January 20, 2025: Join Sarah Richardson in conversation with Lynn Shapiro Snyder, a trailblazing healthcare regulatory lawyer with 45 years of experience at Epstein Becker Green. From her early days helping in her family's pharmacy to founding the Women's Business Leaders of U.S. Healthcare Industry Foundation (WBL), Lynn shares intimate insights about navigating Washington DC's healthcare policy landscape. Discover how one frustrated executive's search for peer connection sparked a movement growing to 1,600 members across 49 states. Lynn offers unique perspectives on healthcare innovation cycles, the future of women's health technology, and what it takes to influence policy change - whether you're inside or outside the Beltway.
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[:Hi, I'm Sarah Richardson, former CIO and President of the 229 Executive Development Community. Welcome to Flourish, where we delve into captivating career origin stories and spark conversations that inspire, inform, and foster community.
Join us as we explore the journeys that have shaped successful professionals and uncover the insights that can help you thrive on your career path. Thanks for joining us.
On today's episode, we are joined by Lynn Shapiro Snyder, a senior healthcare regulatory and AI compliance lawyer with over 40 years of experience at Epstein, Becker Green. Lynn is a strategic advisor to healthcare and life sciences companies, guiding them through complex regulatory reimbursement and compliance challenges.
e includes advising on fraud [:With a deep commitment to inclusion and mentorship, Lynn has fostered a powerful network through WBL and has led initiatives that support women's leadership in healthcare. Today, she'll share insights from her remarkable career, her perspective from Washington, DC, and how civilians can help make an impact and causes they care about.
Lynn, welcome to the show. Sara, thank
you so much for inviting me. I'm looking forward to having this wonderful conversation with
you. I am as well, and as an almost four year member of WBL, when your universes come together and you really get to share that with the audience and help people understand the space that you live in better, it's such a powerful time to bring this conversation together, especially post election and what we're headed into.
en the field evolve over the [:always remember people by their personal stories. all four grandparents were immigrants and one of them landed a job as a kid in a pharmacy in Brooklyn.
He became a pharmacist by apprenticeship. my father was a pharmacist. I grew up in a pharmacy. And then when Medicare was passed, we sold the pharmacy, went into home medical equipment. So I did Medicare claims in high school and an HMO feasibility study in college, went to DC because that's where all the health laws were coming from, to be a health lawyer, everything but malpractice.
And the business side of healthcare. Found Stephen Epstein, the firm was about 10 years old or less. And we were about 20 lawyers. I thought I'd go for two years and do something else. I didn't know you could do something else in a law firm. And this September was my 45th anniversary at Epstein Becker.
and I'm still having so much [:That's amazing 45 years and so much has changed. And I bet. So much has also stayed the same. So when you think about some of the key moments or decisions in your career that shaped your path in law and healthcare, what have been the things that have stood out to you over these literally four plus decades of service?
Especially being what I call inside the beltway, I've gone through what I call the cycle of health law policy, which is innovation occurs, the laws don't catch up to it for a while, then when the laws come out, we have to tweak the in innovation because it has to now match the law, then that kind of slows innovation down and then people amend the law.
now with AI I, consider it a [:That's where we're headed with AI. So I get to use many years of experience to weigh in on today's innovation and I tell people I work at the intersection of policy, law, and the real world.
And when you think about the real world being an aspect of all of that, and you're a prominent figure in health care law, what have been some of those biggest challenges you faced in advocating for policy changes?
Also, how you've overcome them?
One of the earliest projects I had, I did, I was so naive at the time, I didn't even know that a law firm could represent a trade association. I thought my first two job offers was Epstein Becker and to work in house at a trade association. And I didn't even realize Epstein Becker was already representing.
at time it was the IPA model [:in health law. And then under that, I put what was the things that Epstein Becker was doing at the time. So for example, I drafted the DRG legislation for the American Hospital Association, when inpatient care went to DRGs, which is a beginning of bundle payment and pay for performance, things like that.
hem understand how to have a [:And then more recently this whole issue of how to bring a drug to market or a medical device with CPT codes and coding coverage and payment. There's a way to bring products to market in a way that helps people either get government pay or private pay or what I call Visa MasterCard. And that's one of the areas that I enjoy the most is this whole issue of how to help people be innovative and still be in compliance with the laws.
