Home

High Costs,
Broken Promises:
Healthcare in America

West Health's 2019 Summit will focus on advancing three common-sense reforms to address the healthcare cost crisis in America and drive accountability for progress.

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019

LET'S TAKE BOLD ACTION ON APRIL 2nd

WHEN
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

WHERE
Amphitheater at Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

The country is in the midst of a critical political and policy debate that could reshape healthcare in America for generations to come. Some people are focused on who will pay for healthcare and whether or not we can afford it. However, fewer are focused on why healthcare costs so much in the first place and what we can do about it.

West Health is convening an innovation summit in the nation’s capital focused on solving America’s healthcare cost crisis. The Summit features leaders from many sectors of healthcare including policymakers, healthcare providers, health systems, researchers, economists, insurers, government, industry and advocacy groups and patients. The goal is to fuel the best ideas, innovations and practical policy solutions to change the trajectory of the cost of healthcare in America.

Convene

Diverse stakeholders dedicated to lowering the cost of healthcare in this country.

Educate

Stakeholder groups on the core issues that contribute to high healthcare costs.

Create

Accountability among elected officials to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for all Americans.

Advance

Critical success factors for the continued transformation of the nation’s healthcare system

Inspire

Action in specific areas that offer the greatest opportunity to lower the cost of healthcare

The Healthcare Costs Summit is the sixth installment of West Health’s Health Care Innovation Day (HCI-DC) series. Previous HCI-DC events have highlighted wireless and telehealth innovations with the Department of Veterans Affairs (2010), wireless medical device regulation with the U. S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Communications Commission (2011), care delivery and payment solutions with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (2012), and interoperability with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (2014) and our most recent (2018) Health Care Costs Innovation Summit.

ABOUT HCIDC

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Sylvia Mathews Burwell

Former Secretary, United States Department of Health and Human Services

Sylvia Mathews Burwell was sworn in as the 22nd Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on June 9, 2014.

A results-driven executive, Secretary Burwell has led large and complex organizations across the public and private sectors.

As the Secretary of HHS, Burwell oversaw more than 77,000 employees in a department with a broad spectrum of vital responsibilities, in work that touches the lives of Americans at every age, from every background, in every part of our country. She is committed to the mission of ensuring that every American has access to the building blocks of healthy and productive lives.

Secretary Burwell called for the Department to operate under three guiding tenets: to deliver results on a wide range of complex issues, to strengthen the relationships that drive progress, and to build strong teams with the talent and focus needed to deliver impact for the American people.

Previously, Burwell served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where she worked closely with Congress to help return to a more orderly budget and appropriations process that brought needed stability to the economy and middle-class families. She led the Administration’s efforts to deliver a smarter, more innovative and more accountable government. She oversaw the development of the President’s Second-Term Management Agenda, including efforts to expedite high-impact permitting projects, drive efficiencies, and improve customer service. Additionally, she worked to ensure that our regulatory system protects the health and safety of Americans while promoting economic growth, job creation, and innovation.

Prior to serving in the Administration, Burwell served as president of the Walmart Foundation, where she led efforts to fight hunger in America, empower women around the world, and leverage Walmart’s presence in local communities to reach millions of people. During her tenure, the foundation surpassed $1 billion in total giving.

Before joining Walmart in 2012, she was president of the Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she spent 10 years working on some of the world’s most pressing challenges, from global health to agricultural development and financial services for the poor. She also served as the foundation’s first chief operating officer.

During the Clinton Administration, Burwell served as deputy director of OMB, deputy chief of staff to the President, chief of staff to the Secretary of the Treasury, and staff director of the National Economic Council.

Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Burwell worked for McKinsey & Company. She has served on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, MetLife, and the University of Washington Medical Center, among other organizations.

Burwell received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

In 2017, Burwell was named as the first female president of American University. She also serves on the National Advisory Council of the Aspen Institute’s Future of Work Initiative. A second-generation Greek-American, Burwell hails from Hinton, West Virginia. She and her husband Stephen live in Washington, D.C., with their two young children.

X Close Bio

Mark McClellan, MD, PhD

Director and Professor, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy; Former Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, is the Robert J. Margolis Professor of Business, Medicine, and Health Policy, and Director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University with offices at Duke and in Washington DC. The new Center will support and conduct research, evaluation, implementation, and educational activities to improve health policy and health, through collaboration across Duke University and Health System, and through partnerships between the public and private sectors. It integrates the social, clinical, and analytical sciences to integrate technical expertise and practical capabilities to develop and apply policy solutions that improve health and the value of health care locally, nationally, and worldwide.

