John Barkett is a managing director in BRG’s Healthcare Transactions and Strategy practice, where he counsels health plans, hospital systems, life sciences companies, and financial institutions, among others, on a range of issues related to transactions and public policy in the healthcare space.
Before joining BRG, Mr. Barkett served as the Senior Policy Advisor for Health Care Delivery System Reform on the White House Domestic Policy Council, where he covered drug pricing, Medicare Advantage and Part D, and payment reform. He also previously served on the faculty of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, where he was an assistant scientist and Health Policy Scholar.
Mr. Barkett was the senior director of Policy Affairs for a large benefits and actuarial consulting firm from 2012 to 2021. He worked for a Silicon Valley startup, the nation’s largest private Medicare exchange, before it was acquired by the consulting firm in 2012.
Starting in 2009, Mr. Barkett served on the Health Subcommittee staff of the Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives and the Office of Health Reform in the Department of Health and Human Services, during which time he worked on the writing, passage, and implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and helped guide the implementation of all sections of the Affordable Care Act related to delivery system reform.
Previously, Mr. Barkett worked for a revenue-cycle management and electronic medical record company and a Medicare Advantage plan. He also hosted The Business of Health Care, a radio show on SiriusXM, from 2015 to 2018.
Mr. Barkett earned an MBA from the Wharton School. He graduated from Harvard College.
Employment History
Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University
Assistant Scientist and Health Policy Scholar, 2021-2023
White House Domestic Policy Council
Senior Policy Advisor for Health Care Delivery System Reform, 2021-2022
Willis Towers Watson
Senior Director of Policy Affairs and Product Marketing, 2016-2021
Extend Health
Director of Product Marketing, 2011-2012
Education
University of Pennsylvania
MBA, Health Care and Operations and Information Management
Harvard College
AB, Economics and Health Policy
Professional Affiliations
Wharton Health Care Management Alumni Association, Member
