Kathleen Lester

Kathleen Lester provides legal and strategic advice to clients on legislative and regulatory matters involving Medicare and Medicaid coverage and reimbursement, quality, federal health care funding, health information technology, and medical and Internet privacy -- including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, other federal and state privacy laws, as well as the European Union Privacy Directive. Ms. Lester practices at the intersection of health care law and public policy. She focuses her practice on finding solutions to her clients’ problems by assisting with compliance programs or by seeking legislative or regulatory modifications. She has worked with health care providers and suppliers to modernize their payment structures within the Medicare program. She also assists non-profit organizations navigate the complex maze of federal funding and the authorization process for public health programs. She helps clients identify and resolve issues that arise from creating, collecting, maintaining, using, and disclosing personal health information. Ms. Lester has served a wide variety of health care providers, including physicians, dialysis facilities, hospitals, long-term care providers, home oxygen suppliers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, device companies, and patient organizations. She also has assisted with the formation and growth of industry-wide coalitions. Ms. Lester has experience in all three branches of the federal government. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Lester served as a privacy consultant in the Office of General Counsel to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she finalized the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Ms. Lester also served as law clerk to the Honorable Michael S. Kanne, Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and worked for Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-IN). During her time at Johns Hopkins, Ms. Lester served on a number of research and review boards, including the Human Genome Project’s Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Working Group. She has an undergraduate degree in biology with an emphasis on microbiology and genetic research.