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Alexander Hecht

Executive Vice President & Director of Operations

AHecht@mlstrategies.com

+1.202.434.7333

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Alex is Executive Vice President & Director of Operations, ML Strategies, Washington, DC. He is an attorney with more than 10 years of senior-level experience in Congress and trade associations.

Alex assists clients with their legislative and regulatory needs on a wide range of issues, including health care, telecommunications, cybersecurity & privacy, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), technology, energy, and federal procurement. Prior to joining ML Strategies, Alex served for over six years as chief counsel for Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) on the US Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship. He was the lead policy counsel for Senator Snowe on health insurance market reform, individual and employer-based insurance, ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, and health care tax incentives. He worked on numerous bills, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009, Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, Small Business Health Fairness Act, and Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Act. He advocated for health care legislative and regulatory issues before Senate Finance, HELP, Commerce, and Homeland Security Committees, as well as the US Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Labor. Along with health care policy, he advised Senator Snowe on energy, financial services, innovation, and technology matters.

Alex is regarded as one of the leading congressional staff specialists on the regulatory process and how federal agencies promulgate rules and regulations. He has developed numerous bills and amendments reducing the regulatory compliance burden of business.

Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Alex was a legislative analyst, with a focus on health and environmental regulatory issues, at the National Multi Housing Council. He was also a research clerk at the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, studying Medicaid reimbursement and long-term health insurance planning. Alex was also the chief articles editor for the Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy at the University of Houston Law Center.

Education

  • George Washington University (LLM)
  • University of Houston Law Center (JD)
  • University of Texas - Austin (BA)

Recognition & Awards

  • JD Supra Readers' Choice Awards: a Top Author on the Affordable Care Act (2016)

  • Champion of Small Business Innovation: "For Exemplary work on behalf of America's SBIR Community" - Presented by Small Business Technology Council and National Small Business Association (2012)

  • The Council for Excellence in Government: Cutting the Red Tape Excellence Award

Case Studies

Case Study Hero Karl-Storz Mintz Case Study
On behalf of Karl Storz Endoscopy, ML Strategies has advocated for uniform federal regulation to protect patient safety before the FDA and with members of Congress — and defeated the digital right to repair from being implemented in Massachusetts.

Recent Insights

Events

Viewpoints

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This week, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is back in the news with oral arguments set to begin before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The court will decide whether to uphold a federal district court's ruling that struck down the ACA. This case has the potential to reshape the political landscape in 2020 if it reaches the Supreme Court. On Capitol Hill, policymakers are working hard to bring forth a drug pricing package before the August recess
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This week, the House is poised to take action on drug pricing by passing two pieces of legislation. As the House moves the bills through final passage, focus will shift to the Senate, which will unveil a legislative package around lowering costs for consumers in the coming weeks. The scope of this package is still unclear, but it should include a number of proposals that could pass on a bipartisan basis. We cover this and more in this week's preview, which you can find by clicking here.
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Following the two week recess, Congress is back in session and will have several high profile hearings this week. For starters, the Energy & Commerce Health subcommittee will continue reviewing prescription drug costs, this time focusing in on Medicare. In the Rules Committee, which does not typically host high profile hearings, they will hold the first committee hearing on H.R. 1384, one of the "Medicare for All" proposals. 
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This week, Congress will continue to look at lowering health costs. The House has been focused on both drug costs and overall health care costs, advancing packages to strengthen the individual market in addition to a series of bipartisan drug pricing bills.
Congress has continued its 57-year tradition of passing an annual defense authorization bill with the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 finalized by Congress on August 1 and signed into law by President Trump on August 13. The NDAA makes important reforms and updates to the process by which investments in U.S. businesses by foreign persons are reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and updates and codifies Department of Commerce practices related to export controls.

As of June 2015, 24 states utilize a traumatic or acquired brain injury waiver,1 as provided under section 1915(c) of the Social Security Act, which are designed to help individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) live in the community setting of their choice.
The next six weeks are shaping up to be the final work period before the summer recess, with both chambers scheduled to leave DC by July 15th for party conventions followed by the August recess.
Here in Washington, it seems everyone has an idea on a drug “fix”:  amendments to the provisions governing Medicare reimbursement, new rebate requirements, changes to price reporting measures, revisions to the 340B Drug Discount Program, etc. Proposals are interesting, but will Congress actually do anything?  If anything is actually going to pass, it has to get through the Senate.
The next work period basically runs from April 4 to May 27, with both chambers adjourning for a week long recess the week of May 2. Following this work period, there will be five weeks left on the legislative calendar before Congress recesses for Summer.
This morning, the Senate HELP Committee will hold an executive session regarding the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016, a comprehensive mental health package negotiated in part by the Senate HELP Committee and the Administration.

News & Press

Events

Oct
26
2023

A Conversation with Governor Bill Weld

Mintz Toronto Office (200 Bay St, South Tower Suite 2800 Toronto, ON M5J 2J3)

Jun
19
2019

Health Care & Cybersecurity: A Powerful Combination

Mintz, ML Strategies, & Zingbox

Washington, DC

May
17
2016