Stephen Wright, trusted relationships, proven resultsSeersucker Strategies

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Baton Rouge · Louisiana

Stephen WrightHealthcare Policy Expert & Government Affairs Strategist

Six Louisiana places, one career: Medicaid policy, behavioral health reform, telehealth access and bioscience innovation. Explore the map, or scroll for the full record.

Read Policy InsightsSeersucker StrategiesBackground & résumé ↓

Stephen Wright's Louisiana journey: six places

  • Many, Louisiana (Sabine Parish): Hometown & Roots

    My birthplace and foundational roots in Sabine Parish. Small-town north Louisiana taught me how policy actually lands: on families who know each other by name, in communities where a single clinic closing changes everything.

    • Born and raised in Many, Sabine Parish
    • Rural Louisiana perspective that still shapes my healthcare access work

  • Baton Rouge, Louisiana (East Baton Rouge Parish): Higher Education & State Capitol Advocacy

    Louisiana State University · Louisiana State Capitol

    Where I attended university and worked within the Louisiana State Capitol, building foundational public policy experience. Baton Rouge is where advocacy stopped being theory: committee rooms, fiscal notes, and the long game of moving a bill.

    • BA Political Science, Louisiana State University
    • Worked within the Louisiana State Capitol
    • Base of operations today for Seersucker Strategies

  • New Orleans, Louisiana (Orleans Parish): Legal Education & Higher Ed Lobbying

    Loyola University New Orleans College of Law · Tulane University

    Attended Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and served as an in-house lobbyist for Tulane University, advocating for its Medical School, Law School and School of Public Health. Law school gave me the administrative-law toolkit; Tulane gave me the institutional one.

    • Juris Doctor, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
    • Concentration in administrative and government law
    • Executive Director, State Affairs & Federal Health Policy, Tulane University

  • Lafayette, Louisiana (Lafayette Parish): Early Career & Youth Support Services

    Lafayette-Based Youth Support Services Center

    Supported youth supports and services clinics fighting for their critical mission.

    • Development Director, Lafayette-Based Youth Support Services Center
    • Fundraised and Raised Awareness for Youth with Critical Needs

  • Lake Charles, Louisiana (Calcasieu Parish): Judicial Clerkship

    Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal

    Completed a summer judicial clerkship for the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal. Reading the record from the bench's side of the bench changed how I write everything: statutes, testimony, and one-page asks.

    • Summer judicial clerkship, Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal
    • Appellate research and opinion drafting support

  • Ville Platte, Louisiana (Evangeline Parish): Campaign Strategy & Management

    Successfully managed my first political campaign in Evangeline Parish. Door to door, parish by parish, the clearest lesson in coalition math I have ever had, and the reason I still count votes before I count arguments.

    • Managed first political campaign in Evangeline Parish
    • Field organization, messaging and get-out-the-vote strategy

About

Healthcare policy, translated into law.

Stephen Wright, JD, is a Baton Rouge-based healthcare policy expert, government affairs strategist and founder of Seersucker Strategies LLC. With more than a decade of experience bridging administrative law, state government and health policy, he advocates for state medical associations, bioscience innovators and healthcare access initiatives across Louisiana.

His career spans the Louisiana Speaker of the House's office, a youth support services center in Lafayette, the Louisiana Department of Health, Tulane University, and the firm he founded in 2019. That range across legislature, agency, university and private advocacy firm is why clients bring him the problems that require both statutory change and administrative follow-through.

He works alongside his wife, Elly, on many of these priorities, and the two have frequently volunteered their services on causes ranging from rare disease advocacy to behavioral health access. They are passionate advocates for the developmental disability community and for their daughter with autism and they recently welcomed the son George as a new addition to the family!

Based in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Role
Principal Consultant, Seersucker Strategies LLC
Law degree
Juris Doctor, Loyola University College of Law
Undergraduate
BA Political Science, Louisiana State University
Focus
Healthcare policy, government affairs, lobbying

Experience

Legislature, agency, university, firm.

