Safety Net Association of PA

Charles L. DeBrunner

Charles DeBrunner is SNAP's president and CEO. The president of DeBrunner & Associates, Charlie has spent the last 25 years of his career working in health care policy, consulting, development, and advocacy, with a special emphasis on Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement. He began his health policy career with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, where he worked on hospital reimbursement policies. During this period he also had the career-shaping experience of serving as the principal architect of Pennsylvania's Medicaid DRG system, which is still in use today. He then took his health policy expertise to the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania, where he served as vice president of finance. Next, Charlie embarked on a career as a private health care policy consultant and in 1995 started his own health policy and advocacy firm, DeBrunner & Associates. Since its inception, his firm has been involved in advocacy work for safety-net hospitals both in Pennsylvania and in Washington, D.C.

Charlie graduated from Susquehanna University with a bachelor's degree in political science and earned a master's degree in public administration from Pennsylvania State University.

Gloria J. Klugh

Gloria Klugh is SNAP's vice president and is responsible for analyzing and developing regulatory and legislative proposals, reimbursement systems, and health policy initiatives. Working as a principal of DeBrunner & Associates, she specializes in analyzing complex data, interpreting its implications, and developing computer models that emulate the potential impact of proposed health care reimbursement changes.

Gloria's health care consulting career began more than 15 years ago at a large Pennsylvania government relations consulting firm, where she monitored public sector policy issues, evaluated their impact on clients, and developed alternatives that better met her clients' needs. She is an expert in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement and regulations, has extensive experience with association management and government relations consulting, and has worked with hospitals, hospital associations, nursing homes, and behavioral health providers; she also helped create two hospital associations. Gloria earned a bachelor's degree in quantitative business analysis from Pennsylvania State University.

Michael R. Chirieleison

Michael Chirieleison serves as SNAP’s executive director. He is responsible for evaluating SNAP’s public policy needs and directions, monitoring the status of state legislative and administrative actions that affect hospitals, managing the association’s political agenda, and directing strategic communication with state officials.

Mike is a respected source of information and expertise on the state’s Medicaid program and has ten years of policy development and consulting experience. He began his career in public affairs on the staff of Pennsylvania state Senator Michael O’Pake (D-Berks), an author of various historical pieces of health care legislation. He then joined the Pennsylvania Treasury Department as a legislative liaison, developing strong relationships with key Senate and House members and staff and a keen understanding of the dynamics of the state legislative process. He also was awarded a fellowship by a major Pennsylvania health insurer to perform an organizational analysis of various financial and provider-related operations. Currently a consultant with DeBrunner & Associates, Mike earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Franklin and Marshall College and is currently working toward a master’s degree in health administration from Pennsylvania State University.

Diane Acri

A lobbyist, Diane Acri is SNAP's chief liaison to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and is responsible for tracking the introduction and progress of health care and budget legislation and advising the association on the political environment. She also handles most of SNAP's day-to-day lobbying, advocating the interests of safety-net hospitals before the state legislature.

In the past, Diane spent 18 years in Pennsylvania's state government, working as both a budget analyst and counsel for the House Appropriations Committee and as assistant counsel to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. A senior associate with Greenlee Partners, she holds a bachelor's degree in medical anthropology from Pennsylvania State University and a juris doctor degree from the Widener University School of Law.

Douglas Cook

Douglas Cook serves as a data analyst for SNAP. In this capacity, he plays an integral role in the association's policy endeavors by developing and contributing to databases that facilitate SNAP's analysis of state Medical Assistance reimbursement policies and proposals and the development of the association's own policy initiatives. He also analyzes state supplemental payments to SNAP members to ensure their accuracy and designed and maintains SNAP's web site.

Doug also works as a data analyst for DeBrunner & Associates, and as the firm's information technology director. He earned a bachelor's degree at Rochester University.

Ben DeBrunner

Ben DeBrunner serves as SNAP's research and policy assistant. In this role he monitors legislation and regulations, attends public meetings and hearings, researches and analyzes issues of potential importance to Pennsylvania's safety-net hospitals, and prepares reports and other documents. He also participates in the collection, organization, and analysis of the health care data used to guide SNAP's policy initiatives. He serves in a similar capacity for DeBrunner & Associates. Ben graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a bachelor's degree in liberal arts.

Kate Finkelstein

Kate Finkelstein serves as the association's eyes and ears in Washington, D.C., monitoring federal legislative and regulatory developments of potential interest to Pennsylvania's safety-net hospitals and serving as the group's liaison to its congressional delegation. A consultant with DeBrunner & Associates, she also is an effective advocate of the association's interests before Congress and the administration.

