In mid-March, two of our Health Policy Scholar alumni, Grace Shults and Tai Chou-Kudu, had the opportunity to meet Ms. Stacy Sanders, the first Chief Competition Officer at the Health and Human Services. At Generation Patient, we believe competition in healthcare—whether within the pharmaceutical, insurance, hospital, or pharmaceutical benefit manager industries—is crucial to promoting patient options and lowering prices. We also believe that lived experience and patient voices must lead conversations about healthcare transformation in the United States. Please read this reflection from Tai below!
“In 2023, I participated in the Health Policy Scholars program, a year-long initiative for young adults living with chronic health conditions facilitated by Generation Patient. I was born with Hemophilia, a rare condition that prevents my blood from clotting properly, necessitating me to rely on one of the most expensive drugs on the U.S. market for treatment. Following the program's conclusion, Generation Patient has continued encouraging me to stay involved with the Generation Patient community. They have connected me with this opportunity to engage with Stacy Sanders, the newly appointed Chief Competition Officer at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), whose role includes a focus on drug pricing policies that directly impact those with Hemophilia in the U.S., where the cost of pharmaceuticals, insurance, and medical care can be prohibitively expensive. This opportunity allowed me to articulate my experience and concerns regarding drug pricing and gain insights from my peers with different conditions.
It’s my hope that more policymakers at the macro level will be able to hear our stories firsthand and begin to see us as individuals rather than statistics or case studies. It would be great if those who directly work on the policies that impact my daily life could be deeply affected by our patients' stories as well.”
To learn more about our health policy work, please visit https://generationpatient.org/health-policy-lab!