The event will open with a 45-minute fireside chat between Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS Administrator Oz and Paragon’s President Brian Blase.
UPDATE: Senator Ron Johnson and Representative John Joyce — each the chairman of an important investigations subcommittee — will join our event to discuss their efforts with oversight and improving program integrity.
This event is IN-PERSON ONLY. Patrons who cannot attend in-person should not reserve a ticket
When: April 28 @ 1:30pm EDT
Where: National Press Club, 529 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20045
Doors open at 12:30 pm. Space is strictly limited to 400 attendees. On the day of the event, ticket-holding patrons will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached.
No walk-ins will be allowed. Patrons who cannot attend in-person should not reserve a ticket. Within 24 hours of the event, ticketed patrons will receive an individualized pass for admission to National Press Club, separate from their event ticket.
The event will open with a dialogue between Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Brian Blase, president of the Paragon Health Institute. They will discuss:
· The extent of waste, fraud, and abuse in federal health programs
· The problems CMS inherited from the previous administration and the steps the agency is taking to prioritize patients and safeguard taxpayer dollars
· How CMS is incorporating new technology in the fight against fraud and collaborating with other federal agencies and states to strengthen enforcement.
The interview with Dr. Oz will be followed by a brief discussion between Paragon’s Medicare Reform Initiative Director and Former Director of the Center for Medicare and Former Principal Deputy Administrator of CMS Demetrios L. Kouzoukas, and Paragon’s President Brian Blase.
The event will close with a panel discussion focused on the challenges of reform and the need for greater accountability. Panelists will include United States Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), United States House Energy Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Representative John Joyce (R-PA), and Ryan Long, Director of Congressional Relations and Senior Research Fellow at Paragon Health Institute.
About the panelists:
Dr. Mehmet Oz serves as the 17th administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services under HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr., and President Donald Trump. He is a Professor Emeritus at NY Presbyterian-Columbia Medical Center and has won nine Daytime Emmy® Awards. Dr. Oz received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and obtained a joint MD and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Wharton Business School. He is the author of eight New York Times Best Sellers and was a founder of a lifestyle magazine with a focus that extends well beyond health and wellness to relationships, beauty, food and home.
Senator Ron Johnson was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 after running a successful manufacturing business in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for thirty years. From 2015-2021, he was Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and remains a member of it. He currently serves as Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and is also a member of the Budget, Finance and Aging committees. Ron was re-elected to his third term in the U.S. Senate in 2022, and resides in Oshkosh with his wife Jane. They have three children and four grandchildren.
Congressman John Joyce, M.D., has represented Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 2019. In Congress, Congressman John Joyce served as the Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce before being named the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Congressman John Joyce also serves as Co-Chair of the House GOP Doctors’ Caucus. Since arriving on Capitol Hill, Congressman Joyce has prioritized and championed legislation and initiatives focused on delivering affordable, quality healthcare in rural communities, lowering energy prices, and expanding access to high-speed internet across South Central Pennsylvania.
Brian C. Blase, Ph.D., is the President of Paragon Health Institute. Brian was Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the White House’s National Economic Council (NEC) from 2017-2019, where he coordinated the development and execution of numerous health policies and advised the President, NEC director, and senior officials. Brian guided the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s health care and entitlement program oversight and investigation efforts from 2011 to 2014 and then served as the Senate Republican Policy Committee’s health policy analyst from 2014 to 2015.
Demetrios L. Kouzoukas is the Director of Paragon Health Institute’s Medicare Initiative. From 2017 to 2021, Kouzoukas served as the Chief Executive of the Medicare program at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In that role, he worked with patients, policymakers, providers, insurers, and manufacturers to improve health care in the United States. He developed and operationalized a vision to enhance patient-driven health care nationwide, testifying about it before Congress.
Ryan Long is the Director of Congressional Relations and a Senior Research Fellow at Paragon Health Institute. In this role he is the leading voice communicating Paragon’s research and proposals to Congress by connecting with and educating policymakers and their staffs and leading the Congressional Health Policy Education Program. As a researcher, Long produces original papers and policy briefs promoting consumer choice, market competition, and innovation in healthcare markets. These publications focus on regulatory and policy reforms to ensure a sustainable and innovative health care system. Formerly Senior Policy Advisor and Counsel to Rep. McCarthy during his rise from House Minority Leader to Speaker of the House, Long brings Paragon over 25 years of experience on the Hill and in health policy.
