Health reform “czar” to keynote NACDS-PAC breakfast on April 22

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) has announced that the Honorable Nancy-Ann DeParle will serve as the keynote speaker at an NACDS chain members and Political Action Committee (NACDS-PAC) breakfast held on April 22 during its annual meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.

DeParle served as assistant to President Barack Obama and deputy chief of staff for policy from January 2011 to January 2013. From 2009-2011, she served as director of the White House Office of Health Reform, where she spearheaded the effort to enact the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and managed the initial implementation of the law, earning her the nickname of health reform “czar.”

At the NACDS-PAC breakfast, DeParle will discuss the long-term effects of the Affordable Care Act and how it came to be as well as what implementation will likely look like, according to a prepared statement issued by NACDS. She will also discuss trends in Medicare and healthcare delivery reform.

“We are delighted that NACDS members will have an opportunity to hear from leading healthcare expert Nancy-Ann DeParle about the inner-workings of health policy during the healthcare reform debate,” said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE.  “Her remarks will be quite timely given the current implementation of key provisions of the Affordable Care Act that will impact community pharmacy and patients.”

Before serving in the Obama Administration, DeParle worked in the White House budget office under President Bill Clinton. She also served as the associate director for health and personnel at the Office of Management and Budget and took on the task of managing Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

DeParle was the first woman elected student body president while attending the University of Tennessee. After receiving her law degree from Harvard Law School, she was appointed to lead the Department of Human Services, making her the youngest cabinet secretary in Tennessee’s history, according to the NACDS statement. And in 1994, Time magazine selected her as one of “America’s 50 Most Promising Leaders Age 40 and Under.”

DeParle is now a lecturer in law at Harvard Law School and a guest scholar in economic studies at the Brookings Institution.

The NACDS-PAC breakfast is open to NACDS chain members, PAC ticket holders, and invited guests only.