, and Public Policy from the University of Southern California.