Tarplin, Downs & Young

What Tarplin, Downs & Young does

Tarplin, Downs & Young, LLC (TDY) is a Washington, D.C.-based strategic consulting and policy development firm founded in January 2006 by Linda Tarplin, Rai Downs, and Jennifer Young. The firm focuses exclusively on U.S. healthcare policy and serves four client categories: patient advocacy groups, global corporations, trade associations, and provider organizations. Services consist of customized strategic advice, policy development, and direct lobbying on legislative and regulatory priorities, delivered by a partner-led team with direct prior senior experience inside the Congressional committees and Executive branch agencies that shape federal health policy.

TDY's competitive position rests on the personal Capitol Hill and Executive branch biographies of its partners. The current roster of 14 partners includes former senior staff from the Senate Finance Committee (under Chairmen Baucus and Wyden), the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate HELP Committee, the Senate Appropriations subcommittee covering FDA, the Department of Health and Human Services (including a former Assistant Secretary for Legislation), the FDA, the CDC, and the White House. Partners have direct authorship or negotiation credits on landmark legislation including the Medicare Modernization Act, the Affordable Care Act, the SGR physician payment repeal, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, and the Inflation Reduction Act drug pricing provisions.

The firm operates a sales-led, direct engagement business model targeting enterprise healthcare clients through partner-driven relationships rather than traditional marketing channels. Engagement terms are individually negotiated and not publicly disclosed, consistent with retainer-based professional services. Operations are domestic-only, conducted from a single headquarters at 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., with no subsidiaries, no external investors, and no parent company. There is no technology or AI/ML product layer; the firm's offering is human-delivered strategic advisory services.

Name

Tarplin, Downs & Young

Legal name

Tarplin, Downs & Young, LLC

Website

https://tdyllc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tarplin, Downs & Young is a Washington, D.C. strategic consulting and lobbying firm founded in 2006 that provides customized policy advice on U.S. healthcare legislation and regulation to patient groups, global corporations, trade associations, and provider organizations, delivered by partners with prior senior roles in Congress and federal health agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Policy Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Advocacy, Policy & Rights Organizations (HLAJAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Intergovernmental Affairs & Federal Grants Administration (BPAIAAAC)

Keywords

• Healthcare policy consulting
• Government relations services
• Federal lobbying firm
• Legislative strategy advisory
• Regulatory advocacy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Strategic Consulting Services: TDY provides strategic advice and policy development consulting services to healthcare organizations, including patient groups, global corporations, trade associations, and provider organizations. Services focus on legislative and regulatory priorities with customized strategic advice.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Tarplin, Downs & Young provides customized strategic consulting, policy development, and direct lobbying services focused on health care legislative and regulatory priorities. The firm serves patient groups, global corporations, trade associations, and provider organizations, with services delivered by partners who have held senior positions advising members of Congress and the Administration. Engagements center on Medicare, Medicaid, FDA, CDC, drug pricing, and broader health reform policy work, supported by deep bipartisan Congressional relationships.

Product overview

Tarplin, Downs & Young (TDY) is a strategic consulting and policy development firm founded in 2006, specializing in health care policy. The firm offers customized consulting services to patient groups, global corporations, trade associations, and provider organizations on legislative and regulatory priorities. Rather than a technology product platform, TDY provides professional advisory services delivered by partners with extensive experience in Congressional and Executive branch health policy roles. The firm does not operate a software product portfolio; its offering consists of strategic advice, policy consultation, and direct lobbying services focused on health care legislation and regulation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Consulting and Policy Development Services Customized strategic advice, policy development, and direct lobbying services for patient groups, global corporations, trade associations, and provider organizations on health care legislative and regulatory priorities. Engagements cover Medicare, Medicaid, FDA, CDC, drug pricing, and broader health reform policy work delivered by partners with direct senior experience on Congressional committees and federal agencies.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• BGR Group: Premier bipartisan government affairs and strategic communications firm headquartered in Washington D.C. with a substantial healthcare practice. Direct peer given TDY co-founder Rai Downs previously served as Vice President at BGR; both firms share a partner-led lobbying model serving healthcare corporations, trade associations, and provider organizations on federal legislative and regulatory matters.
• Mehlman Consulting: Bipartisan federal lobbying and strategic consulting firm based in Washington D.C. with a strong healthcare practice. Comparable to TDY as a boutique, partner-led healthcare government affairs firm serving trade associations, corporations, and patient groups on federal legislative priorities.
• Capitol Counsel: Washington-based bipartisan government relations and lobbying firm focused on healthcare, tax, and trade policy. Closely comparable to TDY in size, partner-led model, and healthcare policy specialization, with a similarly deep bench of former Capitol Hill and Executive branch veterans.
• Forbes Tate Partners: Bipartisan government affairs and public affairs firm in Washington D.C. with deep healthcare policy expertise. Comparable to TDY in partner-led delivery model, healthcare focus, and service to corporate and association clients on federal legislative and regulatory strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Holland & Knight: Large national law firm with a sizable Washington health policy and federal lobbying practice. Comparable to TDY in healthcare policy work but delivers it within a broader full-service legal platform, including regulatory, transactional, and litigation support that TDY does not offer.
• K&L Gates: Global law firm with a substantial Washington health policy, FDA regulatory, and government affairs practice. Comparable to TDY in healthcare federal advocacy, with broader legal and regulatory capabilities that attract life sciences and healthcare clients seeking integrated policy and compliance support.
• Polsinelli: National law firm with a significant Washington D.C. healthcare policy, regulatory, and government relations practice. Comparable to TDY in serving healthcare clients on federal legislative and regulatory matters, with additional legal and consulting capabilities across the healthcare value chain.
• Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease: Mid-sized law firm with a respected Washington D.C. federal government relations and healthcare lobbying practice. Comparable to TDY in healthcare policy advisory work, with additional legal depth in regulatory and litigation matters that complements its lobbying capabilities.
• Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath: Large full-service law firm with a notable Washington healthcare policy and government relations practice. Comparable to TDY in federal healthcare lobbying capabilities but bundled into a broader legal platform serving healthcare, life sciences, and insurance clients.
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Major international law firm with one of the largest Washington-based health policy and lobbying practices. Directly comparable to TDY in serving healthcare clients on legislative and regulatory priorities but as part of a much broader legal, lobbying, and policy portfolio spanning many industries.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tarplin-downs-and-young

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tarplin, Downs & Young