Summary by Chris Anderson, MBA Candidate, Class of 2022
On Friday February 18th, the Kelley School of Business’ Center for the Business of Life Sciences hosted the Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference, with the theme being the Impact of the New Administration. Attendees heard from a pair of keynote speakers who provided their perspectives from the Executive and Legislative Branches, as well as two groups of panelists that discussed the outlook for providers and payers and the various products and services transforming healthcare.
Jonathan Blum, Principal Deputy Administrator & COO – The Executive Branch Perspective
The Kelley Center for the Business of Life Sciences was honored to host Principal Deputy Administrator & COO Jonathan Blum (U.S Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) for opening Friday’s Life Sciences Collaboration Conference on the Impact of the New Administration on Healthcare by sharing how the CMS is different under the Biden administration versus his first stint ten years ago and elaborated on Build Back Better Legislation. The CMS’ scope, size, and mission have rapidly changed as a result of the pandemic, as they are now acting as a public health response organization and covering much more people with their growing Medicare population. To accommodate these transformations in healthcare, Mr. Blum identified four core pillars aimed to improve the coverage and quality of care in the United States:
- Have more people covered through Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance
- Ensure that CMS programs are actually reaching the targeted populations to make healthcare more equitable
- Challenge CMS partners and teams to build operations, policies, and programs from the perspective of the user rather than politicians.
- Be seen by the public as a vision and moral force in healthcare with best in-class operations that reduces costs and waste and increases quality of care.
Ultimately, Blum expressed a strong devotion to continue making CMS an excellent value-based purchasing system that can empower programs to creatively and intuitively design systems and processes that maximize the level of care for all populations in the United States.
Outlook for Providers and Payers Panel
Claire Boozer Cruse, Chief of Staff, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions & Equity Institute
Elizabeth Hall, Vice President, Public Policy and Issues Management, Anthem
Kim Irwin, Administrator, Indiana Public Health Association
Brian Tabor, President, Indiana Hospital Association
Moderator: Gregory Daniel, PhD, Global Head of Public Policy, Global Corporate Affairs, Eli Lilly & Company
The “Outlook for Providers and Payers” panel delved into how public health should be re-framed- Who is “Public Health”? The possible solution included welcoming a wider range of fields and backgrounds to address workforce shortages. In essence, it was asserted that companies should embrace their opportunity and responsibility to make choices that fundamentally affect all the health of the stakeholders that their organization engage with.
Regarding the issues of equity in coverage across all demographics, Greg Daniels identified that the current administration has a “much-needed opportunity to advance health equity through reforms that address social determinants of health, improve health outcomes, support community-based initiatives, and enable access to high quality healthcare, including innovative medicines, particularly for chronic conditions that disproportionally affect underserved populations.”
Claire Boozer Cruse stressed how “the drivers of health – or the non-medical social, environmental, and economic factors that impact a person’s health outcomes – must drive health care organization’s strategies in all areas going forward”.
Elizabeth Hall shared that at Anthem, “we are working to improve health outcomes by removing barriers to access, creating connections to resources, and driving health equity and are working to advance policy that supports this essential work. It is an honor to share our perspective with this important forum created by the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.”
Though the opportunity for this administration for increased equity in healthcare coverage was agreed upon by the panelists, it was Brian Tabor who identified some of the significant challenges stakeholders face that would hinder this target, such as “a depleted health care workforce, uncertainty over coverage for millions of Americans on Medicaid, and a strained public health system.” In order to reduce the effects of these challenges, Tabor argued that it would require a “a deeper level of collaboration between the public and private sectors to succeed, and hospitals are committed to the work ahead.”
In addition to workforce issues, the panel deemed it imperative to address all social determinants of health from the policy level and beyond. Kim Irwin provided a poignant statement of the current climate of fighting for equity in healthcare coverage when she pointed to the fact that “our zip code is more important than our genetic code in determining how well and how long we live,” and that “in order to address the community conditions known to improve health and reduce inequities, we must take a Health in All Policies approach.” Irwin implored that in order for this to be accomplished, we must “address the legacy of racism in topics like voting rights and police violence and ensure that decisions and investments in transportation, housing, education, and jobs aren’t actively undermining public health.”
Thanks to Elizabeth Hall (Anthem), Brian Tabor (IN Hosp Assoc.) Kim Irwin (IN Public Health Assoc.) and Claire Boozer Cruse (Deloitte) for their rich and impactful discussion.
