Bruce Shirk

Senior Medicare and Medicaid Strategist
Public Health Policy

Bruce Shirk, J.D., has decades of experience interpreting and advising on federal statute regulation and policy. Mr. Shirk currently advises the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on regulatory policy.

Mr. Shirk joined the MITRE Center for Transforming Health Policy Team in 2013. Prior to joining MITRE, Mr. Shirk’s law practice included representation of health insurers and government contractors (including Medicare and Medicaid contractors).

Mr. Shirk’s litigation experience includes numerous Medicare contract proceedings with CMS. Mr. Shirk has represented both state and federal government entities. His pro bono legal work focused on representation of disabled veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an area in which he continues to be interested and involved.

Mr. Shirk has a special interest in utilization of Federal Agency Other Transaction Authority and related authorities to enable innovative financing and acceleration of translational biomedical research, a subject on which he counseled clients and on which he has continued to work at MITRE. Mr. Shirk’s efforts focus on the means by which federal agencies can collaborate with the private sector to shorten the cycle of “bench to bedside” development and production of biomedical products.

Mr. Shirk is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He earned his B.A. at Harvard College and his J.D. at Harvard Law School.