Director for Program Compliance and Operations Group, Ms. Tranchida was responsible for directing Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug audit and enforcement programs

Washington, DC (January 27, 2012) – Expanding its team of top healthcare compliance advisers, Venable LLP announced that Brenda Tranchida, a senior official in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has joined the firm as Of Counsel in the Washington and Baltimore offices.

Ms. Tranchida served as a senior official at CMS for 15 years, rising to become Director for Program Compliance and Operations Group. She was responsible for directing the Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Prescription Drug (Part D) audit and enforcement programs, providing compliance oversight for hundreds of private health companies that contract to provide health and prescription drug benefits to nearly 30 million Medicare beneficiaries, with a federal expenditure of over $150 billion annually.

She was also responsible for developing and implementing annual risk-based targeted oversight strategies to ensure regulatory compliance by private entities. Ms. Tranchida worked closely with CMS’s program integrity leadership to combat fraud, waste and abuse, and institute regulatory compliance oversight strategies to measure the effectiveness of private healthcare compliance programs. She was also tasked with ensuring that private entities take effective corrective action for non-compliance, including taking enforcement actions.

Previously, Ms. Tranchida served as Director for Employer Policy and Operations Group at CMS. She directed compliance, policy, operations and outreach activities related to the implementation of all employer programs under the Medicare Modernization Act, including the Retiree Drug Subsidy Program, a web-based, paperless system which enrolled millions of Medicare-eligible retirees.

Before joining CMS, Ms. Tranchida was an attorney in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the General Counsel. She began her legal career as an associate at Venable.

“Brenda rose through the ranks of CMS, to become a major figure in its regulatory regime,” said Robert Zinkham, who heads Venable’s Healthcare practice group. “Medicare is always a big component of any healthcare issue, because of the huge portion it contributes to the reimbursement equation. Employers, insurers, drug providers and others in the healthcare ecosystem need to make sure their programs adhere to a multitude of Medicare requirements.

“Brenda’s long focus on Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans, combined with her deep knowledge of compliance programs, makes her invaluable for clients looking to navigate the complexities of modern healthcare law,” Mr. Zinkham added. “We’re thrilled to welcome Brenda back to Venable and look forward to working with her. She brings an important new level of regulatory expertise to our existing healthcare transactional and compliance work.”

At Venable, Ms. Tranchida joins a group of healthcare attorneys, including numerous former government officials. The firm recently added Ralph S. Tyler, most recently Chief Counsel of the Food and Drug Administration and former Insurance Commissioner of the State of Maryland, and Christopher Condeluci, who served as Tax & Benefits Counsel to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, where he had a hand in reshaping key legislation covering healthcare, retirement plans, executive compensation, payroll taxes and insurance.

“Venable has one of the leading healthcare transactional practices, and a roster of top attorneys and policymakers from government agencies and healthcare companies who understand the intricacies of compliance,” said Ms. Tranchida. “A lot has obviously happened in my career since I started out as an associate at the firm twenty years ago. I am excited about returning in my new role.”

Ms. Tranchida received her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law, Baltimore, and her B.A. from the University of Connecticut.

# # #

Note: An American Lawyer Global 100 law firm, Venable serves corporate, institutional, governmental, nonprofit and individual clients throughout the U.S. and around the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in California, Maryland, New York and Virginia, Venable LLP lawyers and legislative advisors serve the needs of our domestic and global clients in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property, regulatory and government affairs.