Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) further bolstered its Healthcare Industry Group’s growing compliance and regulatory offering with the appointments of Medicare’s top fraud officer, Alec Alexander, as a Managing Director, and Christina Steiner as a Director.
Mr. Alexander and Ms. Steiner are the latest strategic additions to the Healthcare Industry Group’s expanding Compliance and Regulatory Services. Their joining follows on the 2019 appointments of Colleen Curran as Managing Director, Mary Findley as Senior Director, and Peter Urbanowicz, a former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as Managing Director.
Mr. Alexander joins A&M after serving from 2017 through 2020 as a Presidential appointee. He was Deputy Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Director of the Center for Program Integrity. Throughout his 25-year career, he has advised healthcare and life sciences companies on state and federal fraud, waste abuse and enforcement issues in the administrative, civil and criminal context. Mr. Alexander also served as an Assistant United States Attorney and was twice awarded the HHS Inspector General Integrity Award for excellence in investigating and prosecuting healthcare fraud matters.
Ms. Steiner brings more than a decade of healthcare industry compliance and operational experience with a focus on compliance, risk management, privacy, and process improvements. Prior to joining A&M, Ms. Steiner was the Deputy General Counsel and Privacy Officer for Haven Healthcare, the healthcare joint venture of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase. Ms. Steiner also served as VP of Strategic Risk for a national emergency room chain and as General Counsel for a health insurance cooperative.
“Alec’s experience as the top fraud enforcement official for the Medicare and Medicaid programs will provide our healthcare clients with the insights and expertise they need to navigate a complicated regulatory world,” said Peter Urbanowicz, Managing Director and Co-Head of Alvarez & Marsal’s Healthcare Industry Group. “Alec’s and Christina’s joining furthers our ability to help clients understand current fraud enforcement trends, mitigate compliance risks and operate leading-edge compliance programs and privacy protection systems.”
As Deputy Administrator at CMS, Mr. Alexander was the chief executive officer of the Center for Program Integrity, overseeing a $1.2 billion budget and providing administrative, operational and policy leadership for 500 career staffers. As Director, he was responsible for protecting the integrity of $1.3 trillion in annual Medicare and Medicaid spending, using and developing a wide array of innovative advanced data analytics systems and tools.
Mr. Alexander also served as HHS/CMS’ principal liaison to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS/OIG) and state law enforcement entities. He was awarded the 2021 HHS Inspector General Honor Award for creating and leading the case coordination process used by HHS/OIG, DOJ and HHS/CMS to collaboratively review and handle fraud matters.
“As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, dramatic industry shifts along with the scope of what we can expect from the Biden Administration’s initiatives in this critical sector are coming into focus,” said Martin McGahan, Managing Director of A&M’s Healthcare Industry Group. “Alec’s federal healthcare fraud enforcement experience, coupled with Christina’s compliance program management and legal background, will enhance the insights and solutions we provide to address our clients’ complex regulatory issues and risk concerns.”