Larry Buschon, MD, U.S. House of Representatives, Indiana 8th District – Legislative Branch Perspective
U.S. House Representative, 8th District Indiana, Dr. Larry Bucshon who is on the Health Subcommittee gave his legislative perspective to advance patient-centered health care reforms. Dr. Buschon believes that Congress spends too much time debating about how to pay for healthcare and not enough time discussing how to drive the costs of healthcare down. Finally, he spoke about the burdens frontline workers faced during the Covid-19 pandemic that brought to light a dire need for the nation to be ready to adequately supply them with necessary equipment to administer proper care as quickly as possible.
Products & Services Transforming Healthcare Panel Discussion
Michael Capaldi, Executive Director, Institute for Gene Therapies
Clayton Hall, Executive VP, Government Affairs, Medical Device Manufacturers Association
Rene Quashie, VP of Policy & Regulatory Affairs, Digital Health, Consumer Technology Association
Karyn Schwartz, VP of Policy & Research PhRMA
Moderator: Gretchen Gutman, VP of Public Policy, Cook Group
The panel broke down some of the costs associated with legislation and connected the dots between innovation, policymakers and how the aging population and workforce issues factor in.
Clayton Hall shared key dates to watch for in 2022 including the expiration of government funding and other extensions, State of the Union address, deadlines to enact new FDA user fees for drugs & medical products and the midterm elections. He also outlined “Top Priorities for Congress” – government funding, filling the SCOTUS seat, competition from China and reviving/revising Build Back Better, pandemic response (PREVENT Act in Senate) and FDA user fees in addition to managing ongoing supply chain and reimbursement issues.
Karyn Schwartz expanded on the current status of “Build Back Better”. She added that “misinformation and high-profile bad actors contribute to public focus”. Schwartz added that the industry is the number one funding source for biomedical R&D and warned of the dangers of government price setting proposals. Consumers in America are more impacted by drug costs than any other health care cost. Schwartz outlined seven ways the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA VII) aimed at modernizing U.S. regulatory & drug development will impact the industry. She also touched on other issues such as the proposed CED policy by CMS and how it would affect access to Alzheimer’s treatments.
From a healthcare consumer technology standpoint, Rene Quashie shared how the CTA represents its constituents in five key areas- research, advocacy, technology & standards, industry collaboration and promotion. As an example of consumer technologies impact, Quashie compiled Medicare telehealth stats from 2020 and how congress responded with over 70 telehealth bills and COVID-19 telehealth waivers. He outlined arguments against making waivers permanent. Mr. Quashie concluded with other non-telehealth issues facing the FDA, CMS, ONC and the FTC.
One solution to reducing the costs of care, according to Michael Capaldi, was through the innovation of gene therapies, which “fundamentally transforms the way thousands of genetic diseases are treated.” By addressing the underlying cause of the disease, Capaldi asserted that gene therapies “offer the potential of lifelong benefits for patients who currently depend on frequent medications, surgeries, and comprehensive multidisciplinary care for disease management.” His Institute for Gene Therapies is bringing together “experts from across the healthcare ecosystem to advocate for a modernized policy framework that encourages innovations and promotes patient access to the treatments they need.” As one method to bring together businesses and government policymakers, each of the panelists engaged in a fruitful discussion with the students regarding the complications of healthcare costs and how the two entities are joining together to address this issue.
Thank you to Clayton Hall (MDMA), Karyn Schwartz (PhRMA), Rene Quashie (CTA) and Michael Capaldi (Institute for Gene Therapies) for sharing their perspectives.
We want to thank all of our participants who took the time to speak at the conference, as well as our Series sponsors- Anthem, LabCorp, Reckitt and Primary sponsors- Cook Medical, Deloitte, Lilly, Pearl Pathways and Taft for their support of this event!
* ABOUT
Kelley School’s Center for the Business of Life Sciences was started with the belief that life sciences companies are essential economic drivers for growth and employment. To ensure the success of the industry as a whole, however, requires a broad collaboration of science and business acumen. CBLS brings together students, faculty, life science companies, and other corporate partners.
Since 2006, the Center for the Business of Life Sciences has provided a forum for various players in healthcare and life sciences to consider, discuss, and debate key business strategy issues. In presenting the Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference Series, CBLS brings together key players from industry, academia, government, and economic development communities to share ideas and expertise.
Events & More about the Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference Series
Leave a Reply