Maintaining the high quality of health care in the United States, providing health
care coverage for all Americans, and ensuring economic incentives to drive
innovation in the health care and biotech industries are issues that are high on
the agendas of government policy makers and legislators. Of all the issues faced
by the American public, these are clearly the most difficult. The challenge is to
find a balance among them that will lead to affordable, high quality health care
that will benefit from the advances in medical science and technology.
Price controls of pharmaceuticals, foreign imports of cheaper drugs from other
countries, government run health care system vs. market based health care system,
Medicare prescription drug benefit, patent protection/international trade issues,
regulatory compliance/speed of new product review, medical/scientific ethics,
international health care models, etc. - all factors being considered in the
current health care debates across the country and in Washington. The outcome of
these debates will lead to a health care policy of the future that will affect not
only the quality and extent of health care delivered, but whether the U.S. will be
able to maintain its role as the global leader in innovative health related
technology and science.
The 2004 conference will focus on specific issues related to domestic and
international health care policy and how they affect future: (1) U.S. markets for
pharmaceutical and biotech products; and (2) innovation in medical science and
technology.
The conference will bring together health care policy experts to focus on
inevitable policy changes in the United States. Speakers will present their
perspectives on what health care will look like in the future and predictions for
what the effect will be on the business of health care innovation and delivery.
The program design will engage program participants in dialog about their
particular viewpoints and concerns as well.
