Webinar: NCCS Cancer Policy Roundtable Highlights
During our Fall Cancer Policy Roundtable in November 2023, NCCS hosted a compelling series of panels and guest speakers, discussing important issues in quality cancer survivorship care. As many of our CPAT members across the country were unable to join this in-person event, we wanted to provide highlights from the roundtable on two of the topics discussed: Medicare Advantage and the drug pricing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
This 60-minute webinar consists of two sessions. In the first session, Dr. Tricia Neuman of KFF addresses the benefits and trade-offs of Medicare Advantage plans — which now cover more than half of Medicare beneficiaries — as well as ways the program could be improved to better serve cancer survivors. The second session features Kirsten Axelsen of DLA Piper and Dr. Mariana Socal of Johns Hopkins University, who discuss implementation of the IRA, including anticipated benefits for patients, as well as the possible implications for pharmaceutical research and development. NCCS CEO Shelley Fuld Nasso moderates the discussions and asks questions from the webinar audience.
Watch the full video below or watch on YouTube.
Webinar Resources
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About Tricia Neuman, ScD
Senior Vice President
Executive Director for Program on Medicare Policy
Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF)
Tricia Neuman is senior vice president of KFF and executive director of its Program on Medicare Policy. She oversees KFF’s policy analysis and research pertaining to Medicare, and health coverage and care for aging Americans and people with disabilities. A widely cited Medicare policy expert, Dr. Neuman focuses on topics such as the health and economic security of older adults; the role of Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare and out-of-pocket spending trends; prescription drug costs, payment and delivery system reforms; and policy options to strengthen Medicare for the future. She has written numerous papers pertaining to Medicare, has been invited several times to present expert testimony before Congressional committees, and has appeared and been quoted as an independent expert by major national media outlets. Dr. Neuman was nominated by President Biden in 2022 to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Medicare, Social Security, and Disability Insurance Trust Funds.
Before joining KFF in 1995, Dr. Neuman served on the professional staff of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health in the U.S. House of Representatives and on the staff of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, working on health and long-term care issues.
Dr. Neuman received a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, a master’s in health finance and management from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and a doctorate in health policy and management, also from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
About Kirsten Axelsen, MS
Senior Policy Advisor
DLA Piper
Kirsten Axelsen, MS, focuses on biopharma reimbursement and health policy and has worked with biopharmaceutical and related companies for over 20 years on business strategy and public affairs in the US, EU, China and Emerging Markets. She is an advisor to the Life Sciences sector in the New York office of DLA Piper.
Kirsten is an economist who works with healthcare clients on issues including Medicare reimbursement, payer contract negotiations, designing innovative reimbursement contracts. Kirsten works with biopharma, trade associations and health IT companies on pricing, reimbursement, patient assistance, public affairs, industrial organization, and strategic matters. She has worked to developed policy platforms for CEO’s and their organizations, including public positions on drug pricing, insurance coverage and regulatory reform. She has helped to establish pricing for medicines including in rare disease and oncology considering value and affordability. Kirsten has guided the development of patient financial assistance programs for biopharma. She has prepared companies and their leaders for Congressional investigations and testimony related to drug price, price increases marketing and research investment. She often uses financial models and data analytics to demonstrate how different stakeholders in the healthcare delivery chain are affected by policy and business practice to guide corporate policy and business practice recommendations and also to estimate the impact of policy change for corporate financial disclosure.
Kirsten is a Health Innovator Fellow with The Aspen Institute, and a Visiting Scholar with The American Enterprise Institute. She has an M.S. in Economics from the University of Texas, Austin and is published for work in health policy and health economics.
About Mariana Socal, MD, PhD
Associate Scientist
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Mariana Socal, MD, PhD, MS, MPP, studies ways to make the US pharmaceutical market more competitive, delivering drugs of greater value for lower costs to the American people.
Dr. Socal’s research focuses on improving pharmaceutical access and affordability. Specific topics include understanding biosimilar adoption, improving FDA regulation for follow-on products, and reducing spending on drugs that cost significantly more but have comparable clinical profiles to their competitors. Dr. Socal has testified before the U.S. Congress on drug pricing and the provisions established in Build Back Better and H.R.3. Dr. Socal also testified at the Food and Drug Administration on issues related to biopharmaceutical regulation, including insulins. Dr. Socal has advised several state initiatives to reduce drug spending, such as the California Generic Drugs Initiative. At Hopkins, Dr. Socal teaches courses on U.S. Pharmaceutical Policy and the U.S. Healthcare System. Dr. Socal is a physician trained in adult Neurology. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton University and a PhD in Public Health/Health Systems from Johns Hopkins University.
