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Alexander Hecht

ML Strategies - Executive Vice President & Director of Operations

[email protected]

+1.202.434.7333

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Alex is Executive Vice President & Director of Operations, ML Strategies, Washington, DC. He is an attorney with more than 10 years of senior-level experience in Congress and trade associations.

Alex assists clients with their legislative and regulatory needs on a wide range of issues, including health care, telecommunications, cybersecurity & privacy, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), technology, energy, and federal procurement. Prior to joining ML Strategies, Alex served for over six years as chief counsel for Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) on the US Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship. He was the lead policy counsel for Senator Snowe on health insurance market reform, individual and employer-based insurance, ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, and health care tax incentives. He worked on numerous bills, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009, Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, Small Business Health Fairness Act, and Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Act. He advocated for health care legislative and regulatory issues before Senate Finance, HELP, Commerce, and Homeland Security Committees, as well as the US Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Labor. Along with health care policy, he advised Senator Snowe on energy, financial services, innovation, and technology matters.

Alex is regarded as one of the leading congressional staff specialists on the regulatory process and how federal agencies promulgate rules and regulations. He has developed numerous bills and amendments reducing the regulatory compliance burden of business.

Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Alex was a legislative analyst, with a focus on health and environmental regulatory issues, at the National Multi Housing Council. He was also a research clerk at the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, studying Medicaid reimbursement and long-term health insurance planning. Alex was also the chief articles editor for the Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy at the University of Houston Law Center.

viewpoints

The National AI Commission Act — AI: The Washington Report

July 5, 2023 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir

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Advancing the SAFE Innovation in the AI Age Framework — AI: The Washington Report

June 23, 2023 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir

The accelerating advances in AI have heightened legislative, executive, and regulatory activities focused on its implications. In a series of articles, Mintz and ML Strategies explore the federal government’s actions in this area, such as the national AI strategic plan and upcoming US Senate forums aimed at forging consensus and informing future legislation.
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New AI Disclosure Bill and AI Strategic Plan Update — AI: The Washington Report

June 13, 2023 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir

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National Priorities for Artificial Intelligence — AI: The Washington Report

June 8, 2023 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir

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Look Ahead: Upcoming Congressional Work Period – July 2022

July 11, 2022 | Blog | By Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Anthony DeMaio, R. Neal Martin, Pamela Mejia

The next three weeks will be full of activity in Washington D.C., as the House of Representatives and Senate are working to push their legislative agendas to garner support from their constituents ahead of an August recess and before political “silly season” officially kicks in ahead of the upcoming mid-term elections in November. Here’s our latest update on what you can expect in Congress during the July work period.
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Anyone who has spent any time around health care policymaking circles in Washington, D.C. has heard about the intense five-year cycle Congress goes through in order to reauthorize the biggest user fee programs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Mintz previously published this wonderful explanation of the process complete with an estimated timeline for how this year’s reauthorization was likely to go. As a reminder, the current authorization for FDA’s various human product user fee programs – with the exception of the over-the-counter drug program that was freshly created in 2020 – will expire on September 30, 2022 with the end of the federal government’s fiscal year, unless they are renewed by Congress before that time.
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Webinar Recording: Telehealth Regulation & Enforcement: 2021 Year in Review & 2022 Outlook

December 7, 2021 | Webinar | By Alexander Hecht, Ellen Janos, Karen Lovitch, Kate Stewart

Over the past year, the demand for health care via telehealth has continued to skyrocket as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the public’s increased comfort with obtaining health care goods and services virtually. Join Ellen Janos, Karen Lovitch, Kate Stewart and Alex Hecht as they demystify the current status of laws and regulations, untangle the web of legislation before Congress related to the expansion of telehealth services, discuss recent enforcement activity, and look ahead to trends we see on the horizon.  
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The second half of 2021 will be a busy stretch for Congress. In addition to the typical must-pass legislation, Democrats controlling both chambers and the White House are committed to several big spending bills, too. This preview is a rundown of these bills, what’s included in them, and how we can expect them to play out.
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Cyber Policy Legislative Tracker

