As UMB President Jay A. Perman, MD, noted in his December President’s Message, there is much at stake in terms of health and higher education policy, federal budget priorities, and issues of civil rights and social justice as the administration changes in Washington.

“We’ll invite noted experts and thought leaders to weigh in on how the new president and his administration and the new Congress could alter the country’s course in each of these areas and how such changes could affect institutions like UMB,” Perman said in introducing the new speaker series.

Fisher’s breakfast lecture and Q&A session, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the SMC Campus Center, will focus on health. She leads the AAMC’s public policy initiatives on medical education, health care delivery, and medical research, providing strategic guidance to advance the association’s legislative and regulatory priorities and developing policy proposals that support the work of academic medicine.

One of the nation’s leading experts on Medicare, Fisher has more than 20 years of experience in legislative and regulatory health care policy. Most recently, she served as senior health counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, where she played a key role in drafting the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 and the new Medicare physician payment system.

Before moving to the Senate, Fisher spent almost a decade as senior director in health care affairs at the AAMC after serving as senior health policy analyst and general counsel for the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission — the precursor to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.  

“We’ll seek Ms. Fisher’s advice on how we at UMB can help shape U.S. policy to ensure health care access for those historically underserved,” Perman said. “We’ll also discuss proposals for such urgent issues as cutting health care costs, stimulating innovation in health technology and treatment delivery, and assuring quality care for all.”