Kenneth R. Callahan III was the Chief of Staff for Deputy Secretary Hargan in the Immediate Office of the Secretary (IOS) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this role, Callahan was responsible for department-wide strategic initiatives including but not limited to healthcare regulatory reform, innovation and healthcare finance. He directly supported the HHS Secretary on policy development and execution for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Office of Administration and the Office of Finance. Callahan supported the Deputy Secretary on executing the HHS/CMS regulatory agenda, allocation and distribution of $175 billion from the Provider Relief Fund, Digital Health, Congressional affairs, Gubernatorial affairs, Rural Health, Kidney Initiatives, Global Affairs, External affairs and much more. He played major roles in cross-departmental initiatives such as telehealth expansion, Stark and Anti-kickback reform, the Rural Health Action Plan, Health IT and launching LymeX – the largest public-private partnership to combat Lyme disease in history. As part of his inter-agency responsibilities, he interfaced regularly with the White House Domestic Policy Council, Council of Economic Advisors, National Security Council, Office of Management and Budget, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of State on these initiatives. 

He began his career on Capitol Hill working for Congressman David Joyce (R-OH). Later, he worked at the National Republican Congressional Committee and then subsequently, the Republican National Committee before joining the Deputy Secretary’s office in January of 2018. 

Callahan received his BA from Ohio Wesleyan University where he was an all-conference NCAA lacrosse player and his Masters in Health Administration (MHA) from Cornell University.

Kenneth R. Callahan III