May 5, 2021 | Resources | By Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld

The bills listed reflect a relatively active cybersecurity agenda for the 117th Congress.  As reflected in the proposed legislation, many Members are interested in focusing federal policy on matters such as supply chain security, cyber workforce training, and international competitiveness, particularly with China.  The most ambitious bill may be the Endless Frontiers Act, which would establish a Directorate for Technology and Innovation within the National Science Foundation and further establish regional hubs (i.e., partnerships between government, private, and academic stakeholders) to drive R&D and commercial innovation in key areas of technology.  Endless Frontiers could be the centerpiece of a legislative agenda to ramp up the U.S.’s technological competitiveness with China.  The Senate Commerce Committee was scheduled to mark-up the bill last Wednesday, but it was pulled after over 230 amendments were reportedly filed, and Members failed to garner a critical mass of bipartisan support.  The committee will likely work through the recess to seek bipartisan agreement for passage. 
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Since the Democrats reclaimed control of the House of Representatives in 2018, barrels of ink have been spilled on the topic of “congressionally-directed spending”. Better known as earmarks, this funding mechanism allows Members of Congress to send money directly to projects identified in their districts, largely bypassing the federal bureaucracy and its protracted grant application process. For more than a decade, the Congress has banned the practice of including congressionally-directed funding in spending bills. Now, Democrats in control of both chambers and the White House are poised to bring earmarks back. On March 17th, House Republicans voted to reverse the GOP Conference’s ten year-old ban on congressionally directed spending, paving the way for Members from both parties to make requests in upcoming spending and infrastructure bills.
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News & Press

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The Boston Globe covered the change in leadership structure of ML Strategies. The article highlights the promotion of Steven Baddour to Executive Vice President & Director of Operations in the Boston office.
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JD Supra has recognized Mintz in its 2017 Reader’s Choice awards, highlighting the most widely read authors and articles over the past year. Eleven Mintz attorneys were named JD Supra Top Authors in four industries and Mintz was recognized as the Top Firm with readers in the Energy Industry.
ML Strategies has announced the promotion of Alex Hecht and Julie Cox. Mr. Hecht will now serve as Executive Vice President and Director of Operations. Ms. Cox will now serve as Senior Vice President of Government Relations & Manager of Operations.
Alexander Hecht, Vice President of Government Relations of ML Strategies, is participating in a panel discussion at the 2016 TCPA Washington Summit, presented by the Professional Association for Customer Engagement.
ML Strategies Executive VP & Director of Operations Alex Hecht and Manager of Government Relations Eli Greenspan authored this HFMA Advisor article discussing the impact that states transitioning their Medicaid populations into managed care has had on individuals with traumatic brain injuries.
Alex Hecht, ML Strategies Executive Vice President and Director of Operations; Eli Greenspan, ML Strategies Manager of Government of Relations; and Rodney Whitlock, ML Strategies Vice President, authored a Physician Solutions Magazine article discussing growing interest in telemedicine.
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Events & Speaking

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Oct
26
2023
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Jun
19
2019

Health Care & Cybersecurity: A Powerful Combination

ML Strategies, 701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20004

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Oct
6
2017
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May
17
2016

ATA Annual Telemedicine Meeting and Trade Show

American Telemedicine Association

Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, MN

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Recognition & Awards

  • JD Supra Readers' Choice Awards: a Top Author on the Affordable Care Act (2016)

  • Champion of Small Business Innovation: "For Exemplary work on behalf of America's SBIR Community" - Presented by Small Business Technology Council and National Small Business Association (2012)

  • The Council for Excellence in Government: Cutting the Red Tape Excellence Award

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Alexander Hecht

ML Strategies - Executive Vice President & Director of Operations

Washington, DC