Crowell & Moring Health Care Group Grows With Addition of Counsel Lisa Meengs Joldersma

Former CMS Analyst to Help Clients on Managed Care and Prescription Drug Benefit Programs

Washington, D.C. – June 1, 2005: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that Lisa Meengs Joldersma has joined the firm's Health Care Group as counsel in the Washington, D.C. office. Joldersma, a former Crowell & Moring associate, returns to the firm after serving in the Office of Legislation for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as senior policy consultant for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA).

Working with a number of Crowell & Moring clients, which include national health insurers and Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans as well as health care providers, Joldersma will focus her practice on regulatory, transactional and legislative matters affecting the health care industry. A primary focus of her practice in the near term will be to counsel health plans preparing to enter the new Medicare Part D world, along with health plans developing new or expanded Medicare Advantage products.

“At CMS, Lisa had the opportunity to help develop key legislation concerning Part D prescription drug benefits, and now she'll have the opportunity to work with our clients as they adapt to these complex new laws. Our clients require Lisa's sort of in-depth knowledge as they develop their business plans and work to meet compliance standards,” said John T. Brennan, chair of Crowell & Moring's Health Care Group.

As a senior policy consultant for BCBSA, Joldersma offered strategic and policy guidance on several Medicare reform issues, including Part D, Medicare Advantage, employer subsidies and Medigap. Joldersma was also the primary Medicaid policy analyst for BCBSA, and assisted with funding and transition issues facing Medicare Administrative Contractors.

“Lisa will provide Crowell & Moring clients with legal insight that comes from both her legislative work with CMS and in-house experience with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. She knows where the law is going, and she knows the client's perspective,” said Crowell & Moring partner Arthur N. Lerner, who is also chair of the antitrust practice group of the American Health Lawyers Association .

Crowell & Moring LLP's Health Care Group provides a full range of legal services to health care clients nationwide. From individual providers to hospitals, academic medical centers, insurers, managed care companies, pharmaceutical companies, and established and start-up biotech companies, clients rely on Crowell & Moring's expertise and interdisciplinary approach to provide strategic solutions to the challenges of a dynamic industry.