FIRST IN PI — HILL HEALTH CARE AIDE LAUNCHING OWN SHOP: Adam Buckalew, a Hill veteran and former lobbyist for the American Osteopathic Association, is launching his own strategic advising firm, alb solutions. Buckalew most recently served under Senate HELP Chair Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) as deputy health policy director for the panel, helping craft December’s deal to end so-called surprise medical bills as well as last year’s CARES Act. Prior to that, he was coalitions director and deputy chief health counsel for then-House Energy and Commerce Chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.).
— Buckalew told PI the retirement of both of his two previous bosses prompted his return to the private sector (though one will soon become his competition on K Street). The firm’s primary focus will be on health care, but Buckalew plans to advise on clients’ interests “spanning the entire jurisdictions of the HELP and Energy and Commerce committees — ranging from employers and manufacturers, to telecommunications innovators and energy providers.”