  1. 2019 to Present

    Principal Consultant

    Seersucker Strategies LLC

    Founded and operates a government affairs, energy development, innovation advocacy and healthcare consultancy firm representing energy developers, medical facilities, technology companies, behavioral health and addiction providers, biomedical research, state associations and healthcare organizations across Louisiana.

  2. 2017 to 2019

    Executive Director, State Affairs & Federal Health Policy

    Tulane University

    Advocated before legislative bodies on behalf of Tulane University, its Medical School, Law School and School of Public Health.

  3. 2015 to 2017

    Assistant Advisor to the Deputy Secretary

    Louisiana Department of Health

    Supported LDH leadership in the management and administration of core functions including behavioral health, public health, aging and disability services.

  4. Earlier

    Assistant to the Speaker · Legislative Assistant · Development Director

    Louisiana Speaker of the House · Lafayette-Based Youth Support Services Center

    Honored starting his career to walk the floor of the Louisiana House of Representatives actively supporting the process and sharpening an understanding of its rules and customs. Began his career supporting youth support services as a Lafayette center.

Policy Record

Legislative and regulatory outcomes in Louisiana.

A documented record of enacted changes in Medicaid financing, behavioral health, rare disease coverage, telehealth and bioscience policy.

Behavioral & Mental Health Advocacy

Stephen Wright's behavioral health work in Louisiana has focused on payment reform, insurance parity and community-based treatment.

  • Secured a 25% increase in Louisiana Medicaid rates for substance use disorder services, the first increase in over a decade, supporting outpatient, inpatient and criminal-justice-setting care.
  • Led the effort to mandate parity in health insurance coverage for behavioral health services in Louisiana.
  • Successfully advocated for the expansion of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams, providing mobile, in-community support for individuals with co-occurring addiction and serious mental illness.
  • Mandated coverage for the Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model, allowing primary care physicians, especially in rural areas, to add a social worker who coordinates treatment plans with a psychiatrist.
  • Facilitated a program allowing certain individuals with serious mental illness in state care to transition closer to family and, where possible, back into their communities.
  • Passed legislation requiring the study and examination of Louisiana's substance abuse support systems to strengthen quality of care.

Healthcare Access & Rare Disease Reform

A sustained record of expanding diagnosis, coverage and treatment access for Louisiana patients with rare and complex conditions.

  • Passed first in the nation prior authorization reform legislation that comprehensively banned prior auths for most generic drugs across commercial health plans.
  • Created Louisiana's Rare Disease Task Force, organizing patient advocates so overlooked conditions are addressed and supported.
  • Passed a mandate requiring insurance coverage of biomarker testing, enabling earlier and more accurate diagnosis of conditions such as cancer.
  • Advocated for additions to Louisiana's Newborn Screening Panel, including Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I (MPS I) and Glycogen Storage Disease Type II (Pompe disease).
  • Led efforts on orphan drug coverage in Louisiana and federally, securing funding and research support for rare diseases.
  • Successfully led the effort to retain funding for the Louisiana Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders, the state's only designated Hemophilia Treatment Center for adults and children.
  • Supported the establishment of the first stand-alone DIEP flap surgery center, providing reconstructive surgery for breast cancer survivors.
  • Assisted in the approval of long-term personal care services, expanding specialized care for individuals, especially seniors, with epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.

Telehealth & Rural Access

Multi-year legislative work extending care into underserved and rural parts of Louisiana.

  • Long history of advocating for and expanding Louisiana's telehealth and telemedicine laws, broadening access to both physical and behavioral health services in underserved and rural communities.
  • Paired telehealth expansion with workforce measures, including collaborative care and social work integration in primary care settings.

Bioscience & Public Health Strategy

Seven years leading Louisiana's bioscience advocacy, alongside direct state emergency-response experience.

  • Led Louisiana's bioscience advocacy organization for seven years, supporting startups developing the first non-addictive opioid alternative and 3D regenerative wound care.
  • Advocated for and helped retain critical funding supporting the Louisiana Cancer Research Center.
  • Successfully lead efforts to retain and expand R&D and Angel Investor Incentive Programs.
  • Partnered in the development and passage of legislative incentives to retain and recruit innovative startups to Louisiana.

Present & past clients

The organizationswe work alongside.

