"I love to watch the State of the Union address each year. I know that whatever health issues the President mentions will most likely be the issues I work on for the next year." More from Christy's perspective

Christy Tinnes is a Principal in the Health & Welfare Group of Groom Law Group in Washington, DC.  She is involved in all aspects of health and welfare plans, including ERISA, HIPAA portability, HIPAA privacy, COBRA, and Medicare.  She represents employers designing health plans as well as insurers designing new products.  Most recently, she has been extensively involved in the insurance market reform and employer mandate provisions of the health care reform legislation.  She has a particular expertise in HIPAA, from the portability, wellness program, and guaranteed issue/renewability rules, to privacy, security, and electronic health records.  She is recognized in the 2009 Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Lawyers for Business as a "notable practitioner" in healthcare, particularly for her work with HIPAA.

She joined Groom in 1998 after graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law.  During law school, she wrote for the South Carolina Law Review and clerked for the South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee, working primarily with regulatory and business bills.  Prior to entering law school, she worked in the litigation consulting division of Arthur Andersen in Washington, D.C. 

Honors & Distinctions

• Listed, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Healthcare (2009 - 2010)