The 2019 Healthcare Economics Summit in Review

The 2019 Healthcare Economics Summit had an impressive lineup of speakers, discussing topics relating to the high cost of care delivery, drug prices, the trend towards consumerization, digital healthcare and the role of federal and state government.

One Hand Clapping: Trump’s Healthcare Proposals, Haven and More

Keynote speaker Robert Graboyes, from the Mercatus Center discussed Trump’s healthcare plan, Haven, and the broader topic of whether we really are paying too much for healthcare in the U.S.

The Federal Scene- from consumerizing healthcare, to controlling drug prices to digital health transparency

Panelists Robert Graboyes (Senior Research Fellow at Mercatus Center), Allison Oelschlaeger (Chief Data Officer and Director at CMS), and Naomi Lopez-Bauman (Director of Healthcare Policy at the Goldwater Institute) discuss the federal scene and healthcare reform, including the trend towards consumerization, drug price controls, and the need for digital healthcare transparency. On the latter topic, Allison Oelschlaeger presented the Blue Button program at CMS, which provides much-needed transparency.

Legislative Update from Wisconsin

Former State Representative Curt Gielow and Representative Joe Sanfelippo provide a healthcare legislative update for Wisconsin, including progressive bills to exempt direct primary care from state insurance laws. Such legislation would enable the further growth of direct pay options, enabling the consumerization of healthcare by providing patients with more flexible ways to pay for care, in more transparent and competitive markets.

Delivering healthcare in every neighborhood, via drugstore-based medical homes as portals to primary care

Keynote speaker Chet Robson (Chief Medical Officer at Walgreens) presents Walgreen’s vision for consumerizing healthcare in a retail setting, delivering care in every neighborhood via drugstore-based medical homes as affordable and accessible portals to primary care. Analogous initiatives are being pursued by Walmart and CVS, but with very different approaches.

Drug Pricing

Panelists representing the complete pharmaceutical supply chain, from pharma to pharmacy, discuss why drug prices are so high, why we need (or don’t need) price transparency, and what could be the impact of the price controls being proposed by the current administration. Panelists included Robert Popovian (VP of US Government Relations for Pfizer), Antonio Ciaccia (Director of Government Relations and Public Affairs for the Ohio Pharmacists Association), and Jim Van Lieshout (Senior Director of Industry Relations for Navitus).

The Provider Perspective on Consumerization

Jim Tarasovich (South Region CFO for Ascension – Wisconsin) gives the provider perspective on the consumerization of healthcare, and other trends.

Digital Healthcare Innovations

Panelists Lisa Johnson (CEO of BioForward), Allison Oelschlaeger (Chief Data Officer and Director at CMS), and Will Tesch (CEO of TESCHGlobal and CEO of HealthLX) discuss digital healthcare innovations as a path to enabling the consumerization of healthcare and also providing more transparency for healthcare consumers.