Overview

Elizabeth "Liz" Fowler is one of the most significant revolving-door figures in modern health policy. She served as chief health counsel to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus; the key architect of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Before joining Baucus's staff; Fowler spent years as Vice President of Public Policy at WellPoint (now Anthem); the largest health insurance company in the United States by enrollment. She left WellPoint to join Baucus's staff in 2008; where she became the principal drafter of the Senate Finance Committee's health reform bill; the America's Healthy Future Act; which formed the basis of the ACA. Critics including journalist Glenn Greenwald and Senator Bernie Sanders noted that the ACA's individual mandate (requiring all Americans to purchase private insurance) and the exclusion of a public option directly benefited the insurance industry Fowler had recently represented. The individual mandate effectively guaranteed millions of new customers to private insurers with taxpayer subsidies. After the ACA was signed into law in March 2010; Fowler moved to the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee its implementation. She then returned to the private sector; joining Johnson and Johnson as a VP in their government affairs division; completing the classic revolving-door cycle: private sector to government drafter of legislation to government implementer to private sector beneficiary. Baucus himself later became Ambassador to China and subsequently joined the private sector. The ACA preserved the for-profit health insurance model and pharmaceutical industry pricing power while requiring individual purchase of private insurance; a framework that aligned closely with the industry's preferred outcome.

Key Affiliations

Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (1)

Known Associates & Connections

Sources & Documentation

2 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports