Policy Seminar with Liz Fowler, PhD, JD

The U.S. health system is experiencing a period of substantial uncertainty, with high stakes for patients, providers, and policymakers. Drawing on more than two decades at the center of U.S. health reform – from playing a role in drafting the Medicare Part D law and the Affordable Care Act to leading the CMS Innovation Center – Liz Fowler examines where U.S. health policy stands today and what comes next.

She will explore recent policy developments, including the debate over coverage following historic Medicaid cuts, ongoing uncertainty around ACA subsidies, the continuing challenges facing Medicare, and the future of value-based care. Fowler distills lessons from past reform efforts and outlines a pragmatic agenda for protecting progress while building a stronger, more sustainable health system.

Please note: Registration is required. In-person attendance is strongly encouraged, although virtual access will be provided for all registrants.

Co-sponsored with the Center for Health Incentives & Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) and the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy. Supported by the Charles C. Leighton, MD Memorial Lecture Fund. 

Speaker

Liz Fowler, PhD, JD

Former Deputy Administrator and Director, Innovation Center, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Liz Fowler, PhD, JD, is a nationally recognized expert in federal health policy and Distinguished Scholar on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Carey Business School. Most recently, she was Deputy Administrator and Director of the Innovation Center at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In that role, she was responsible for advancing innovative payment and care delivery models in Medicare and Medicaid to promote value-based care on a national scale. These value-based payment models have provided an important testing ground and scaling opportunity for innovative start-ups and health care disrupters.

Prior to leading the Innovation Center, she was Executive Vice President of programs at The Commonwealth Fund and Vice President for Global Health Policy at Johnson & Johnson. In 2011-2012, she served as special assistant to President Obama on health care and economic policy at the National Economic Council to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As Chief Health Counsel at the Senate Finance Committee, she played a major role in the drafting and passage of the ACA in 2010, and she also played a key role drafting the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA). She has over 25 years of experience in health policy and health services research. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a law degree (JD) from the University of Minnesota. She is admitted to the bar in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a Fellow of the inaugural class of the Aspen Health Innovators Fellowship and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2022.