For those that are looking to get into this field, or those that need to understand policy better, and really have a place to interpret the things that they're hearing and seeing and reading about every day, what are some of those best resources?
bsite. You can subscribe. We [:And I find that sometimes people only get access to information about their piece of the silo. and the more general information can actually be more valuable. If you're a privacy or cyber security person in a hospital setting, it's helpful for you to know what's going on in the health plan area because Not understanding that aspect creates a hindrance on your ability to serve your hospital system that needs to get paid by the payers.
about health policy trends, [:Then some of the Chamber of Commerce's or trade associations are good sources of information and personal, professional societies can keep you informed. And I'd have to check, but I think that the American Health Lawyers Association actually has a non lawyer membership
So given What you've learned in your career when you see young professionals entering health care law who aspire to make a similar impact, does it still have the same draw that it did before, or has it become so nuanced that it's actually its own specialty that you have to really focus on out of the gate?
If someone says I'm, a young professional, I'm a lawyer, I want to get involved in health care, where would you steer them now?
a lot of emphasis on having [:And also, if you're going to specialize, you got to have a passion for it. It's hard to get up in the morning and read a new Federal Register announcement if you don't really enjoy the topic. And At EBG, we consider ourselves health regulatory geeks. We all get excited about those kinds of OIG announcements, things like that.
So I would recommend that if this is an area. even at the college level to spend some time working part time or full time with some type of health care.
me law schools actually have [:Where when I was coming outta school, nobody knew what an HMO was.
And now I feel like everybody knows what an HMO is for all the right or wrong reasons in some cases. And then you founded WBL, like the whole. Women's business leaders of U. S. Healthcare Industry Foundation, better known as WBL.
It's grown now, I think over:or vice president or higher, [:org. It's a network of senior executive women. We collaborate with each other. That's a great source. Stay current on health policy and health care, what keeps us up at night kind of health care topics. And we increase our visibility to serve on corporate boards.
So let's take a step back. So when you go to college and law school, you don't always take management courses.
althcare. Whether it's a law [:the content was geared more [:So I just had a bar mitzvah for my middle child, And I said, oh, I could throw a party. I could do it once a year. Everybody would fly into Washington, D. C. They always have something else they can do in D. C., visit their congressmen and senators. And I had a photographer, I had a hotel, I had things lined up, and I reached out to 60 women between December 15 and December 22 after five o'clock when their assistants were gone.
We didn't have email yet, and, Out of the 60, 40 said they would fly to Washington to support this as a steering committee, and 35 showed up, basically. And by the time they showed up, I had already surveyed them of what we all agreed on for the business plan, and I could tell what was the, 80 percent they agreed on, 20 percent we had to discuss.
me in the night before for a [:We had 75 people at the first summit. And the rest I call is history. We're up to, I think, about 1, 600 members. We have three signature events, an annual summit where we really network. We have some good executive MBA content, but I want to be in that audience because I hear things that I can take back the next week and apply to my day job.
ationship before you have an [:And if you don't invest time in relationship building, you're missing out on the fun side. of your work, because relationships matter.
That is the power, among so many other things about WBL is, You join a group that wants you there, that supports you, that asks those questions. How can I help you? What do you need in your career? And everybody's at a different stage. And so even for those that have the similarities, it's such a nice idea to be able to like, Oh so and so's in that city.
Let me set you up with lunch with this person. And when you reach out to the WBL network and you said, Hey, I just met Lynn as an example. And she lives in Dallas. Do you want to have lunch with her? The answer is always yes. People do not say no in WBL. And if they're not the right person, they help you find the one that is.
an executive leader, because [:I love being a customer. I love being a member. I just, I go to as many of the events as I can because I truly enjoy the camaraderie and I tell the women. If you reach out to somebody in our private network and they don't respond, you tell me about them. Because we're not about quantity, we're about quality.
And we used to have a much larger list when I had no dues, and we shrunk it , we made a conscious decision that it was more important to have an engaged
then a larger number that was not as engaged. , I forget what number we dropped down to, but we're already double that number.
of it, you have to be active [:First of all, it's really a privilege to be a lawyer in the Washington, D. C. area. When I'm in a Starbucks in Washington, D. C., people talk my language, which is policy, law, and the real world. So the thing I've learned the most is that We're very fortunate to have such an open society that allows for the lobbying of your interest with our members of Congress.
ist of issues that everybody [:For example, the physician fee schedule for the Medicare program comes out every year, and organizations like the American Medical Association, it's like their number one issue, and they'll rally other physician specialty groups around it so that there is like a coalition of consent so that a Capitol Hill person gets like one message. However, Our sweet spot in terms of the kind of work that we do is when the issue of the company is more unique to that company.
important for you to fix it [:Sometimes those issues fall under a radar screen and can get more easily fixed because they're not controversial. And sometimes they're very controversial and somebody has created a coalition on the other side fighting your issue.
