Perspectives on Medicare Sustainability with Former CMS Administrators DeParle and McClellan

June 24, 2022

During this exclusive briefing, former CMS Administrators Nancy Ann-DeParle and Dr. Mark McClellan provided a forward-thinking perspective about the implications of policy changes to the Medicare program for beneficiaries, the delivery system, and the overall financial sustainability of the Medicare program and then respond to audience questions.

Speakers:

  • Nancy-Ann DeParle, J.D., M.A., Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Consonance Capital Partners
  • Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Duke-Robert J. Margolis, M.D. Center for Health Policy and Robert J. Margolis, M.D. Professor of Business, Medicine, and Policy, Duke University
  • Sarah J. Dash, MPH, President and CEO, Alliance for Health Policy (moderator)

Key Event Takeaways:

  1. From its beginnings as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to its current incarnation as CMS, staff have shown a tremendous commitment to the mission of public service.
  2. CMS could serve as a vehicle for dismantling structural barriers to accessing services through Medicare funding & program expansion
  3. Emphasis can be placed on coverage through parts B-D as a means to address social determinants of health

Event Resources

Key Resources

(listed chronologically, beginning with most recent) 

“The Facts About Medicare Spending.” KFF. April 2022. Available here 

“Putting Medicare Solvency Projections into Perspective.” Jacobson, G., Gustafsson, L. The Commonwealth Fund. September 1, 2021. Available here. 

“Medicare Solvency Roundtable: Insights from Leading Experts to Keep Medicare on Solid Financial Ground.” Garrett, B., Shartzer, A., Arnos, D. Urban Institute. August 2021. Available here 

“Health Policy Handbook, Chapter 2: Coverage.” Rawal, P., Whitlock, R. Alliance for Health Policy. July 20, 2021. Available here. 

“The Cost of Waiting to Act on Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.” Wu, K., Akabas, S., Hoagland, G.W., et al. Bipartisan Policy Center. June 2021. Available here. 

“Any Medicare Solvency Effort Must Include Advancing Health Equity.” Enekwechi, A. The Commonwealth Fund. January 28, 2021. Available here. 

“Options for Extending Medicare’s Trust Fund: The Commonwealth Fund Solvency Series.” Jacobson, G., Gustafsson, L. The Commonwealth Fund. January 28, 2021. Available here. 

“Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.” Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. 2021. Available here. 

“Medicare Financial Outlook: What Do Trust Fund Solvency Projections Mean?” Komisar, H. AARP. May 7, 2020. Available here. 

“Setting Medicare on a Fiscally Sustainable Path for Future Generations.” Arnold Ventures. Available here. 

Additional Resources

(listed chronologically, beginning with most recent) 

“The Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Future of Medicare Financing.” United States Senate Committee on Finance, Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth. February 2, 2022. Available here. 

“Medicare: Insolvency Projections.” Congressional Research Service. October 25, 2021. Available here. 

“Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy.” MedPAC. March 2022. Available here. 

“Three Myths About Healthcare Reform.” The Concord Coalition. February 28, 2022. Available here 

“Washington Can No Longer Ignore the Coming Medicare Crisis.” Moffit, R. The Heritage Foundation. March 5, 2021. Available here. 

“Three Ways to Lower Health Care Costs.” Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. February 23, 2021. Available here. 

“5 Ways to Reform Health Care in 2021.” Collette, R. Arnold Ventures. January 17, 2021. Available here. 

“Arnold Ventures’ Statement on Medicare Trustees Report.” Arnold Ventures. January 9, 2021. Available here. 

“The Coming Crisis for the Medicare Trust Fund.” Muhlestein, D. Health Affairs. December 15, 2020. Available here. 

“Putting People First by Strengthening Medicare for the Future: Promising Payment and Delivery System Innovations in Medicare.” Komisar, H., Lind, K., Noel-Miller, C. AARP Public Policy Institute. October 20, 2020. Available here 

“COVID-19 is Accelerating the Medicare Trust Fund’s Dive Toward Insolvency.” Jacobson, G. STAT. September 3, 2020. Available here. 

“The Outlook for Major Federal Trust Funds: 2020 to 2030.” Congressional Budget Office. September 2020. Available here. 

“Medicare’ Long-Term Sustainability Challenge.” American Academy of Actuaries. May 2020. Available here. 