Dr. McClellan is a doctor and an economist, and his work has addressed a wide range of strategies and policy reforms to improve health care, including such areas as payment reform to promote better outcomes and lower costs, methods for development and use of real-world evidence, and more effective drug and device innovation. Before coming to Duke, he served as a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he was Director of the Health Care Innovation and Value Initiatives and led the Richard Merkin Initiative on Payment Reform and Clinical Leadership. He also has a highly distinguished record in public service and in academic research. Dr. McClellan is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he developed and implemented major reforms in health policy. These include the Medicare prescription drug benefit, Medicare and Medicaid payment reforms, the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative, and public-private initiatives to develop better information on the quality and cost of care.

Dr. McClellan is the founding chair and a current board member of the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and chairs the Academy’s Leadership Council for Value and Science-Driven Health care, co-chairs he guiding committee of the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network, and is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has also previously served as a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and senior director for health care policy at the White House, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Department of the Treasury. He was previously an associate professor of economics and medicine with tenure at Stanford University, and has twice received the Kenneth Arrow Award for Outstanding Research in Health Economics.

X Close Bio

SHELLEY LYFORD

President and CEO, West Health

Shelley Lyford is president and chief executive officer of West Health, the Gary and Mary West Foundation and the West Health Institute. Solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health is a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations including the Gary and Mary West Health Institute and Gary and Mary West Foundation in San Diego, and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C. West Health is dedicated to lowering healthcare costs and enabling seniors to successfully age in place with access to high-quality, affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence. The organizations use a combination of applied medical research, policy, advocacy and outcomes-based philanthropy to improve healthcare for seniors and lower costs.

Lyford played a critical role in helping establish the Gary and Mary West Foundation in 2006. Under her leadership, the Gary and Mary West Foundation has awarded more than 500 grants totaling nearly $200 million for applied medical research and community support and social services for seniors and their caregivers. Lyford also leads the Gary and Mary West Health Institute as it conducts applied medical research on a wide range of issues affecting seniors and their families. The research generated is used to provide the evidence needed for healthcare providers, policymakers and communities to make more informed decisions about healthcare delivery models and support services that enable successful aging in America.

Lyford has spearheaded the development of innovative healthcare delivery systems that serve as national care models of excellence, including San Diego’s first Geriatric Emergency Unit; and the first of its kind Gary and Mary West Senior Dental Center in downtown San Diego, which provides high-quality, affordable dental care integrated with health and wellness services for lower-income seniors. These and other care models are supported by various research initiatives with collaborators that include the American Geriatrics Society, University of California San Diego Health System, Mount Sinai in New York, Brown University and Northwestern University.

As President and CEO of the Gary and Mary West Foundation, Lyford serves on the Board of Directors for Civica Rx, a not-for-profit generic drug company that will help patients by addressing shortages and high prices of lifesaving medications. Additionally, Lyford is board chair for the Gary and Mary West Senior Dental Center; vice-chair of the board of directors for Grantmakers in Aging (GIA); a board member of Generations United; and sits on the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation’s Board of Directors focused on promoting San Diego as an epicenter for successful aging research. Lyford holds a master’s degree in international relations and political-economy from the University of San Diego.

X Close Bio

VIEW ALL SPEAKERS

2018 RESOURCES

The Time is Now to Address America's Healthcare Cost Crisis

Learn more about West Health's Healthcare Costs Innovation Summit and its calls for bold actions to curb unsustainable growth.

View Whitepaper

HCI-DC 2018 Healthcare Costs Innovation Summit Highlights Video

Watch the highlight reel from the 2018 HCI-DC Summit and learn more about efforts to tackle this critical issue.

Watch Video

West Health’s View on Improving Transparency in Healthcare Pricing

Greater transparency is essential to making healthcare decisions based on value. Learn more about West Health's efforts in this area.

Watch Video

Moving to Value-Based Care

The U.S. needs to accelerate the shift from healthcare payments based on volume to payments based on value to better align stakeholder incentives and penalties with cost, quality, and health outcomes.

Watch Video

Reducing the High Price of Prescription Medicines

Today, the prices of healthcare services—physicians, hospitals and prescription drugs—are at unprecedented levels, creating barriers to access for individuals who need care.

Watch Video

High Costs, Broken Promises:Healthcare in America

LET'S TAKE BOLD ACTION ON APRIL 2nd

Convene

Educate

Create

Advance

Inspire

FEATURED SPEAKERS

2018 RESOURCES

The Time is Now to Address America's Healthcare Cost Crisis

HCI-DC 2018 Healthcare Costs Innovation Summit Highlights Video

West Health’s View on Improving Transparency in Healthcare Pricing

Moving to Value-Based Care

Reducing the High Price of Prescription Medicines

Register

High Costs,
Broken Promises:
Healthcare in America