Christian Laurence-Diaz

Christian has over 14 years of experience in a myriad of health policy positions, including currently as a Senior Program Analyst in the Office of the Secretary at HHS. At HHS he advises top-level officials on major budgetary and policy considerations within Medicare and prepares detailed analyses of Medicare regulations, including the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule that established CMS’s coding/payment for the treatment of opioid use disorder. He also coordinates the Department’s annual mandatory Medicare legislative proposal development, including strengthening behavioral health for Medicare beneficiaries and expanding telehealth for the treatment of serious mental illness/substance use disorders. Christian also serves as a Board Member for a nonprofit organization in New York that serves individuals who experience substance use disorders through a non-stigmatizing, low-threshold, evidence-based approach that emphasizes harm reduction.

HHS recently released the Overdose Prevention Strategy to improve and increase access to the full range of care and services for individuals and their families affected by substance-use overdose to combat the U.S. Opioid Epidemic. This new strategy focuses on diverse treatment approaches for substance use disorder including multiple substances involved in overdose. Specifically, the Office of Budget (OB) provides analytical support and recommendations to the Secretary in the areas of budget, performance, and program policy, including analysis of Congressional budget actions and appropriations legislation regarding addiction and overdose. An example of OB’s efforts includes spearheading the review of the budgetary impact of several significant Medicare provisions found in the 2018 SUPPORT Act which loosened reimbursement restrictions for treating individuals with substance use disorder.