“Will COVID-19 Bankrupt Medicare?” Antos, J., Capretta, J. American Enterprise Institute. April 22, 2020. Available here. 

“Medicare’s Financial Condition: Beyond Actuarial Balance.” American Academy of Actuaries. April 2020. Available here. 

“The Facts on Medicare Spending and Financing.” Cubanski, J., Neuman, T., Freed, M. Kaiser Family Foundation. August 2019. Available here. 

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Experts

Panelists

Session 1: Medicare 101

Amy Bassano, M.A.
Managing Director of Medicare, Health Management Associates (HMA)
abassano@healthmanagement.com

Matt Kazan, MPP
Managing Director, Avalere Health
MKazan@Avalere.com

James E. Matthews, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC)
jmathews@medpac.gov

Gretchen Jacobson, Ph.D.
Vice President, Medicare, The Commonwealth Fund
gj@cmwf.org

Arielle Mir, MPA
Vice President of Health Care (Complex Care), Arnold Ventures
AMir@arnoldventures.org

Session 2: Understanding the Medicare Population and Consumer Affordability

Lindsey Copeland, J.D.
Federal Policy Director, Medicare Rights Center
lcopeland@medicarerights.org

Tricia Neuman, Sc.D.
Senior Vice President; Director, Program on Medicare Policy, KFF
TriciaN@kff.org

Eric Roberts, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Management, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health
eric.roberts@pitt.edu

Loren Saulsberry, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Health Services Research, The University of Chicago Department of Public Health Sciences
lsaulsberry@uchicago.edu

Brandon Wilson, DrPH, MHA
Director, Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation
bwilson@communitycatalyst.org

Session 3: Policy Options to Promote Medicare Sustainability

Adaeze Enekwechi, Ph.D., MPP
Operating Partner, Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe (WCAS)
AEnekwechi@WCAS.com

Bowen Garrett, Ph.D.
Economist; Senior Fellow, Health Policy Center, Urban Institute
agarrett@urban.org

Josh Gordon, Ph.D.
Director of Health Policy, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
gordon@crfb.org

Harriet Komisar, Ph.D.
Senior Strategy Policy Advisor, Public Policy Institute, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
hkomisar@aarp.org

G. William Hoagland
Senior Vice President, Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC)
gwhoagland@bipartisanpolicy.org

Experts and Analysts

Joseph Antos, Ph.D., M.A.
Wilson H. Taylor Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
JAntos@aei.org

Juliette Cubanski, Ph.D., MPP, MPH
Deputy Director, Program on Medicare Policy, KFF
jcubanski@kff.org

Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, Health Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bob.Moffit@heritage.org

Solvency Experts

Robert Berenson, M.D.
Institute Fellow, Urban Institute
rberenson@urban.org

Cori Uccello, MAAA, FSA, MPP
Senior Health Fellow, American Academy of Actuaries
uccello@actuary.org

Beneficiaries

Christine Aguiar Lynch
Vice President for Medicare and MLTSS Policy, Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP)
clynch@communityplans.net

Judith Stein, J.D.
Executive Director, Center for Medicare Advocacy
jstein@medicareadvocacy.org

Georgia Burke, J.D.
Directing Attorney, Justice in Aging
gburke@justiceinaging.org

Micki Nozaki, MBA
State Director, Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP)
Director, California Health Advocates
mnozaki@cahealthadvocates.org

Sophia Tripoli, MPH
Director, Health Care Innovation, Families USA
STripoli@familiesusa.org

Government

Jonathan Blum
Principal Deputy Administrator & Chief Operating Officer, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
jonathan.blum@cms.hhs.gov

Hannah Katch
Senior Policy Analyst, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
hannah.katch@cms.hhs.gov

Jeff Wu
Deputy Director for Policy, Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Jeff.Wu@cms.hhs.gov

Stakeholders

Greg Gierer, MPP
Vice President of Policy and Research, Better Medicare Alliance
GGierer@bettermedicarealliance.org

Justine Handelman
Senior Vice President, Office of Policy and Representation, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA)
Justine.Handelman@bcbs.com

Leigh Purvis, MPA
Director, Health Services Research, Public Policy Institute, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
lpurvis@aarp.org

Cheryl Wilson, R.N., M.A., LNHA
Chief Executive Officer, St. Paul Senior Services
cwilson@stpaulseniors.org