— New members bring expertise in broad range of perspectives, including patient advocacy, health policy, economics, and clinical practice —

BOSTON, March 18, 2021 – The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has appointed new members to each of its three independent evidence Appraisal Councils: the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), the Midwest Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (Midwest CEPAC), and the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (New England CEPAC).

“Each of the independent Appraisal Councils plays a vital role,” noted Steven D. Pearson, MD, MSc, ICER President. “As experts in evaluating evidence across many fields, they bring a sharp eye to judgments about the strengths and limitations of evidence on the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of different health care interventions. Through their public deliberations, the Appraisal Councils also have the opportunity to hear further input directly from patient representatives, clinical experts, and other stakeholders. In their deliberations and votes the Appraisal Councils integrate these considerations, thereby bringing into the open many of the key issues that insurers and other policymakers will be weighing. The Appraisal Councils thus can improve the transparency, and the inclusivity, of the process through which evidence is interpreted and translated into pricing and access decisions.”

Appraisal Councils are regionally-based experts in areas including outcomes research, health economics, technology assessment, medical ethics, patient access and advocacy, and clinical practice. Council members are chosen based on their expertise in reviewing and applying medical evidence in a variety of contexts and are not selected based on their specific expertise in a given clinical area. All members must meet strict conflict of interest criteria to participate in ICER’s meetings.

The newest members of each of the Councils include:

CTAF

Assistant Professor of Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine

Midwest CEPAC

Executive Director, Generation Patient (formerly the Health Advocacy Summit)

Program Director, Center for Endometriosis Care (CEC) 

Senior Policy Adviser, Haystack Project

New England CEPAC

Director, Partnered Evidence-Based Policy Resource Center, VA Boston Healthcare System; Professor, Boston University School of Public Health; Senior Research Scientist, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Editor-in-Chief, Health Services Research; Regular Contributor, The New York Times

Consumer Advocate, New Hampshire Office of the Consumer Advocate

Assistant Attending, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Visit ICER’s website to find biographies for each new and existing member of CTAF, Midwest CEPAC, or New England CEPAC, as well as information on each program’s upcoming meetings.

About ICER

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an independent non-profit research institute that produces reports analyzing the evidence on the effectiveness and value of drugs and other medical services. ICER’s reports include evidence-based calculations of prices for new drugs that accurately reflect the degree of improvement expected in long-term patient outcomes, while also highlighting price levels that might contribute to unaffordable short-term cost growth for the overall health care system.

ICER’s reports incorporate extensive input from all stakeholders and are the subject of public hearings through three core programs: the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), the Midwest Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (Midwest CEPAC), and the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (New England CEPAC). These independent panels review ICER’s reports at public meetings to deliberate on the evidence and develop recommendations for how patients, clinicians, insurers, and policymakers can improve the quality and value of health care. For more information about ICER, please visit ICER’s website.