Sue Emmer
President
Sue founded Emmer Consulting more than 20 years ago. In that time she has carved out a reputation for advocating for people and causes that have far too little representation in Washington, DC. These voices include hospice patients, child cancer survivors, and people living with Alzheimer’s. Emmer Consulting has grown to also represent technology, telecommunications, and labor groups through its subsidiary, The Goodfriend Group, which has positioned the firm to be especially influential on the telehealth issues.
Capitol Hill
Sue started her career on Capitol Hill where she quickly rose to senior advisor positions. From 1988 to 1994, Sue served in key roles on Capitol Hill. She was a Legislative Assistant for Senator Don Riegle who served on the Senate Finance Committee. In this capacity, she focused on issues involving Medicaid and the Vaccines for Children Program. Prior to that time, she was a Legislative Assistant for Senator Bob Graham. In the Graham office, Sue worked on a number of key health initiatives including Medicare, Medicaid and appropriations issues. She wrote the Medicaid provider tax legislation which was a hallmark of Senator Graham’s early 1990s health care agenda.
She staffed both Senators Reigle and Graham during health reform efforts and during key events such as Senate Finance Committee mark ups, Senate Aging Committee hearings, and Senate floor consideration of legislation. Sue travelled with Senator Graham and Hillary Clinton as part of the Clinton health reform initiative and served on the President’s task force in that regard. She worked specifically on several items that were enacted into law, such as the Vaccine for Children program, provider tax legislation and a program for blind veterans.
private sector
After leaving Capitol Hill, Sue was a Legislative Representative at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association in 1994. In this position, she worked on federal advocacy and policy development.
Sue also served as a health policy analyst at the Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Legislation (ASL) office for two years from 1994 through 1996. In this role, she worked on Medicare issues with a focus on Medicare Part A. Sue developed a strong understanding of how the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulatory process functions and established deep relationships with key regulatory staff throughout the agency.
From 1996 until September of 1999, Sue was an associate at Foley and Lardner, LLP one of the nation’s largest law firms where she served in both the government affairs and health care practice groups. During her tenure, Sue helped grow and develop a new government affairs practice.
education
Susan received her J.D. from The Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A in history, from Brown University.
Affiliations
Susan is a member of the Health on Wednesday (HOW) organization. Health on Wednesday is a Washington, D.C. based organization that represents the interests of health professionals and trade associations, as well as the private sector, before Congress and the Administration.
