WASHINGTON—DaVita Inc. has named Joelle Oishi Thornhill as its vice president of public policy.
Thornhill is based in DaVita’s Washington, D.C., office.
“Joelle Thornhill brings to the DaVita Village a wealth of expertise in managing a wide range of healthcare-related issues on Capitol Hill," said John Schaeffler, senior vice president for federal legislative affairs at DaVita. "We look forward to her being a key advocate for the kidney care community in the nation’s capital."
Thornhill joins DaVita after serving as the vice president of Federal Government Affairs at UnitedHealth Group. In that role, she was responsible for managing issues related to health insurance reform, information technology, Part D and Medicaid.
Prior to joining UnitedHealth Group, Thornhill held a variety of influential positions inside the Beltway where she helped develop healthcare legislation—working on the staffs of Rep. Jim McCrery (ranking member) and Rep. Bill Thomas (committee chairman) of the House Ways and Means Committee; serving as health policy advisor for Sen. Chuck Grassley (committee chairman) of the Senate Finance Committee; and acting as special assistant to the director of the Office of Communications and Operations Support for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Thornhill received her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and earned a master’s degree in public service administration from Texas A&M University.
