Last week, the Bipartisan Policy Center hosted an educational forum on affordable medicines. This forum was the first in a series of conversations BPC plans to convene in the coming months to better understand how private sector decisions and public sector policies impact the prices of drugs and their costs to America’s health care system.
Bill Hoagland, senior vice president at BPC, opened the forum by acknowledging the timeliness of the issue in a year where there has been vibrant media coverage of the rise in pharmaceutical prices and spending. He also outlined the goals of the discussion: describing the delicate balance between the cost and pricing structures of medicines, along with issues of affordability and access.
Jack Hoadley, PhD, of Georgetown University, provided the event’s keynote address and gave the audience an overview of drug prices and the supply chain, highlighting recent spending trends and the value pharmaceuticals provide in the broader health system.
After Dr. Hoadley’s presentation, BPC Senior Advisor Dr. Anand Parekh moderated a panel discussion that explored the present system of pricing medicines. Our panel of experts represented a wide-range of viewpoints from stakeholders, including: Kirsten Axelsen, vice president in worldwide policy, Pfizer; Mary Dwight, senior vice president for policy and patient assistance programs, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; Tom Moriarty, executive vice president, chief health strategy officer and general counsel, CVSHealth; Dr. Edmund Pezalla, vice president and national medical director for pharmaceutical policy and Strategy, Aetna; and Dr. Wayne Riley, president, American College of Physicians.
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