Keith J. Fontenot

Biography

Keith J. Fontenot is the Managing Director of the Government Relations & Public Policy department of Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, PC. Mr. Fontenot brings to the firm a wealth of experience in health policy at the highest levels of government, in both the Executive and Legislative branches. Most recently, as the top health care budget official at OMB he was heavily involved in the development and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. In his four years in that role, he advised the most senior levels of the White House, the top leadership of key federal health agencies, and members of Congress, on budget, legislative, and regulatory issues in major health programs.

In addition to his four plus years as Associate Director for Health at OMB, Mr. Fontenot served as Deputy Assistant Director for Health and Human Resources at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and as Chief of the Health Financing Branch at OMB. In these positions Mr. Fontenot was closely involved in virtually every aspect of health policy, including: the creation of new payment systems in post acute care, major reforms to other payment systems in Medicare, negotiation of Medicaid waivers, and development and implementation of the Medicare prescription drug program. He oversaw cost estimates and related analysis for health, education and income security programs at CBO, and was deeply involved in helping the agency prepare for health reform legislation, including CBO’s development of options such as Accountable Care Organizations.

Mr. Fontenot is also a Visiting Scholar at the Brookings Institution, where he works with former CMS Administrator Mark McClellan on Brookings’ ongoing efforts in health reform. Mr. Fontenot began his federal career as a budget examiner at OMB for Social Security and other retirement programs in 1982. He holds a M.A. in public policy from Duke University, and a B.A. from the Old Dominion University.