American Benefits Council: About the Council

Paul Dennett

Paul Dennett is senior vice president, health care reform for the American Benefits Council, a trade association based in Washington, D.C. representing primarily Fortune 500 companies that either sponsor or administer health and retirement benefits covering more than 100 million Americans. Paul joined the American Benefits Council in 1996 and previously served as the organization's vice president for health policy. Paul directs the Council's efforts on health care reform, including as it relates to the federal standards established by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Before joining the Council, Paul served as the executive director for congressional relations for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association where he represented the association on federal legislative issues. Paul is a former Congressional Fellow, a program sponsored by the American Political Science Association. He served his fellowship year from 1984 to 1985 on the staff of U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) and then remained on the senator's staff through 1988 as his legislative assistant for health policy. Senator Baucus is now the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee which has jurisdiction over tax and trade policy as well as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Before joining the senator's staff, Paul worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) where he served as a legislative affairs specialist and a program analyst in the office of the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget.

Paul graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and also holds a masters degree in public administration from the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington in Seattle.