This session will open with a conversation with Bill Cassidy, MD, US Senator, Louisiana, followed by a conversation with Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, US House of Representatives, and a panel discussion.

An increasing number of patients can no longer afford prescription drugs—hindering their ability to manage their treatments and to obtain the best health outcomes. In addition, the price of both new and generic drugs continues to skyrocket. The debate over how to contain these costs to the health-care system is raging. While there is broad agreement that action must be taken, and many solutions have been proposed, there is no consensus regarding the exact steps to decrease drug prices. The transformational, and at times curative, therapies that are coming to market with very high price tags—upwards of $2 million—further exacerbate this challenge. How we do ensure access to these life-saving innovations while also ensuring prices are affordable to the health-care system?

Part 1:

• Guest Bill Cassidy, MD, US Senator, Louisiana
• Moderator Dan Diamond, Author, POLITICO Pulse

Part 2: 

• Guest Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, US House of Representatives
• Moderator Dan Diamond, Author, POLITICO Pulse

Part 3:

• Moderator Dan Diamond, Author, POLITICO Pulse
• Speaker Matthew Eyles, President and CEO, America's Health Insurance Plans
• Speaker Dan Leonard, President and CEO, National Pharmaceutical Council
• Speaker Mark McClellan, Director, Robert J. Margolis Center for Health Policy and the Margolis Professor of Business, Medicine and Health Policy, Duke University
• Speaker Seema Verma, Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, US Department of Health and Human Services