Overview

When health care industry stakeholders need advice on critical policy issues or the changes they face as the industry transforms, they turn to Ted Kennedy, Jr.  

A leading health care regulatory attorney for over 25 years, Ted helps health care clients identify, understand, and navigate the potential business impacts of key federal and state legislative, regulatory, and reimbursement changes. He is also a staunch advocate for the self-determination and civil rights of individuals with disabilities.

Ted represents many of the foremost health care investors and entrepreneurs that are transforming the health care delivery system. His clients also include corporations seeking ways to modernize their policies and practices relating to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in order to hire more people with disabilities, engage the disability marketplace, and make their organizations more diverse and inclusive.

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Clients rely on Ted’s advice on providing post-acute care and home and community-based services for the frail elderly and individuals with disabilities and pre-existing health conditions, ensuring mental health parity and access to treatment for individuals with substance use disorders, and achieving corporate and shareholder engagement and accountability to advance equality, inclusion, and economic opportunities for people with disabilities. Because of his experience as a regulatory attorney, disability rights activist, and former State Senator, Ted is able to cut through the bureaucracy, accelerate access, and communicate with key decision makers and policymakers.

Before joining Epstein Becker Green, Ted was Co-Founder and President of the Marwood Group, a health care-focused strategic advisory and financial services firm. Under Ted's leadership, the Marwood Group advised hundreds of the nation's foremost health care companies, institutional investors, and trade associations. He previously practiced law at a New Haven, Connecticut, law firm and was the Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the Connecticut Hospital Association.

Ted currently serves on the corporate boards of many of the country's most innovative health care organizations, including Arvinas (NASDAQ: ARVN), InnovAge (NASDAQ: INNV), Fox Rehabilitation, EmpiRx, and MedPower. Selected prior board memberships include Press Ganey Associates, Genoa Healthcare (acquired by UnitedHealthcare/OptumRx), and LDI Integrated Pharmacy Services (acquired by Diplomat Pharmacy).

A pediatric bone cancer survivor and amputee, Ted continues to be an active leader in the movement to expand opportunities for persons with disabilities. Since June 2017, Ted has served as Chair of the Board of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), one of the country’s preeminent civil rights and public policy organizations dedicated to social reform and equal rights for people with disabilities. A trusted advisor, Ted counsels employers on best practices and ADA compliance. One of AAPD’s signature programs is the Disability Equality Index (DEI), now the nation’s leading corporate benchmarking tool for disability equality and inclusion. The DEI scores and tracks businesses on their disability employment, accommodation policies, and socially responsible corporate practices. Ted also serves on Law360's Diversity & Inclusion Editorial Advisory Board.

From 2015 to 2019, Ted served as a State Senator in the Connecticut General Assembly. During his four-year tenure as a legislator—including appointments as Senate Chair of the Environment Committee, Vice Chair of the Public Health Committee, and Deputy Majority Leader for the Democratic Caucus—he authored and led the successful passage of more than 70 new laws expanding environmental protection, disability rights, home and community-based care, value-based purchasing, provider network reforms and price transparency, mental health parity implementation, and access to treatment for individuals with substance use disorders.

Ted lectures worldwide on health care policy and disability law, and is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His writings have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, The Boston Globe, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, and numerous other publications.

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Focus Areas

Experience

  • Provided a long-term care and home health company with an outlook and analysis of federal and state legislative and regulatory trends that could impact reimbursement, coverage, and coding.
  • Analyzed and forecasted for a leading health care private equity investor likely regulatory and legislative changes that could impact each of its portfolio companies, and recommended action steps to address its specific risks and opportunities.
  • Analyzed for a leading investment firm the impact of the 2020 elections on federal health care policy, with a specific focus on anticipated regulatory and legislative drug pricing reforms and trends in pharmaceutical value-based payment models.
  • Developed an ethical algorithmic fairness policy roadmap for a Fortune 500 company to address the potential impacts of artificial intelligence on people with disabilities.
  • Advised a leading multi-hospital health system on ways to prevent disability bias and discrimination in health care decision making and resource allocation.
  • Advised a global financial services company on shareholder engagement strategies that advance the concept of disability inclusion as a new measure of responsible capitalism, corporate accountability, and ESG investing.

Credentials

Education

  • University of Connecticut, School of Law (J.D., 1997)
  • Yale University (M.E.S., 1991)
    • School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
  • Wesleyan University (B.A., 1983)

Bar Admissions

Professional & Community Involvement

  • American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Chair of the Board
  • Connecticut Bar Association, Member of the Executive Committee of the Health Law Section
  • Law360 Diversity & Inclusion Editorial Board (2023 to Present)

Media

Events

Insights

Insights

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