GAO Makes MedPAC Appointments
WASHINGTON, DC (June 2, 2016) – Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), today announced the appointment of five new members to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), as well as the reappointment of one current member.
“MedPAC provides valuable advice to policymakers on key issues relating to Medicare,” Dodaro said. ”GAO received applications from a number of highly qualified candidates interested in serving on the Commission, and I am very pleased to announce this latest round of appointments because the men and women named today will bring an important range of diverse experiences and perspectives to MedPAC.”
The newly appointed members are Amy Bricker, RPh, Vice President, Supply Chain Strategy, Express Scripts, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri ; Brian DeBusk, PhD, CEO, DeRoyal Industries, Powell, Tennessee; Paul Ginsburg, PhD, Leonard Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies, Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. and Professor of Health Policy, University of Southern California; Bruce Pyenson, FSA, MAAA, Principal and Consulting Actuary, Milliman, Inc. in New York, New York; and Pat Wang, JD, CEO, Healthfirst, New York, New York. Their terms will expire in April 2019.
The reappointed member, whose term will also expire in April 2019, is Jon Christianson, PhD, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He will continue to serve as Vice Chair.
Congress established MedPAC in 1997 to analyze access to care, cost and quality of care, and other key issues affecting Medicare. MedPAC advises Congress on payments to health plans participating in the Medicare Advantage program and providers in Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service programs. The Comptroller General is responsible for naming new commission members.
Commissioners whose terms will expire in April 2017 are Kathy Buto, MPA; Francis “Jay” Crosson, MD; Willis D. Gradison, Jr., MBA, formerly a Scholar in Residence in the Health Sector Management Program at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business; William J. Hall, MD, Director of the Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Rochester School of Medicine; and Warner Thomas, MBA, President and CEO of the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Commissioners whose terms will expire in April 2018 are Alice Coombs, MD, Critical Care Specialist and Anesthesiologist, South Shore Hospital, Weymouth, Massachusetts; Jack Hoadley, PhD, Research Professor, Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University, Washington, DC; David Nerenz, PhD, Director of the Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan; Rita Redberg, MD, Professor, Clinical Medicine, University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, California; Craig Samitt, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer, Anthem, Indianapolis, Indiana; and Susan Thompson, MS, RN, Senior Vice President of Integration and Optimization with UnityPoint Health and Chief Executive Officer of UnityPoint Health in Fort Dodge, Iowa. (Note: An earlier version of this press release mistakenly excluded Susan Thompson and the correct title and organization for Craig Samitt.)
For more information about MedPAC, contact Mark Miller, MedPAC’s executive director, at (202) 220-3700. Other calls should be directed to Chuck Young in GAO’s Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800. The official announcement will be published in the Federal Register.
Brief biographies of the new commission members follow:
Amy Bricker, RPh, is Vice President, Supply Chain Strategy with Express Scripts, Inc., in St. Louis, Missouri. She works closely with pharmaceutical manufacturers and retail pharmacies in creating programs that support clients of Express Scripts’ pharmacy benefit management and consultation services and drug utilization review. She has also held positions in the retail contracting and the fraud, waste, and abuse divisions of the company. Prior positions include Regional Vice President with Walgreens Health Services and Director of Community Retail Pharmacy for BJC HealthCare. Ms. Bricker received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy at St. Louis College of Pharmacy.
Brian DeBusk, PhD, is Chief Executive Officer of DeRoyal Industries in Powell, Tennessee, which operates in the surgical, orthopedic, wound care, and healthcare information technology markets. He also serves as Vice Chairman of Lincoln Memorial University in rural Tennessee, which includes graduate medical education programs for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses. Dr. DeBusk’s prior employment includes General Electric, Inobis, and Pace Energy systems. He has served on the faculty of both the University of Tennessee and Lincoln Memorial University, teaching classes in Information technology and business strategy. Dr. DeBusk holds a PhD in electrical engineering from Vanderbilt University and a Masters of Business Administration from Emory University.
Paul Ginsburg, PhD, is the Leonard Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. and Professor of Health Policy at the University of Southern California, where he is affiliated with the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. Prior positions include Founder and President of the Center for Studying Health System Change, Founding Executive Director of the Physician Payment Review Commission, Senior Economist at RAND, and Deputy Assistant Director at the Congressional Budget Office. Dr. Ginsburg earned his doctorate in economics from Harvard University.
Bruce Pyenson, FSA, MAAA, is Principal and Consulting Actuary at Milliman, Inc. in New York, New York. His work has focused on diverse aspects of healthcare and insurance, including recent work related to alternative payment models for accountable care organizations, such as shared savings, as well as financial modeling of therapeutic interventions. He has co-authored publications on such topics as the cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening, pandemic influenza, and site-of-service cost differences for chemotherapy. Mr. Pyenson is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
Pat Wang, JD, is Chief Executive Officer of Healthfirst in New York, New York. Healthfirst is a not-for-profit provider-sponsored health plan that serves Medicare enrollees, including those who are eligible for low-income subsidies and those who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Healthfirst incorporates a payment model that transfers risk to hospital and physician partners. Ms. Wang previously served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Managed Care for the Greater New York Hospital Association. She received her law degree from the New York University School of Law.
#####
The Government Accountability Office, known as the investigative arm of Congress, is an independent, nonpartisan agency that exists to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities. GAO also works to improve the performance of the federal government and ensure its accountability to the American people. The agency examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO provides Congress with timely information that is objective, fact-based, nonideological, fair, and balanced. GAO’s commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of accountability, integrity, and reliability.