B&D Consulting's Debra Lappin to Address Cost of Health Care Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Debra Lappin of B&D Consulting will be joining some of the nation's foremost authorities on health care reform at a national health summit on August 29 in Nashville, Tennessee.

"The Third Rail of Health Reform: Cost" will feature an objective discussion of the facts about one of the critical issues in the health reform debate: What to do about rising health care spending. The daylong forum will be at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Lappin, a Senior Vice President at B&D Consulting and President of the Council for American Medical Innovation, will participate in a panel discussion on incentives for change, moderated by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. Lappin is recognized across government, academic and nonprofit sectors as a public servant and leading strategist in public health and science policy.

Other panelists on the incentives for change discussion are Helen Darling, CEO of the National Business Group on Health; Elizabeth A. McGlynn, Associate Director of RAND Health; Len Nichols, Director of the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation; and Leonard D. Schaeffer, Judge Widney Professor and Chair at the University of Southern California and founding Chairman and CEO of WellPoint.

The forum is designed to create public dialogue on the most promising opportunities to improve value and reduce unnecessary spending in health care — and gain accurate insights into such choices. A key feature of the summit will be recognizing innovators who have already demonstrated through their groundbreaking efforts how to control health care costs.

Other participants in the day-long forum include U.S. Representative Jim Cooper of Tennessee; Dr. Julie Gerberding, former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Jim Thomson, President and CEO of RAND Corporation; and David Walker, President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former Comptroller General of the United States.

B&D Consulting is a national advisory and advocacy firm based in Washington, D.C. since 1985. The firm's professionals serve clients across key sectors, advancing their objectives within increasingly complex policy environments. Whether developing a business or advancing a mission, the B&D Consulting team has the multi-faceted skills to help clients succeed. B&D Consulting is a division of Baker & Daniels LLP, an international law firm with offices in Indiana, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Beijing.