The Debate on Healthcare Explained 

Dr Dora Hughes, Senior Policy Advisor, Sidley Austin LLP

Coming from the USA to provide insights from the White House, Dora Hughes, a Washington insider who has advised President Obama and States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius during some of the most turbulent healthcare debate in recent American history.

 Despite a clear majority in Congress, the Senate and the Executive, the Republican Party has been unable to capitalise. Why? What are the reasons for this failure? Has people power trumped President Trump? And will universal healthcare ever become a reality? 

As the contestable debate rolls on new models of care including value-based healthcare are growing in popularity (e.g. value-based programs at the US Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services). What does it mean and will it gain traction internationally including Australia?  What are the impacts of price cuts on the quality of healthcare delivery – a warning to Australia in considering reform of the Prostheses List. And what are the lessons from bundled payment models and lessons learned from the Trump Administration's views on them.   

Speaker

Dora Hughes, M.D., M.P.H. is a senior medicine and health policy advisor in Sidley’s Government Strategies practice team. She provides strategic advice to clients across a wide range of issues relating to the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), including coverage, healthcare quality and innovation, and payment policy and reimbursement. Dora also counsels clients on issues related to biomedical research and clinical trials, regulatory and approval processes for drugs and devices, including molecular diagnostics, health information technology and population health.
Illustrative of the breadth of Dora’s work, representative types of matters handled include: 

•Assisting a State in its successful submission of a major federal proposal on    health system transformation for funding from the Centers for Medicare and  Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center.
•Advising a pharmaceutical company on U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Ebola policy and its potential impact on medical product development.
•Advocating to the Congress and HHS for expanded coverage and strengthened protections for patients through Essential Health Benefit (EHB) packages on behalf of a patient coalition and pharmaceutical company.
•Advising a pharmaceutical company on FDA biosimilar regulatory guidance and future CMS payment policy considerations.
•Advising and managing a coalition, which includes an academic medical center, health professionals and private sector organisations, seeking to influence legislation moving through the Congress.
•Assisting numerous public and private sector companies with their efforts to obtain favorable coding and payment decisions by CMS.
•Advising both a foundation and pharmaceutical company on opportunities to advance health equity and minority health.
•Assisting a health IT innovator with analysis of legislative and policy proposals to assess business impact,  and navigating the Congress and Administration.

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