Where credible science meets good policy: rethinking healthcare coverage and access in 2025
“We have never spent so much time on policy as we have this year. It's complex. We're trying to understand it. We want to know what's next, and there's a lot of uncertainty.”
This reflection from Tommy Bramley (Senior Vice President, Global Consulting Services, Cencora) opened the PAP – Patient Assistance & Access Programs conference of ACCESS USA 2025 (March 18–20, 2025), where he delivered the keynote address: “State of the Industry — The Evolving Landscape of Healthcare Coverage and Access in 2025.” Drawing on a career that spans health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), market access, and healthcare policy, Bramley provided an insightful overview of the major forces shaping patient access today. He emphasized the importance of aligning scientific advancement with thoughtful policymaking: “When you put credible science and good policy together, powerful things can happen.”
Bramley framed the session around three key challenges currently impacting patient access:
- Shifting US federal and state policies
- The unintended consequences of the key health provisions under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
- Payer decisions that continue to create access barriers
Sponsorship for this Deep Dive was provided by Cencora.