Kate has an extensive background in the health care field and has worked for a number of health care organizations, including the Georgetown University Medical Center, the George Washington University Medical Center, and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from Lamar University and earned a master's degree in library and information science from Louisiana State University.

Ellen J. Kugler, Esq.

Ellen Kugler is SNAP's director of federal policy and is responsible for monitoring health policy developments in Washington, D.C. with a potential impact on SNAP hospitals and representing the interests of those hospitals before Congress and the administration. She is an expert in government health care policy, especially Medicaid and Medicare, as well as a skilled lobbyist with an extensive network of relationships on Capitol Hill.

Ellen's career in the public policy area began in the public sector in the 1980s when she worked for various state legislative leaders and presidential candidates. She then came to Washington, D.C. and served on the staffs of prominent members of the health subcommittees of both the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In 1992, Ellen moved into the private sector as a lobbyist and health care policy consultant. Today, as a principal of DeBrunner & Associates, she represents health care clients on a variety of policy issues before Congress and the administration and advises those clients on complex Medicaid and Medicare policy issues. A lawyer by training, Ellen is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, where she concentrated on health care and government law. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science and urban planning from the University of California at Berkeley.

Stanley Rapp

Stanley Rapp serves as part of the team involved in legislative lobbying on behalf of SNAP. As SNAP's chief Pennsylvania political strategist, he develops the group's lobbying strategies and then oversees their implementation. He has extensive experience advocating health care issues.

Stan has more than 25 years of political and government experience in Pennsylvania and is currently a partner at Greenlee Partners. Previously, he worked as chief of staff to the president pro tempore of the state Senate and also served as chief clerk of the Senate. He also has managed a number of political campaigns for Congress, the state Senate, and the state House. Stan earned a bachelor's degree at Pennsylvania State University.

Wendy L. Sherbine

Wendy Sherbine serves as SNAP's research analyst. In this role she identifies, tracks, and analyzes legislative and regulatory developments in Harrisburg with a potential effect on safety-net hospitals.

Prior to her current position with DeBrunner & Associates, Wendy was a research analyst and advocate for persons with disabilities; this gave her a comprehensive understanding of the continuum of health care services. She also has participated in various coalitions and initiatives to bring additional funds for expanded services in a variety of health care settings and has used her analytical skills to develop strategies to advocate successfully for the improvement of the health delivery system. Wendy earned her bachelor's degree in psychology, with a minor focus in political science, from York College of Pennsylvania.

Matthew Steck

Matthew Steck serves as SNAP's state political director. In this capacity he is the lead lobbyist for SNAP's efforts to persuade the administration and General Assembly to develop and adopt policies that benefit Pennsylvania's safety-net hospitals. He has extensive experience as an advocate for the needs of clients in the health care field.

A partner at Greenlee Partners, Matt previously served as vice president of government relations for the Professional Insurance Agents Association of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. In that capacity he directed lobbying, grass-roots activities, and political action committee activities. Previously, he spent four years as a research analyst for the Pennsylvania state Senate. Matt is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a degree in government administration and economics.

Joseph Steinbock

Joseph Steinbock is SNAP's writer, responsible for preparing policy documents, position papers, proposals, press materials, and correspondence. He also contributes to the development of communications strategies.

Joe has worked as a public policy writer for more than 20 years and currently does so for DeBrunner & Associates. After serving as research director of the Committee of Seventy, a non-profit civic group in Philadelphia, he worked as a grant writer for the American Red Cross and Hahnemann University. For the past 15 years he has worked as a writer for Pennsylvania's largest government relations consulting firm, where he focused on health policy issues, and for a human resources and government relations consulting firm. Joe earned a bachelor's degree in urban studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

James A. Tomkins

James A. Tomkins directs SNAP's data analysis and policy development activities, managing the development of data needed to analyze the impact of proposed state Medicaid legislation and regulations on Pennsylvania's safety-net hospitals. He also oversees the development of data used to drive SNAP's own policy development and advocacy efforts.

A consultant with DeBrunner & Associates, Jim previously spent more than seven years with the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4). He also has worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Hamot Medical Center, in Erie. Jim has bachelor's degrees in statistics and economics from the State University of New York at Buffalo, a master's degree in health services administration from Gannon University, and a master's degree in business administration from Pennsylvania State University.

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