American Health Law Association Announces S. Craig Holden as President

With the passing of the gavel at last month’s Annual Meeting, the American Health Law Association (AHLA) Board of Directors installed S. Craig Holden as the Association’s President.

As President, Mr. Holden plays a key role in guiding the Association through one of the most difficult times in modern American history. The challenges faced from the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with protests and dialogue around racial injustice in general and inequities in health care specifically, are requiring organizations to reevaluate how they connect with their stakeholders and support them through these unprecedented times. 

Mr. Holden has set the following goals for his presidential year:

• Be a Positive Contributor to the Dialogue. AHLA will contribute to the dialogue on racial and other inequities in health care and address potential solutions to dismantle barriers. AHLA will focus on such topics as social determinants of health, health care disparities, and the impact of laws and regulations on access to care by underserved communities.
• Foster a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive AHLA Talent Pipeline. AHLA has been vital to a multitude of health law professionals’ success, providing opportunities to network with and learn from leading practitioners in the field. AHLA will ensure it continues to provide the same experience to the newest generation of health law professionals.
• Continue to Adapt and Thrive.  AHLA is financially strong and in a unique position to thrive during this period of uncertainty. In order to leverage our resources, AHLA will pursue collaboration with other organizations to better support the health law community, recruit young professionals into AHLA’s talent pipeline, and provide them the resources to become the “trusted advisors” that the health law community at large needs during this time and beyond.

Mr. Holden, a Shareholder with Baker Donelson, focuses his practice on serving clients in all areas of the health care industry, with emphasis on advising clients on Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse issues, pharmaceutical pricing issues, Medicare and other third-party reimbursement issues, and general compliance matters.

Mr. Holden is a former trial attorney with the Inspector General Division, Office of the General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). At HHS, he was responsible for litigating actions imposing civil money penalties and assessments, as well as suspensions from Medicare and Medicaid participation, based on violations of the Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse statutes. He was extensively involved in issues arising under the anti-kickback provisions of the Social Security Act and in the drafting and passage of the Medicare and Medicaid Patient and Program Protection Act of 1987.

Mr. Holden earned his B.A. from the Catholic University of America and his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.

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About Baker Donelson

Baker Donelson is among the 70 largest law firms in the country, with more than 650 attorneys and public policy advisors representing more than 30 practice areas to serve a wide range of legal needs across 21 offices in 10 states and Washington, D.C. With more than 200 attorneys serving the health care industry, the Baker Ober Health Law Group is widely recognized as one of the nation's largest and leading health care practices. Dedicated client teams serve a wide array of health enterprises, providing a depth of collective regulatory, transactional and policy experience.