You are invited to participate, bring your staff and colleagues to initiate better standard of care access for cancer patients in Connecticut. Feel free to share this invitation.
CONNECTICUT ONCOLOGY ASSOCIATION WEBINAR - Joint Offering with the Virginia Association of Hematologists & Oncologists
Meeting Date: Wed. Oct. 21, 2026 Time: Afternoon Webinar 12:15 pm to 1:15 pm
Location: Web Link will be provided once attendees are registered
Attendance is limited only to CT and Virginia medical practice staff and physicians - Corporate Partner representatives other than Regeneron are not able to register
Topic “Current Landscape of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program and State Prescription Drug Affordability Boards – Impact on Patient Access”. With Guest Presenters from Regeneron
The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program: An overview of the Program: drug eligibility, scope, price requirements, exceptions, and timelines.
- · The current landscape: What has happened with the Program so far in the past few years, which drugs have been negotiated, resulting prices and market implications.
- · Recent developments: Most recent developments on the policy and regulatory front, legal challenges and political context that are all shaping the Program.
- · Impact on patient access and key considerations for oncology practices: What the Program could mean for patients' ability to access medicines and key considerations for oncologists and practices to keep in mind as the Program implementation continues.
- · Prescription Drug Affordability Boards (PDABs:): An overview of PDABs — what they are, why states are creating them, and the authority they have (or don't have) to act on drug pricing
- · The current state landscape: Where PDABs exist today, which states have gone further to authorize price controls like upper payment limits, and how Virginia's own PDAB efforts fit into that national picture
- · Structures and proposals: The common models states use to design PDABs, including how boards select drugs for review and the types of price control mechanisms being proposed
- · Impact on patient access and key considerations for oncology practices: What PDAB-driven price controls could mean for patients' ability to access medicines and key considerations for oncologists and practices to keep in mind as the PDAB landscape continues to evolve.
Joanna Young: Senior Director, Federal Public Policy Joanna Young joined Regeneron in 2021 and serves as senior director of federal policy, analytics, and research. Prior to joining Regeneron, Ms. Young spent over a decade at Avalere Health, focusing on data-driven analyses of the impact of various legislative and regulatory changes on the healthcare industry, with a specific focus on the Medicare program. Prior to Avalere, Ms. Young was a manager at Integrity Management Services where she led government projects focused on fraud, waste and abuse as well as compliance issues in Medicare & Medicaid programs in support of the CMS’ program integrity efforts. She received her BA and MA in Sociology from University of Warsaw’s Institute of Applied Social Sciences in Poland and her MPP from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Mark O’Rourke, Esq., Director, State Policy & Government Affairs
Mark O’Rourke joined Regeneron in 2026 and serves as the Director of State Policy & Government Affairs. Prior to joining Regeneron, Mr. O’Rourke has held positions of varying responsibility for TAP, Vertex, Astellas, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Mr. O’Rourke has spearheaded many legislative and regulatory reforms across the nation including the passage of the nation’s first hepatitis C screening laws and has overseen key oncology legislative reforms – including Oral Chemotherapy Parity laws and Access to Late-Stage Cancer Therapies measures in several states - that have dramatically improved patient access to innovative therapies. He is a licensed attorney and a U.S. Army veteran and currently serves as the President of the Board of Trustees of the New York State Military Museum. He received his BA in History and Political Science from Villanova University and his J.D. form St. John’s University School of Law.
You may register on the CT Oncology Association website, www.ctoncology.com, or by email to dawnho@aol.com. Registration is essential to ensure a seat and to receive the access webinar link.
Please join the Connecticut Oncology Association in thanking our 2026 Charter Oak Partners to date for helping us to bring these education programs to our members: AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Exelixis, Geron, Merck, Novocure, Pfizer, Regeneron, Taiho Oncology, and Takeda.
We would also like to thank our other 2026 Nutmeg level corporate partners to date: Abbvie, Astellas, Johnson & Johnson and PharmaEssentia.
We look forward to welcoming these partners and others in 2027. 2027 Corporate Partner Invitations/Information are soon to be available on our web site, www.ctoncology.com .
Please Complete & email the Registration Information Below by Monday, Oct. 19 at noon.
I will be attending the CtOA webinar at 12:15 pm Yes____ No___
Please register at www.ctoncology.com, Or email to dawnho@aol.com
It is important to provide contact phone and email information, in case of adverse weather or unexpected issues.
Name: ____________ Affiliation:______________________
Contact Phone #:_______________ Contact Email ______________
All Staff and Physicians for Connecticut Practices are members of the Connecticut Oncology Association and invited to participate at no charge.
Thank you, Dawn Holcombe, MBA FACMPE ACHE
Executive Director, Connecticut Oncology Association
dawnho@aol.com (main) 860-305-4510 (cell and main) www.ctoncology.com
