BOSTON: November 22, 2021 – The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) announced today that it will be hosting a public webinar at 12:00 p.m. ET on December 3, 2021 to discuss the key conclusions of our initial annual assessment of Barriers to Fair Access within the prescription drug coverage policies of major US payers. ICER’s full report will be published two days earlier on December 1, 2021.

Webinar presenters will include:

  • Sarah Emond, MPP, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, ICER
  • Cat Davis Ahmed, MBA, Vice President of Policy and Outreach, FH Foundation
  • Rebecca Kirch, JD, Executive Vice President of Policy and Programs, National Patient Advocate Foundation
  • Douglas White, MD, PhD, Chair, Rheumatology Department, Head, Rheumatology Research Lab, Gundersen Health System and Gundersen Medical Foundation; Clinical Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; President-elect, American College of Rheumatology

About ICER’s Fair Access Assessment

In September 2020, ICER published the white paper: “Cornerstones of ‘Fair’ Drug Coverage: Appropriate Cost-Sharing and Utilization Management Policies for Pharmaceuticals.” This paper analyzes the ethical and practical dimensions of insurance coverage policy, while presenting a corresponding set of criteria that will support a more transparent discussion among all health care stakeholders about whether specific policies are delivering “fair” patient access to prescription drugs.

Building on the criteria discussed within that paper, ICER convened a multi-stakeholder working group — comprising more patient community leaders than all other stakeholders combined — to advise ICER as we undertook a new annual initiative to assess Barriers to Fair Access within the prescription drug coverage policies of major US payers.

The final protocol for the assessment is available here, and the full timeline for this initiative is available 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. For more information about ICER, please visit ICER’s website.