Join us during this session of the NCPA Annual Convention to hear this bipartisan pair of former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretaries discuss health care reform with an insider's view on upcoming implementation.

In four years at HHS, Leavitt is credited for successfully implementing the Medicare Prescription Drug benefit. At that time he noted, "I've visited with and heard from pharmacists all over the country. They have been selfless, compassionate, and committed to service. I've met pharmacists throughout the country who provided three-to-five day supplies of medicines to beneficiaries without payment—and often no expectation of one—until things could be straightened out." Leavitt also created national strategies and implemented plans for several major components of the health care system including: health information systems, personalized medicine, pandemic preparedness and medical emergency response. As secretary he led a government-wide effort to devise and implement a new strategy on the safety of imported products, opened FDA offices globally and negotiated historic agreements in China, India, Latin America and Europe.

In 1993, President Clinton appointed Shalala U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) where she served for eight years, becoming the longest serving HHS Secretary in U.S. history. As HHS Secretary, she directed the welfare reform process, made health insurance available to an estimated 3.3 million children through the approval of all State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP), raised child immunization rates to the highest levels in history, led major reforms of the FDA's drug approval process and food safety system, revitalized the National Institutes of Health, and directed a major management and policy reform of Medicare. At the end of her tenure as HHS Secretary, The Washington Post described her as "one of the most successful government managers of modern times." In 2007, President George W. Bush handpicked Shalala to co-chair with Senator Bob Dole the Commission on Care for Returning Wounded Warriors, to evaluate how wounded service members transition from active duty to civilian society.

Register today (must be a registered attendee for the Convention in order to attend this event).