Healthcare providers, energy developers, technology innovators and trade associations trust Seersucker Strategies to move their most important priorities.

See the full client roster
/01Healthcare Providers
/02Energy & Renewables
/03Technology & AI
/04Trade Associations
/05Non-Profit Organizations
/06Life Sciences & Biotech
  • Gulf States Renewable Energy Industries Association
  • Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association
  • Louisiana BIO
  • Pelicoin
  • Louisiana Addiction Treatment Providers
  • Louisiana Vaccine Alliance
  • Louisiana Dental Services
  • Southern Renewable Energy Association
  • PosiGen
  • Telligen
  • National Association of Social Workers, Louisiana Chapter
  • Nexamp
  • Madison Energy Investments
  • Louisiana Speech-Language-Hearing Association
  • Lactation Awareness and Access
  • Louisiana Association of Substance Abuse Counselors and Trainers
  • OnMed
  • Edgefield Recovery Center
  • Amgen
  • Plus Power
  • RedCenter
  • Right at Home
  • Cedar Health
  • Avenues Recovery
  • Mercy Behavioral Hospital
  • Perimeter Healthcare
  • Red River Healthcare
  • Nova Vital Recovery
  • BioLife Plasma Services
  • Pro-Nox

The Firm

Seersucker Strategies LLC

Government affairs, energy development, innovation advocacy and healthcare consulting from Baton Rouge, representing energy developers, medical facilities, technology companies, behavioral health providers, state associations and healthcare organizations before the Louisiana Legislature and state agencies.

Visit Seersucker StrategiesEngage the firm

Insights

Commentary on Louisiana health policy.

Longer analysis is published through Seersucker Strategies, with shorter policy notes on Substack.

Speaking

Short bio and speaking inquiries.

Headshot of Stephen Wright, Louisiana healthcare policy expert

Stephen Wright, JD, is the founder and Principal Consultant of Seersucker Strategies LLC, a Baton Rouge government affairs, energy development, innovation advocacy and healthcare consultancy. He represents state associations, behavioral health and addiction providers, medical facilities, energy developers and technology companies before the Louisiana Legislature and state agencies. He previously served as Executive Director of State Affairs and Federal Health Policy at Tulane University and as Assistant Advisor to the Deputy Secretary at the Louisiana Department of Health, and holds a Juris Doctor from Loyola University College of Law and a BA in Political Science from Louisiana State University.

For speaking arrangements, panels and legislative testimony, email stephen@seersuckerstrategies.com.

Frequently Asked

Straight answers about Stephen Wright.

Who is Stephen Wright?
Stephen Wright, JD, is a Baton Rouge-based healthcare policy expert, government affairs strategist and lobbyist, and the founder and Principal Consultant of Seersucker Strategies LLC. He represents state medical and provider associations, bioscience organizations and healthcare access initiatives before the Louisiana Legislature and state agencies.
What is Stephen Wright known for in Louisiana healthcare policy?
He is known for securing a 25% Medicaid rate increase for substance use disorder services, the first in over a decade, leading Louisiana's behavioral health parity effort, creating the Louisiana Rare Disease Task Force, and expanding telehealth access for rural and underserved communities.
What organizations does Stephen Wright represent?
Through Seersucker Strategies, his clients have included the Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association, Louisiana BIO, the National Association of Social Workers Louisiana Chapter, the Louisiana Speech-Language-Hearing Association, energy developers such as PosiGen and Nexamp, and behavioral health and addiction treatment providers across the state.
What is Stephen Wright's background and education?
He holds a Juris Doctor from Loyola University College of Law with a concentration in administrative and government law, and a BA in Political Science from Louisiana State University. He previously served at Tulane University and the Louisiana Department of Health.
How can I contact Stephen Wright for consulting, testimony or speaking?
Stephen can be reached by email at stephen@seersuckerstrategies.com, on LinkedIn, or through Seersucker Strategies at seersuckerstrategies.com.

Contact

Consulting, testimony and speaking inquiries.

Email

stephen@seersuckerstrategies.com

LinkedIn

linkedin.com/in/stephen-wright-SS

Firm

seersuckerstrategies.com