Valinda Rutledge is currently the Senior Vice President of Federal Affairs at America’s Physician Groups. She is responsible for analyzing and advocating for APG’s positions on government initiatives such as bundled payments, Medicare advantage, Medicaid pilots, Dual Eligible, PCMH, and ACOs.

She previously worked as a member of the leadership team (Senior Advisor and Group Director) at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation (CMMI) where she helped build the Innovation Center from its startup phase and managed the design and launch of several of the Center’s models. In particular, she led the development and rollout of the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement Initiative, Strong Start and other national programs related to care transformation.

Before joining CMS, Ms. Rutledge served as the Chief Executive Officer of several systems including Bon Secours, SSM Health, and CaroMont Health in Gastonia, North Carolina where she led the development of a 210-day bundled knee payment arrangement between CaroMont Health and North Carolina’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Ms. Rutledge received the 2013 Becker’s Healthcare Leadership Award, which is given to the top 30 individuals in the nation who demonstrate leadership and impact to the industry on a national level. She currently serves on several National Scientific Advisory Boards including NaviHealth and as a Subject Matter Expert for Sg2 (part of Vizient) where she is responsible for assisting in the development of Sg2’s national thought leadership regarding payment transformation.

Ms. Rutledge holds two advanced degrees: a Master of Business Administration degree from Butler University in Indianapolis and a Master of Science degree in nursing from Wayne State University in Detroit. She is frequently sought as a national speaker in the area of payment, clinical innovation, and population health.

Amy Jensen Cunniffe is an experienced Washington health care leader with many years of experience with top-tier government affairs organizations. Prior to co-founding SplitOak Strategies LLC, she served as Principal at Washington Council EY. Prior to that, she was GE Healthcare’s Leader for the Government Relations team, building a world-class organization with a proven track record. She also served as the top lobbyist at the medical device trade association, AdvaMed. Cunniffe also served as Director at Quinn Gillespie and Associates, where she led the health care practice.

For two years, Cunniffe served as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs for President George W. Bush, charged with maintaining strong relationships with bipartisan members of Congress and driving the White House legislative agenda. At the White House, Cunniffe played a critical role in crafting and passing the Medicare Part D drug benefit legislation. Earlier in her career, she worked as an Assistant to the Speaker of the House of Representatives for Policy, among other responsibilities in the House Republican leadership. In Congress, Cunniffe helped build the Medicare Advantage program, reform and modernize the FDA and ensure passage of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) along with two subsequent pieces of legislation to fine-tune the BBA. Cunniffe received a B.A. in Political Science from Truman State University.

Sarah Kuehl Egge is a widely respected policy thought leader with extensive policy and legislative experience in a wide range of federal legislative and regulatory issues. Prior to co-founding SplitOak Strategies LLC, she built a strong client practice at Washington Council EY where she consistently delivered results for her clients and the firm.

Prior to EY, Egge was the lead health and entitlements analyst at the Senate Budget Committee. During her twelve years at the Committee, she worked extensively on key legislation including the Affordable Care Act, the Budget Control Act, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act and the Deficit Reduction Act. She was also a key advisor to Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) during his participation in the Bowles-Simpson Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Gang of Six budget negotiations. During her Senate tenure,

Egge was selected by Co-Chairman Patty Murray (D-WA) to serve as the Deputy Staff Director of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka, the “Supercommittee”). Earlier in her career, Egge was a legislative aide to Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE). Sarah received a B.A. from the University of Denver and a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.