The Alliance for Health Policy Announces 2027 Signature Series on “Affordability”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 28, 2026

The Alliance for Health Policy Announces 2027 Signature Series on “Affordability”

– Announcement comes on the heels of the Alliance’s July 22 Summit on health care payment

– New series will bring patients, providers, payers, employers, and policymakers into conversation about the cost of care

Washington, D.C. — Fresh off its public summit on health care payment, the Alliance for Health Policy will turn its attention to a topic that touches nearly every American. The organization unveiled “Affordability” as the theme of its 2027 Signature Series.

When it comes to affordability, the concern is both widespread and bipartisan. A recent KFF tracking poll revealed health care costs ranked as the top of the public’s economic worries. Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike are “very worried,” indicating that cost concerns are the result of mounting strain on Americans rather than tied to any single party or moment.

During the 2027 Series, the Alliance will examine what it actually costs to get and stay well in the U.S., from premiums and deductibles to prescription drug prices and the price tags attached to hospital and physician care, and connect those costs back to the policies and system dynamics that produce them.

“We know from polling that when people talk about affordability, they are talking about health care. For our community, the question of ‘how does health care policy address affordability’ is central,” said Claire Sheahan, M.Sc., President and CEO of the Alliance for Health Policy. “This past year during our Signature Series on health care payment policy, we spent a lot of time talking about how care gets paid for. Affordability is really the next part of that story: what happens to patients and families once the payment decisions have been made. It’s the rare topic where patients, employers, providers, and payers are all faced with challenges for their own reasons, and that gives us a real opportunity to get people talking to each other instead of past each other.”

Before landing on the topic of affordability, the Alliance consulted with the diverse group of stakeholders that makes up its community – policymakers, academics, industry leaders, and Alliance board members – about where to focus next. This topic was widely hailed as the most important policy issue to better understand in the coming year.

Programming for the year will roll out in the regular Alliance series cadence: first listening to the experts by gathering insights, through in-depth interviews and a thought leader workshop featuring a broad range of expertise, lived experience, and ideological perspectives. From there, the Alliance will turn those findings into public-facing education, in the form of a spotlight webinar, public summit, and congressional briefing, each building upon the last.

Affordability is already discussed widely in policy circles, but usually from the vantage point of a single stakeholder. The Alliance intends to add to the dialogue by convening the full spectrum of payers, providers, industry, patients, and federal and state policymakers, so that the resulting education reflects more than one side.

The Alliance has spent more than three decades building a reputation as a trusted place where people across the political spectrum can learn about health policy without being sold a solution. The annual Signature Series is the clearest expression of that work and reflects both parts of the Alliance’s unique Incubate-to-Educate programming model. The Series features a single topic to follow closely for a full year, examined from varied and diverse angles and packaged into education that leaves policymakers with knowledge of the trade-offs rather than just talking points.

Organizations interested in supporting the 2027 Signature Series on Affordability can now sign on as sponsors. Sponsors help make this programming available to policymakers and staff at no cost, and in exchange gain early visibility into the Alliance’s research and a seat at the table as the year’s programming takes shape. Organizations can express interest by completing the form here.

About the Alliance for Health Policy

The Alliance for Health Policy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping policymakers and the public better understand health policy, the root of the nation’s health care issues, and the trade-offs posed by various proposals for change. We believe a better health care system begins with a balanced exchange of evidence, experience, and multiple perspectives.

For press inquiries, please contact:

Carolyn Sobczyk
Communications Consultant
csobczyk@allhealthpolicy.org

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact:

Kelly J. Appenzeller
Director of Production and Development
kappenzeller@allhealthpolicy.org