Patricia DeLoatche

PATRICIA DELOATCHE offers strategic advice to the firm’s clients facing complex legislative and regulatory challenges before the U.S. administration, the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and state governments. Pattie’s decades of congressional service and vast political and policy network in Washington equipped her to advocate on behalf of clients with exceptional success. Having served in top leadership positions in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, she has valuable experience and legislative insights. Pattie focuses on a wide range of matters, including healthcare, antitrust, agriculture, trade, energy, and technology.

Pattie joined the firm after more than 25 years as a widely recognized and respected health policy advisor. In these roles, she developed, negotiated, and implemented policies related to the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, Public Health Service Act programs (including the reauthorization of the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act), biosimilars, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), dietary supplements, and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. In addition, Pattie worked closely with administration officials on regulatory and legislative matters related to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Pattie served for more than a decade as the Health Policy Director for Senator Orrin G. Hatch, who chaired the Senate Committees on Finance, Judiciary, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (then known as the Labor Committee). As the lead Health Policy staffer, she made recommendations on legislation, regulatory oversight, federal nominations, and congressional investigations. Pattie’s efforts were crucial to many of Senator Hatch’s policy priorities, including drug pricing, modernization of Medicare, protecting the aging population, health insurance reform, revitalization of the FDA and the NIH, development of regenerative medicines, regulating dietary supplements as foods, incentivizing drug development for rare diseases and disorders, and reauthorizing the CHIP program. She also was the Chief of Staff and top Health Advisor to then-House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael Bilirakis. Pattie began her Capitol Hill service working for Representative Daniel Coats, who later served as a U.S. senator, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, and the director of National Intelligence.

At Sidley, Pattie spearheads many client engagements within the Government Strategies practice, particularly in life sciences. Alongside her considerable experience and subject matter knowledge, she leverages her extensive network in Washington, D.C. As a result, Sidley’s clients routinely brief top lawmakers on concerns within their industries and collaborate with them to help develop appropriate policy solutions. In addition, Pattie’s knowledge of congressional procedures and priorities is unparalleled and of considerable benefit to Sidley’s clients. Clients describe her as highly responsive, straight-forward, tenacious, possessing strong analytical skills, and able to adapt quickly and effectively to the changing political and/or legislative landscape.

Pattie is a long-time member of Health on Wednesday, an organization for executive women who represent the interests of the healthcare sector in Washington. She also is a member and former chair of the alumni advisory board for the College of Humanities & Behavioral Sciences at Radford University. Pattie regularly mentors students and recent graduates who are interested in pursuing careers in government service.

Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy

At Sidley, Pattie has provided strategic advice to clients in numerous policy matters, including:

• A genetic sequencing company in lobbying Congress, the administration, and state officials to support the completion of a merger with a private company.
• An international nonprofit that promotes umbilical cord blood banking and research by educating Congress on the science of blood stem cells and why continued federal funding is necessary for treatments of chronic illnesses.
• An international pharmaceutical company in developing and implementing a multifaceted congressional and agency strategy to obtain approval for its product.
• A biotechnology company that produces an FDA-approved genetically engineered animal by developing a successful strategy to allow the domestic marketing and sale of this product.
• A minority-owned company that was in jeopardy of losing its government contract.
• A biotech company that produced bioengineered insects by facilitating educational congressional briefings on the scientific benefits of this technology.
• An energy company seeking federal approval for its carbon capture project.
• An international pharmaceutical company that developed complex drugs to treat chronic kidney disease by spearheading successful legislative and advocacy strategies.
• Biotechnology companies by preparing executive leaders for testifying before key congressional committees by drafting testimony and responses to anticipated questions from congressional committee members.
• Biotechnology companies on preparing for meetings with administrative officials and U.S. members of Congress in both Washington, D.C. and state offices.

*Not admitted to practice law.