Raissa H. Downs

Raissa H. Downs cofounded Tarplin, Downs & Young, LLC 15 years ago, after spending nearly a decade in senior staff roles in Congress and the Executive branch. Downs had served as Subcommittee Staff Director and Healthcare Policy Advisor to a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where she focused on public health and commercial market insurance issues. She then joined the legislative team at the Department of Health and Human Services in 2002, serving as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation. While her portfolio captured all of the programs under the HHS jurisdiction, she spent a significant amount of time on implementation of the new Medicare Modernization Program and other major regulatory matters before CMS and FDA. Prior to the creation of the firm, Downs was a Vice President at the lobby firm Barbour, Griffith, and Rogers.