29th Annual Healthcare Conference

Political Strategist

Mr. Gaffin leads the legislative outreach and analysis in Marwood Group’s Washington DC office, bringing a wealth of Hill experience to the firm. Prior, he served as the Legislative Director for the bipartisan US Senate Northeast Midwest Coalition, chaired by Senator Sherrod Brown (OH). Before his work in Senator Brown’s office, Mr. Gaffin served as Congressman Rob Andrews (NJ) Legislative Director, one of the original authors of the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Gaffin also worked for Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (CA), Chairman George Miller’s Education and Labor Committee staff and Senator Edward Kennedy’s HELP Committee staff.

Coverage Areas: Managed Care, Healthcare Services

Mr. Mercer leads Marwood’s healthcare services and managed care practices. Prior to joining the Marwood Group, Mr. Mercer served as a Program Analyst at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) division at CMS. From his tenure at CCIIO, Mr. Mercer brings with him substantial expertise covering government health insurance programs with a focus on ACA exchange and Medicare Advantage policy issues and catalysts. As a Program Analyst at CCIIO, some of Mr. Mercer’s core responsibilities included tracking Federal and State legislative and regulatory changes, translating statutory and regulatory requirements into policy guidance, analyzing provisions of the Affordable Care Act for Federal and State regulators as well as health insurers, serving as a health insurance issuer rating subject matter expert, and collaborating with other CCIIO groups and contractors with a primary focus on working with the Federally Facilitated Marketplace development and policy teams. Mr. Mercer holds a JD from Washington & Lee University School of Law and a BA in Economics from the College of William and Mary.

Coverage Areas: Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Clinical Laboratories, 340B, PBMs, and Devices

Dr. Williams leads Marwood’s Products Team, which includes coverage of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, clinical laboratories, dialysis, PBMs and devices. This includes focusing on analyzing regulatory issues related to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other federal agencies responsible for regulating medical products. Prior to joining the Marwood Group, Dr. Williams was an investment banker focused on pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. He was engaged in helping both privately held and publicly traded companies raise growth capital and develop business development strategies. Prior to that, he was an equity analyst covering the pharmaceutical and biotech industries and covered over a dozen U.S. and European companies. Prior to working in the financial sector, Dr. Williams was a biomedical researcher and has held faculty positions at Vanderbilt University and Baylor College of Medicine. He holds a PhD in pharmacology from London University and an MBA from George Washington University.