What we do is we figure out what is the statement of the problem. That's the most important thing, first and foremost. Do you even have the problem? And two, is Capitol Hill the right place to get the solution or is it a federal agency?
And we're going to have a lame duck session. Those of you who may not know lame duck, that is the time period between now and the new Congress that starts in January because of the election, where certain members of Congress now will be retiring at the end of the year, and they can vote.
e of the things I've studied [:And that makes sense politically because there's nothing that says you have to have more than one vote to get it passed and there are members of Congress who want to get re elected who will say to the president, I support what you're doing but can I get a pass on this one and vote a different way?
You're a student of history, like the Medicare and Medicaid program were enacted the same day as a political compromise. And how many things, the Emancipation Proclamation, everything. One vote. One vote.
not the person that you ever [:I want to dig into either something that you were passionate about when you represented it, either legislation, the Hill, etc. Was it something that passed that was really important to you that you're like, yes, we did that, or something that you were passionate about that did not quite make it. To share both spectrums would be fascinating for our listeners.
Actually, I have a
like to share that one. So in:es, that's a whole different [:rove what was in existence in:ur corners of what I call the:For individuals that are not in public office or not in the Beltway, what are some effective ways to make a difference in causes they care about?
eir district offices people, [:C. and meet with their federal staffers as well. I think anyone who has a business in health care should have a personal relationship with their representatives. Because you need that relationship before you have the ask.
Yes.
And you don't have to give a lot of money. It doesn't have to be a gazillion dollars.
You don't have to be Elon Musk. But you'd be surprised how much the member of Congress actually appreciates having someone tell them what's going on in health care in their district, what issue, and that perspective can be very informative because you don't know who visited that office the hour before, and you don't know who visited the office the hour later.
ir plate that you may not be [:You can do it yourself. If you go on the website, it'll tell you who your member is and you get one member for a district and you get two senators per state. I know there's some very tiny states in America that get two senators, but you're lucky if you're in a smaller state. You could more easily have a personal relationship with these members.
In the old days, they used to be all older than me, and now they're mostly younger than me.
If people don't feel like they have the financial means to have an impact, the one of the best currencies is time. And if the advocacy that you are passionate about You can donate the time or an educated perspective towards that's powerful local influence that.
hey're asking, like, how can [:If you can get those two things you're going to be so much better off. And they're like, Really? That's part of the issue? And I said, that's your biggest issue. You can't get an appointment. And then when you do, you're billing as a disaster on the back end. And they were like, wow, no one's really ever told us that from that perspective before.
So I always say to people like, never underestimate the power of your time.
I would also tell you from an outsider, and I'm managing my 93 year old dad's healthcare experience. Unfortunately, he had urinary tract infection recently. And your ability to call the nurse's station on the floor where he is so you can find out what happened or a change in meds at the hospital level was such a challenge.
he went to rehab, it was so [:not easy at all. And if you and I have challenges navigating our crazy chaotic healthcare system, I have no idea how regular people do it who are not from the healthcare industry.
Which is why our friends call us every time something happens. Yes. And there's always,
thank God, one person in the family.
Somebody knows what's going
our most critical healthcare [:I went to Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. That's where my parents moved to set up the home care company. Franklin and Marshall is mostly pre med, pre law. And my senior year, I had a health an economics professor spend a private study.
ealthcare system. And this is:But we have known for a very long time that The baby boomers are going to hit Medicare eligibility, and we are so unprepared for this. And it's so unfortunate because We needed to plan better. However, technology may end up being part of the solution, particularly where there are shortages, and our ability to embrace technology as potential solution may end up being very critical.
is and we're all going to We [:The weight loss activities right now. actually can be a cost saver over the long run. We know that. The ability to have the statins has reduced the amount of open heart surgery that used to happen. My grandmother was one of the experiments for bypass surgery. Back in the 70s, and there's a lot less bypass surgeries happening than there used to be, but artificial hips and knees took place of that, which is a wonderful thing so that you can stay physically active to stay healthy.
estment. And then the other. [:And I know here in Florida, there's an unbelievable waiting list for the Home and Community Based Waiver services of Medicaid. And who knows if, People are able to save enough and it'll fall on the children and maybe the grandchildren to help support their elderly parents the good news is we have more longevity.
The bad news, it costs money to have longevity.
Yeah, we just did a, covered an article this past week that there's over 53 million people in America who have a caregiver role. We were talking about hospice specifically and when you enact it and different times, but over 16 percent of America takes care of somebody in a caregiver need or perspective.
life are the most expensive [:There's no magic wagon that shows up when you call the phone number. I want a magic wagon! And the hard part was, I didn't learn this until I had a terminally ill parent, and I was like, You mean nobody will, nobody helps and they're like not unless you're paying for it privately because she wanted to be at home.
