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Life Sciences Dealmaking Symposium: As the Dust Settles: Post-Election Update and Impact on the Life Sciences Industry

by McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 11, 2020 | Digital Health, Life Sciences

How will the election affect life sciences in 2021 and beyond? What’s ahead for the regulatory and policy environment? In this session, our elite group of policy analysts reviewed the election results and the far-reaching effects for dealmakers, executives and investors.

Eric Zimmerman, global head of McDermott’s Health Industry Advisory Practice Group, moderated this discussion that featured insights from Susan Van Meter, executive director at AdvaMedDx; Rodney Whitlock, PhD, vice president at McDermott+Consulting; and Brian Fortune, senior managing director at Farragut Square Group.

Below are the top takeaways for Life Sciences Dealmaking Symposium: As the Dust Settles: Post-Election Update and Impact on the Life Sciences Industry, click here to access the full webinar.

Access the PDF here.

President-Elect Biden’s legislative experience likely will help him reach across the aisle and engage with Republican congressional leadership to advance policy goals. “Biden spent his whole career on the Hill before he became vice
president, so he really understands how his colleagues tick, and he particularly understands the process of how the Hill makes sausage,” Mr. Fortune said. “That’s something that you can’t really say about either President Obama or President Trump. So, not surprisingly, you saw that when they had all the majorities lined up in their favor, they could move stuff, but when they didn’t, it became a little harder.”

With only a narrow projected majority in the US House of Representatives, Democrats will need to work together more effectively and reach [...]

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Advancing Primary Care in Washington, DC, in 2021

by McDermott Will & Emery | Nov 19, 2020 | Digital Health, Reimbursement

Guest post by Mara McDermott, Vice President at McDermott+Consulting.

With the 2020 election almost in the rearview mirror, clinicians and policymakers alike are turning their attention to the 2021 agenda. For primary care providers, 2021 will hopefully bring COVID-19 recovery and response efforts, additional opportunities to pursue value-based payment arrangements, and ongoing deployment of telehealth and virtual technology.

The 2020 presidential election is expected to bring about a change in administration. However, the “blue wave” Democratic sweep projected by some pundits and pollsters failed to materialize. Instead, in Washington, DC, we will have a closely divided US Senate, with the final balance of power to be determined by two run-off races in Georgia. The US House of Representatives will remain in Democratic control, but by a smaller margin. The narrow margins in the House and Senate will likely constrain the extent to which Democrats are able to advance progressive policy changes. Instead, both sides of the political aisle in Congress are likely to focus on bipartisan areas of agreement. For primary care clinicians, this environment may be encouraging, as members of both parties share goals around protecting and advancing primary care across the country.

COVID-19 Response

When the new Congress begins and President-Elect Biden is inaugurated in January 2021, COVID-19 relief is expected to be at the top of the agenda. Expect President-elect Biden and the incoming Congress to pursue economic and public health relief. Clinicians across the country who have faced depressed revenue as [...]

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Policy Outlook: How The 2020 Election Outcomes Will Impact Your Business – Health Policy

by McDermott Will & Emery | Nov 6, 2020 | Health M&A, Health Private Equity, Hospital Health Benefits

In this session, health law policy authorities discussed changes likely in 2021 in a Biden Administration and how these changes will impact business objectives and strategies for health industry stakeholders.

Below are the top takeaways for Policy Outlook: How The 2020 Election Outcomes Will Impact Your Business session: Health, click here to access the full webinar.

Access the PDF here

COVID-19
If Vice President Biden campaigned on anything, it was a more vigorous response to the pandemic. Look for a Biden Administration to make addressing the spread and restoring the economy top priorities early on. Another relief bill is likely, and maybe even in a lame duck session in 2020, but any relief measure will require Republican and Democratic support. Look at both the House-passed HEROES Act and the Senate Republican HEALS Act as likely starting points for discussion.

Affordable Care Act
Vice President Biden campaigned on sustaining and expanding health insurance coverage by enacting a public option to compete with commercial plans in exchange marketplaces. With Republicans likely to retain control of the Senate, legislative expansions of the ACA are unlikely. Instead, look to a Biden Administration to reverse or revise ACA-related regulations and Executive Orders advanced by the Trump Administration. Still, keep an eye on the Supreme Court’s consideration of California v. Texas, which could call the constitutionality of the ACA into question.

Prescription Drug Pricing
Both parties share the goal of addressing the cost of prescription drugs, and there [...]

