Mr. Christopher Jennings
Chris Jennings is an over 20-year health policy veteran of the White House, Congress and the private sector. He currently serves as president of Jennings Policy Strategies, Inc., a health care policy consulting firm that provides strategic guidance to a wide variety of health care purchaser clients, including: large and small private businesses and associations, governors, public employers, health plans, labor organizations, and consumer groups. Services include policy analysis and development, strategic positioning guidance on advocacy for or against relevant legislation, effective message development, and coalition building.
White House Senior Health Care Advisor – 1993-2001
Prior to founding JPS, Inc., Mr. Jennings served in the Clinton Administration for eight years. As the President’s Senior Health Policy Advisor, he was charged with developing and implementing the Administration’s health care policy. In this capacity, Mr. Jennings coordinated and oversaw the health policy work of numerous Federal agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget and the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor. He also had lead responsibility for communicating and advocating Administration health policy to the Congress, state and local governments, health care interest groups, and the media. Recognizing his work at the White House, the National Journal designated Mr. Jennings as one of Washington’s 100 most influential individuals in the entire Federal government.
During his tenure in the White House, Mr. Jennings made significant contributions toward the enactment of major, bipartisan health legislation. Statutory achievements include: the bipartisan Kennedy-Kassebaum insurance reforms, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and its comprehensive Medicare reforms, the Mental Health Parity Act, the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act, and the Work Incentives Improvement Act.
Before his White House appointment, Mr. Jennings was the Senior Health Reform Advisor to the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). During his tenure in this position (93-94), he worked closely with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, assisting her in preparing for testimony before five Committees and staffing her for hundreds of meetings with Members of Congress.
Congressional Health Care Advisor – 1983-1993
Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Mr. Jennings served as Committee staff for three United States Senators (Glenn, Melcher, and Pryor) over the course of almost ten years on Capitol Hill. As Deputy Staff Director of the Senate Aging Committee for Chairman David Pryor (D-AR), he staffed the Senator before the Finance Committee and the “Pepper Commission.” He also coordinated Senator Pryor’s legislative initiatives on prescription drug coverage and cost containment, long-term care, insurance market reform, rural health issues, and small business health coverage and access concerns.