Suzanne Cochran, Former Provider Reimbursement Review Board Chair, Joins Akin Gump’s Health Industry Practice
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(Washington, D.C.) Suzanne Cochran has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a consultant in the firm’s health industry practice. Previously, Ms. Cochran served as chair of the Provider Reimbursement Review Board (PRRB), a position to which she was appointed by the secretary for health and human services.
In her role at Akin Gump, Ms. Cochran will advise clients on a host of Medicare regulatory and reimbursement issues, particularly as they relate to appeals before the PRRB of final determinations by fiscal intermediaries or the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
Ms. Cochran joins a growing practice that has also seen the recent additions of partners Chris Keough and Stephanie Ann Webster, both of whom focus on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement issues.
“Suzanne’s arrival further bolsters our strength in the Medicare and Medicaid arenas,” said Jorge Lopez, chair of the firm’s national health industry practice. “Her experience chairing the PRRB will be a tremendous asset to many of our clients, and we are thrilled to welcome her to the team.”
Ms. Cochran stated, “It’s clear that Akin Gump is focused on growing its national health industry practice, and it’s exciting to be a part of that. I’m eager to put the knowledge and skills I have gained, both in private practice and while at the PRRB, to work on behalf of the firm’s clients.”
Prior to her appointment to the PRRB, Ms. Cochran was a shareholder in a boutique Dallas law firm. While there, she represented health care providers and practitioners in the litigation of Medicare and Medicaid overpayments, appeals of administrative decisions, termination of health care providers’ participation in federal health care programs and sanctions for fraud and abuse. She has also served as assistant regional attorney in the Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services, in its Dallas Regional Office.
Ms. Cochran earned her J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law and her B.A. from Texas A&M University-Commerce. She is a member of the Texas Bar.
Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading international law firm, numbers more than 800 lawyers and advisors in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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