Getting It Right: Drug Pricing Reform That Works for Patients and the Medicare Program

Sue Peschin, MHS, (moderator) is president and CEO at the Alliance for Aging Research, the leading national non-profit organization dedicated to improving healthy aging for all. Since 2012, Ms. Peschin has been a driving force in the growth and success of the organization. As a thought leader on aging-related health issues, Sue has led the Alliance in efforts to: boost older adult immunization rates; increase NIH Alzheimer’s disease and aging research funding; raise awareness of geriatric cardiac issues; develop Talk NERDY to Me (NERDY-Nurturing Engagement in Research and Development with You), a PCORI-funded, older patient and family caregiver research engagement network; address costs of healthcare and value frameworks; and reform Medicare treatment access issues. She participates in major industry and policy symposiums around the country each year and has published opinion pieces in news outlets nationwide. Prior to the Alliance, Sue served in senior roles at the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, Consumer Federation of America, Hadassah, and the Violence Policy Center. Ms. Peschin currently serves on the Boards of Heart Valve Voice U.S. and the King Farm Neighbors Village; the USP Council of the Convention; and on the University of Maryland Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center Community Advisory Board. Ms. Peschin earned a B.A. in Sociology from Brandeis University, and a M.H.S. degree in Health Policy from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Congressman Scott Peters, JD, serves California’s 52nd Congressional district, which includes the cities of Coronado, Poway, and most of northern San Diego. First elected in 2012, he currently serves on the House Budget Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the Joint Economic Committee.

Scott Peters is a civic leader who has made improving the quality of life in San Diego his life’s work. As a Member of Congress, Scott’s emphasis has been promoting and expanding San Diego’s innovation ecosystem, advocating for San Diego’s pivotal role as a partner in the national defense, and making government work again. Ranked the 4th most independent Democrat in Congress by the National Journal, Scott Peters understands that business problems have bipartisan solutions, and is never afraid to work across party lines to build consensus and get things done.

Erin Trish, PhD, is co-director of the USC Schaeffer Center and an assistant professor of pharmaceutical and health economics at the USC School of Pharmacy. In addition, she is a nonresident fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution and a scholar with the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy.

Her research focuses on the intersection of public policy and health care markets, with recent projects focused on surprise medical bills, prescription drug spending, health care market concentration, and health care reform. Her research has been funded by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and published in leading health policy, health economics, and medical journals. She has testified in the California State Assembly and presented her research at numerous federal agencies, including the Congressional Budget Office, Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, and the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight. In 2018 she received the Seema Sonnad Emerging Leader in Managed Care Research Award.

Trish completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the USC Schaeffer Center and the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her PhD in Health Policy and Economics from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and her BS in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Michael Ward, MS, oversees the Alliance’s public policy and advocacy efforts. He has over a decade of experience advancing healthcare innovation through policy research, federal advocacy, and partnership development. He holds a M.S. degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.A. degree from Vanderbilt University.