Leigh Purvis Elected New Governance Board Chair of ICER

— National leader for AARP on policies to improve the affordability of prescription drugs for seniors brings decades of experience to the role —

BOSTON, December 5, 2022 – The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has announced the election of Leigh Purvis as its next Governance Board Chair, effective January 1, 2023. Ms. Purvis has served on the ICER Board since 2020 and is an accomplished health care policy leader with nearly 20 years’ experience in prescription drug pricing, biologic drugs, and Medicare prescription drug coverage.

“We are thrilled to continue working with Leigh as she assumes this new role,” said Steven D. Pearson, MD, MSc, President of ICER. “Leigh shares the sense that too often pricing and value don’t align well in the US health care system, and that patients and consumers benefit from ICER’s work to develop independent, objective assessments of new drugs and other health care interventions.  She will play a critical role in leading ICER’s Board and guiding ICER toward the fulfillment of our mission: to help all Americans achieve sustainable access to innovative, high-value care.”

Ms. Purvis is the Senior Director of Health Care Costs and Access in AARP’s Public Policy Institute. She leads a team of policy analysts and researchers who work on health care issues that are relevant to the 50+ population.  In addition, Ms. Purvis heads the Institute’s work on prescription drug issues. She is a coauthor of the Public Policy Institute’s annual Rx Price Watch reports, which track price trends for prescription drugs widely used by older Americans. Ms. Purvis joined AARP in 2005 as a senior policy research analyst.

Prior to her tenure at AARP, she worked for the American Psychological Association. Ms. Purvis is a national expert on prescription drug issues, a sought-after panelist at conferences, and a frequent contributor to media articles. She has an MPA with a concentration in health administration and policy from George Mason University and a BS in psychology from the University of Mary Washington. She also holds a certificate in gerontology from the University of Washington.

“There’s often a troubling dynamic between high prescription drug costs and a need to forego other basic necessities,” said Ms. Purvis. “In recent years, though, ICER has exposed both unjustified drug prices and problematic insurance coverage. I look forward to continuing my work with ICER to create a better balance between incentivizing pharmacological innovation and improving patients’ ability to access needed medications.”

Outgoing ICER Board Chair Dr. Murray Ross will remain on the Governance Board through December 31, 2023. We extend our deep thanks to Dr. Ross, who became ICER’s inaugural Board Chair in 2013 and has served in that capacity with distinction for nearly 10 years. 

For more information on ICER’s Governance Board, click here.

About ICER

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an independent non-profit research institute that produces reports analyzing the evidence on the effectiveness and value of drugs and other medical services. ICER’s reports include evidence-based calculations of prices for new drugs that accurately reflect the degree of improvement expected in long-term patient outcomes, while also highlighting price levels that might contribute to unaffordable short-term cost growth for the overall health care system.