Thorn Run Partners Case Studies

Thorn Run Partners represents clients in a variety of policy areas, including health care, food safety, renewable energy, education, technology, transportation and appropriations. The following case studies offer examples of a few of the many government relations successes we have helped our clients to achieve recently. Please feel free to ask us for more details about these success stories, or about our experience with any other subject matter areas.

Turning Around Adverse Agency Decisions

After a corporate client was told by a federal agency about a regulatory ruling that would have prevented the business from operating, we succeeded in inserting language in federal legislation that overturned the agency's decision and allowed the client's business unit to continue operating. The effort involved coordination with congressional leaders and state officials to offer their opposition to the agency ruling and the generation of support for the effort on Capitol Hill.

Using the Legislative Process to Create Desirable Industry Regulation

An industry association client was looking to get their foot in the door to a federal agency to ask for new rules governing the manufacturing of their food product. Through appropriations language that garnered bipartisan support, we were successful at executing a strategy that resulted in a desired increase in regulatory oversight that benefited the industry and its association.

Managing Congressional Hearings to Drive the Client's Agenda

A high profile client in the financial services space wanted to tell his story to Congress in order to promote his agenda for how to better protect taxpayers' investment in a particular company that had been bailed out. We succeeded in guiding the client through a very positive appearance before the House of Representatives committee of jurisdiction and aided in the follow up effort that helped to move client's proposals from idea to reality.

Helping Institutions to Identify Federal Funding Opportunities and Establish Themselves as Trusted Thought Leaders

An institution of higher education was looking to compete for both earmarked and competitive funding opportunities within the federal government and to have a seat at the table when major policy decisions were made in Washington affecting higher education. We developed a comprehensive long-term strategy that enabled the institution to develop successful funding proposals to Congress and federal agencies that resulted in a number of streams of federal funding that continue today. Additionally, we successfully positioned the institution to become a trusted resource on Capitol Hill and within the Departments of Labor and Education on issues impacting higher education.

Positively Impacting CMS Reimbursement Policies

A health care client found that one of its pharmaceutical products was not being sufficiently covered under Medicare due to CMS's reluctance to update the compendium upon which it relies for reimbursement decisions. Working with the client and patient group allies, we helped to bring the appropriate political pressure to bear on CMS to effectuate a favorable change in agency policy.

Impacting the Health Care Reform Legislation

Working with a pharmaceutical industry client, we were part of a successful lobbying effort to get Democratic Leadership to add an exemption for orphan drugs from the proposed expansion of the 340B program as part of its reconciliation "sidecar" bill. This exemption is vitally important to both manufacturers that produce and patients who rely upon drugs for rare and ultra rare diseases, and would address a potentially dangerous, yet unintended consequence of the President's health care reform bill.