100 Most Influential People in Healthcare - 2021

The Justice Department has a keen eye on healthcare, including how money funnels into the industry. The enforcement agency, under Attorney General Merrick Garland, is going after two high-profile areas of healthcare: Medicare Advantage and private equity funding. Garland served as an Article III federal judge on the U.S. Court of appeals, following nomination by President Bill Clinton. He was nominated to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court by President Barack Obama, but the nomination was returned without a vote. Garland received his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Garland speaks: “It’s plain to me that there has been and remains discrimination against African-Americans and other communities of color, and other ethnic minorities. I think it’s reflected in discrimination in housing and employment and the justice system. We do not yet have equal justice under law. This is an important part of the role of the Justice Department, to help bring it about,”