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After the Curve Podcast: Focus on Providers

by McDermott Will & Emery | Oct 13, 2020 | Hospitals & Health Systems

COVID-19 led to major policy changes impacting how healthcare is delivered and reimbursed but only some of these new policies will endure in the coming years. On this episode of the After the Curve Podcast, we discuss how provider organizations can innovate their business models and care delivery to adapt and thrive in a post-COVID-19 world. McDermott’s Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Tullio is joined by Sandy DiVarco and Emily Cook to discuss topics surrounding the impact of the pandemic on healthcare provider organizations, including:

The value of government-provided playbooks for healthcare providers in national situations
Proper handling of the volume and dynamic nature of information that is conveyed to healthcare providers
The impact that the increased demand of telehealth will have on the industry from a regulatory perspective
The benefit of telehealth to hospitals and healthcare providers through the COVID-19 months and into the future
Key points leaders need to be aware of as the healthcare industry moves beyond the pandemic

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After the Curve Podcast: Focus on Health Policy

by McDermott Will & Emery | Oct 6, 2020 | Hospitals & Health Systems, Uncategorized

COVID-19 led to major policy changes impacting how healthcare is delivered and reimbursed, but only some of these new policies will endure in coming years. On this episode of the After the Curve podcast, our colleagues from McDermott+Consulting join us to discuss how the pandemic has changed the conversation leading up to the November presidential election and how key policy issues will evolve in the months and years to come. McDermott’s Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Tullio is joined by Eric Zimmerman, Mara McDermott and Jessica Roth to discuss topics surrounding the pandemic-induced policy shifts, including:

The most impactful regulatory telehealth changes that have resulted from COVID-19
A look beyond telehealth to a paradigm shift in the broader digital health landscape
The impact that a more refined data exchange pathway could have on treatment during the next wave of COVID-19 or future pandemics
Meaningful collaborations that are currently happening in the digital health space
A look at innovations that are emerging from the demands of post-COVID-19 healthcare
Legal and regulatory compliance steps that still need to be taken to allow these telehealth programs to continue in the future

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5 Questions with a Health Policy Specialist: Rodney L. Whitlock of McDermott+Consulting

by McDermott Will & Emery | Aug 20, 2020 | Uncategorized

Rodney L. Whitlock, Ph.D
Vice President, McDermott+Consulting
Focus Area: Healthcare Policy
Years at M+: 1.5 years

What is your favorite part about your health policy work at McDermott+Consulting?

Healthcare policy, politics and process is complicated. It is a constant challenge to discern and anticipate the future of healthcare policy for clients. It is the constant intellectual challenge of operating in healthcare policy that I enjoy most about what I do. Specifically, I like that I can bring my 21 years of experience in Congress to my clients, move from subject matter to subject matter and play at a high level. For example, I can go from talking about prescription drugs in the morning then later on in the day dealing with an issue very specific to a client. It’s the challenge of having to be in different spaces at different times of the day that I actually enjoy.

What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?

The current global pandemic has significantly impacted healthcare. All of the pressures on pricing and value that existed before the pandemic are now accentuated by the response to the crisis. The recovery from the loss of revenue experienced by providers throughout the year 2020 will be felt for a long time to come. The way practices have changed to accommodate the pandemic will also impact the provision of healthcare services and how they are reimbursed for a long time [...]

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Five Questions with a Health Policy Specialist: Rachel Stauffer of McDermott+Consulting

by McDermott Will & Emery | Aug 13, 2019 | Uncategorized

Rachel Stauffer
Director, McDermott+Consulting
Focus Area: Health Policy Advocacy and Lobbying
Years at McDermott+Consulting: 1.5

What is your favorite part about your health policy work at McDermott+Consulting?

We have a deep bench of experts on a wide variety of health policy issues. This allows our team to be involved in so many different aspects of health policy – and that is my favorite part. There is no “normal” or “typical” day here. We work on different types of projects (advocacy, stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, for example) for different clients, including hospital systems, diagnostics, rural health, physician groups and others, in any given day. It keeps me on my toes and gives me an opportunity to learn new things every day.

What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?

The biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients today is the same: the unsettled health policy landscape. The politics around health policy are not as clear cut as they used to be, even just a few years ago. This puts clients in a unique position to shape and influence policy in ways that were not necessarily available a few years ago. On the other hand, there is little ability to predict what happens next. , It can be challenging to navigate and understand where to focus and how to deliver your message when the politics become murky but, that is [...]

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Five Questions with a Health Policy Specialist: Mara McDermott of McDermott+Consulting

by McDermott Will & Emery | May 29, 2019 | Uncategorized

Mara McDermott
Vice President, McDermott+Consulting
Focus Area: Policy, Lobbying and Advocacy Strategies
Years at McDermott+Consulting: 1

What is your favorite part about your health policy work at McDermott+Consulting?

My favorite part about working at McDermott+Consulting is the entrepreneurial spirit of the firm. Since arriving at the firm a year ago we have tested and implemented so many new ideas to better serve our clients at an incredibly fast pace. We have established a weekly Check Up article series to provide health policy updates from Washington, DC, started our Policy Breakfast Series for clients and built a new advocacy coalition to influence policy in Washington, DC, just to name a few. The firm is constantly encouraging and embracing innovation to improve client service.

What is the biggest opportunity and greatest challenge facing clients in your area of focus today?

I help clients engage with Congress and the Administration on health care policy issues pertaining to provider payment. Right now, we see a lot of opportunity in the physician payment space, working with this Administration to define the next steps in the movement from volume to value. This includes opportunities around new delivery models, such as Direct Contracting and Primary Care First, recently announced Administrative initiatives.

The greatest challenge has been the pace of significant changes in the regulatory [...]

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