And so we figured it out. We made it work. She had saved for that very purpose, but at the same time, essentially her entire life savings went to the last two years of her life so that she could stay at home and have private care and have us. supplement as appropriate. And those are just lessons I share with people.
erstanding how the law works [:lets you do those things. It's powerful thing to know about and it's not comfortable for most people to talk about.
It's like I told people there should be a course on Medicare, Medicaid, like they used to do driver's license in high school where my parents moved in Lancaster. We ended up in a more rural high school where most of the high school students were not going on to college.
And I kept thinking to myself, how much They were not taught about certain things in life to be prepared to be a good citizen in society. And I just think that these are fundamental government programs to support our community and they're complicated.
Yeah, learn about open enrollment before you turn 65 is usually the advice that I give to people right on that cusp of 60.
year you got to figure that [:I'd like to spend the time to say women's health is finally getting the attention it deserves. In fact, we put together a women's health group in our law practice whose focus is specifically on any widget and any service that's specific to women's health issues. For many, years, was very little solutions coming to market for menopause, for the fact that women disproportionately get Alzheimer's, that we experience heart disease differently.
ut there's so many different [:We have other reasons why our bodies act differently. And I just think that this is one of the most exciting areas. I went to a conference in September on a Women's Innovation Health Summit and saw products and widgets that I thought were incredible. And of course, a disproportionate amount, not exclusively, the founders of these companies were female.
And in fact, about, eight out of the 20 WBL fellows have products and services that are specific to the female population. Some of them are for aging issues, some of them are for reproduction, some of them are specific to mental health, sexual health, things like that. I think that's one of the most exciting areas of health law.
ing coverage and payment and [:demand these products and services as part of their benefits package. Because in health care, a disproportionate amount of our employees in the health care life science industry are female. They may not be at the senior executive levels, but they are the predominant workers of our health care life cycle industry and life science industry, and they deserve all different types of mental health, physical health nutritional health, products and services that have been studied specific to what women need.
asts I listen to in the news [:Because a barrier may be like, wow, I, that would be something I'd love to look into. And yet I've resoundingly heard from so many people, don't know if I can afford it. And when it starts to get layered into your insurance, what a great space to advocate.
And you're right. You hear more and more about Femtech and women's issues coming forward and being more comfortable to be discussed, which means they'll start to get the traction that it continues to deserve. As we wrap up, Lynn, and I could talk to you for hours. I'm grateful that I'm one of those people that get to off and on.
However, a couple light questions again, as we head into the end of our conversation is what is your favorite hidden gem or must visit spot in Washington, D. C.?
The Capitol Building. Really, to go to the Capitol, take the tour, and get your member of Congress to give you, they have to accompany you.
e staff accompanies you up a [:I would love to see the pictures and now I have a new item to add to my life list of the things I need to experience and that view is definitely going to be one.
When you
walk around, you see the mall and the Lincoln one way and the Washington Monument, then you walk and you see the Supreme Court, then you walk and see Library of Congress, then you walk and see the Potomac River, you see the whole 360 degrees.
And how wonderful to experience that in a city where you've been for so many years and realize there's these truly these hidden gems that even you get to discover on an ongoing basis.
Last [:Take more credit for what you do. Every once in a while you're allowed to say I instead of we. It's hard for, it's hard for women.
It is.
It's very hard for women in particular. It's even hard for me to do that.
I just love the word we. I'm not that comfortable with the word I. I should have done it. years earlier, and it clouded, my contributions to certain outcomes in a way. Although in the long run, it's not that my parents always said there was going to be nothing that would hold me back as long as I was professional, conscientious.
rt or think that's the right [:And that's part of that opportunity to learn about what it means to be management. It's very hard to be management. You're juggling a lot of tennis balls at the same time. And I just think that sense of credit and accomplishment, especially for women, to take more credit when you are really the one making things happen, and not just hide behind the credit of somebody else.
I love that advice across the board. And we have so many listeners who we often say all of the women who listen, but also all of our male allies. And many of them obviously have daughters, wives, and others in their lives where hearing this is important
lynn, I'm so grateful for you, for our friendship, for our continued ideas that we bring forward into the industry. And this will definitely not be the only time that our listeners have a chance to hear from you. And stay tuned, we'll continue to bring lots of great programming ideas forward, both through This Week Health and through WBL.
org. If you're curious, check it out. And thanks for listening to Flourish. That's all for now.
Thanks for tuning [:We hope these stories catalyze inspiration within you, propelling you forward in your own career odyssey. Stay connected, stay curious, and keep flourishing.