John O’Brien, PharmD, MPH

John O’Brien, PharmD, MPH is the president and chief executive officer of the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC). He has previously served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he led policy development on multiple Administration priorities, including the drafting and execution of the President’s drug pricing blueprint. He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary (Health Policy) for Planning and Evaluation, and was a key advisor to the Secretary for health policy research, development, and analysis related to Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance.  Prior to joining HHS, Dr. O’Brien was Vice President of Public Policy for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Senior Advisor at the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI), Policy Coordinator at the CMS Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs, Director of the CMS Division of Strategic Partnerships, Assistant Professor of Clinical and Administrative Sciences at Notre Dame of Maryland University, Senior Director at PhRMA and served as a health policy fellow in the U.S. Senate.  O’Brien has a master’s degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a doctor of pharmacy degree from Nova Southeastern University, and studied pharmacy and public policy at the University of Florida.