According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, health care is the number-one issue for voters in the 2020 presidential election. Indeed, the coming election – from the presidency all the way down to local races – will shape the future of health care in the United States.
Join leading health care policy experts Dean Rosen and Lauren Aronson, partners at Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, and eHI’s Assistant Vice President of Policy Catherine Pugh, for a discussion moderated by eHI CEO Jennifer Covich Bordenick on the current state of the presidential campaigns, what’s on deck in Congress for the rest of the year, and the potential impact of the elections on health care policy.
Speakers:
Lauren Aronson
Partner
Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas
Lauren Aronson is a health policy expert with an insider’s understanding of how to navigate the political landscape to get things done in Washington. She joined Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas in 2015 after serving in senior positions in both the Executive branch and Congress. Her expertise in the intricacies of health policy, combined with her many years in the trenches of policymaking on Capitol Hill and in the Obama Administration, enables her to provide clients with broad perspective. Aronson is uniquely equipped to help health clients achieve policy and political objectives.
Aronson also serves as the Executive Director of the Campaign for Sustainable Drug Pricing (CSRxP). CSRxP is a broad-based coalition of leaders – physicians, nurses, hospitals, consumers, health plans, PBMs, pharmacists, and businesses – promoting bipartisan, market-based solutions to lower drug prices in America.
Prior to joining the firm, Aronson spent three years at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where she directed the Office of Legislation and led the Agency’s interactions with Capitol Hill. Before joining CMS, Aronson served as a Professional Staff Member for the House Ways and Means Committee, working on Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D payment policies.
Aronson served in the White House under President Obama as the Policy Director in the Office of Health Reform. She was a key member of the Administration’s team working to enact the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s signature health care law.
Earlier in her career, Aronson was Health Policy Advisor to then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), a member of the House Democratic Leadership and Ways and Means Committee. She also worked as a Policy Analyst with Christopher Jennings at Jennings Policy Strategies.
Jen Covich-Bordenick
Chief Executive Officer
eHealth Initiative
For over 20 years, Jennifer has focused on quality and innovative technology solutions to transform healthcare. As CEO, she provides leadership for research, education and advocacy components of eHealth Initiative and Foundation (eHI). Convening senior executives from every group in healthcare to discuss, identify, and share best practices that transform the delivery of healthcare. Focus areas: improving health and wellness through innovative solutions; interoperability; privacy concerns; artificial intelligence; payment models to support innovative care; and tech tools for chronic care. She led development of dozens of national surveys and published groundbreaking reports. As part of her work with the Foundation, she led grants with California Health Care Foundation, Commonwealth Fund, Aetna Foundation and Bristol Meyers Squibb Foundation. Jennifer is co-chair of the Federal HIT Policy Committee’s Strategy and Innovation Workgroup; member of the HL7 Board of Directors; and a member of the Diabetes Collaborative Stakeholder Panel. Jennifer is a faculty member for the MHA and MHIA graduate programs at George Washington University. Prior to joining eHI, Jennifer headed up the strategic marketing at OpenNetworks, Inc., focusing on security solutions for the healthcare industry. She led healthcare industry relations at MicroStrategy, Inc., focusing on data-mining solutions for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. She spent four years at the National Committee for Quality Assurance as Director of Policy and Product Development, helping develop national quality standards for healthcare organizations. Jennifer began her career at the George Washington University Hospital, Medical Center and Health Plan working on quality management initiatives, clinical pathways and healthcare administration. Jennifer earned a master's in Human Resource Development,completed coursework in health administration doctoral program at GWU, and resides in Maryland with her husband and two children.
Catherine Pugh
Assistant Vice President, Policy
eHealth Initiative
Most recently, Catherine served as Senior Director, Government Affairs at Horizon Government Affairs, where she managed the Health Innovation Alliance. HIA is a diverse coalition of patient advocates, healthcare providers, patient organizations, employers, technology companies, and payers who support the adoption and use of technology and data to increase access and lower costs in the health care system.
Prior to joining Horizon Government Affairs, Catherine managed federal policy initiatives and advocacy strategies for the Parkinson's Action Network. At PAN, Catherine also helped coordinate a national network of volunteer grassroots advocates working towards better treatments and a cure for Parkinson’s.
Catherine holds a BA in International Studies with a focus in US Foreign Policy from American University.
Dean Rosen
Partner, Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas
A partner at Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, Dean Rosen is one of Washington’s foremost experts on America’s complex health care system—and a master of both the politics and policies that shape it. With more than two decades of experience developing and advancing health policy initiatives on Capitol Hill and in the private sector, Rosen has been named a “Top Lobbyist” by The Hill, a “ Power Player” that healthcare groups turn to by Modern Healthcare, and one of the “DC Healthcare Power Players Who Shape the Rules for a $3.5 trillion industry” by Business Insider.
Rosen advises a wide range of health care stakeholders, from established players to startups trying to gain a foothold in Washington, DC. He has represented health systems and hospitals, medical colleges and physician specialty organizations, health insurers, clinical laboratories, biopharmaceutical companies, nonprofit foundations, and multinational employers. He helps clients shape national policy and navigate the transformational changes taking place in the nation’s health care system.
Prior to joining Mehlman Castagnetti, Rosen held a series of high-level positions in both the private sector and government, including on key committees in both the Senate and House. As the Chief Healthcare Advisor to former Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), a leading voice on national medical and health issues, Rosen helped draft and navigate to final passage landmark legislation creating a Medicare prescription drug benefit. Rosen also helped pass laws in the wake of the September 11 and bioterrorism attacks in 2001 to ensure that local, state and national public health systems had new authorities and resources to respond to future threats.
Earlier, Rosen served as Staff Director for the Senate Subcommittee on Public Health, Majority Counsel for the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee and Health Policy Coordinator for the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources (now the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee). While at Ways and Means, he played a leading role in crafting the Medicare provisions of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. At Labor, he was the lead Senate staffer in drafting the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Rosen’s policy, legal and management experience expands beyond Capitol Hill. He served as Senior Vice President of Policy and General Counsel for the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA), and practiced law at Dow, Lohnes and Albert- son in Washington, DC.
