As reported in HEALTH NOTES prepared by R. Alexander Vachon, III, Ph.D., avachon@hamiltonppb.com, CMS will be hosting the following Special Open Door Forum on the Legislative implementation of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003

• Date: DEC 18, 2003
• Start Time: 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
• Duration: 1 Hour, 30 Mins
• Place: Rm 505A - HHH Bldg., Washington, DC
• Call-in Phone #: 1-800-837-1935
• Conference ID: 4392194

Individuals may participate either in person or by teleconference. RSVP is required only if you plan to attend the Hubert H. Humphrey Bldg at the address above to participate in this forum. Persons participating by phone are not required to RSVP. To RSVP, send your name and association name to PHARMACYODF-L.CO5.BALT5@cms.hhs.gov. RSVP Deadline is 3:00 PM (ET), DEC 16, 2003.

Call in information: ENCORE: 1-800-642-1687; Conf. ID# 4392194. Encore is a digital recording of this call, that can be accessed by dialing 1-800-642-1687 and entering the Conf. ID., beginning on 2 hours after the call has ended. The recordings will expire after 5 days.

As reported in HEALTH NOTES prepared by R. Alexander Vachon, III, Ph.D., avachon@hamiltonppb.com, CMS has scheduled a pre-application conference for the Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card and Transitional Assistance Program on December 18 & 19, 2003, at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in Baltimore, Maryland. The conference is intended to provide information to vendors interested in applying to become sponsors. The conference will be held at:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Blvd.
Baltimore MD 21244

Registration for the conference is mandatory for all attendees including CMS and HHS employees. Conference registration will close once the seating limit has been reached or on December 16th, whichever comes first. You may register for the conference online at http://www.cms.gov/events/form_org.asp. Note: Media and press attendees should not register using the online system, but should contact the CMS Press Office at 202-690-6145 to coordinate attendance. If you have any questions about the registration process, please email DrugCardConference@cms.hhs.gov.

Drew E. Altman, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Former Commissioner of the Department of Human Services, New Jersey, Washington, DC

Robert S. Galvin, MD, MBA
Director, Global Healthcare, General Electric Company, Founding Member, The Leap Frog Group and Vice Chair, Washington Business Group on Health, Fairfield, CN

Fred Hassan
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Schering-Plough Corporation and Immediate Past Chairman, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Indianapolis, IN

John Iglehart
Founding Editor, Health Affairs, Washington, DC

Charles N. ("Chip") Kahn III, MPH
President, Federation of American Hospitals and Former President, Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA), Washington, DC

Mark B. McClellan, MD, Ph.D.
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, MD

Robert D. Reischauer, Ph.D.
President, The Urban Institute and Former Director, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC

John Rother
Director of Policy and Strategy, AARP and Former Staff Director and Chief Counsel, Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, Washington, DC

Julie Rovner
Health Policy Reporter, National Public Radio, Special Correspondent, National Journal's Congress Daily and Contributing Editor, Business and Health, Washington, DC

Leonard D. Schaeffer
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Wellpoint Health Networks and Former Administrator, Healthcare Financing Administration, Thousand Oaks, CA

Thomas Scully
Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC

James Sheehan, Esq.
Chief of the Civil Division, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

The Honorable Tommy Thompson (Invited)
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Baltimore, MD

Barrett Toan
President and Chief Executive Officer, Express Scripts, Inc., Maryland Heights, MO

FEATURED FACULTY:

Tom L. Anderson
Principal, Gorman Health Group, LLC and Former Senior Vice President of Strategies and Planning, United Healthcare, Washington, DC

Joseph Antos
Wilson H. Taylor Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy, American Enterprise Institute and Former Assistant Director for Health and Human Resources Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC

G. Lawrence Atkins, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Public Policy and Reimbursement, Schering-Plough Corporation, Washington, DC

Anthony A. Barrueta, Esq.
Senior Counsel, Government Relations, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Oakland, CA

John Bentivoglio, Esq.
Partner, Arnold and Porter, Former Special Counsel for Healthcare Fraud and Chief Privacy Officer, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC

John Bertko, FSA
Vice President and Chief Actuary, Humana, Inc., Louisville, KY

Michael H. Deskin
President, Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute, Inc., Tempe, AZ

Anthony L. Farino
Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Chicago, IL

Linda Fishman
Director of the Health Staff, Finance Committee, United States Senate, Washington, DC

John Gorman
President, Gorman Health Group, LLC, Former Press Secretary and Staff Director, U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Former Assistant to the Director, HCFA's Office of Managed Care, Washington, DC

Jack Hartwig, Esq.
Leader, Health Care and Life Sciences Investigations Team, Deloitte & Touche and Former Deputy Inspector General for Investigations, Department of Health and Human Services, Philadelphia, PA

Robert Homchick, Esq.
Partner and Chair, Health Law Group, Davis Wright Tremaine, Seattle, WA

Bernie Horn
Policy Director, Center for Policy Alternatives, Washington, DC

Paul E. Kalb, MD, JD
Partner, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, Washington, DC

J.D. Kleinke
Editorial Board, Health Affairs and Author, Oxymorons: The Myth of a U.S. Health Care System, Portland, OR

Richard P. Kusserow
President, Strategic Management Systems, Inc. and Former Inspector General, Department of Health & Human Services, Washington, DC

Terry Latanich
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, MedcoHealth and Chair, Government Healthcare Programs Committee, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, Washington, DC

Steve Lieberman
Executive Associate Director, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC

Janet Marchibroda
Chief Executive Officer, eHealth Initiative, Foundation for eHealth Initiative and Markle Foundation's Connecting for Health, Washington, DC

David Moskowitz, MBA, R.PH
Senior Vice President and Healthcare Senior Analyst, Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc., Washington, DC

Tricia Neuman, Sc.D.
Vice President and Director, Medicare Policy Project, Kaiser Family Foundation, Washington, DC

David Nexon
Health Policy Director, Office of Ranking Member Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee, Washington, DC

Len Nichols, Ph.D.
Vice President, Center for Studying Health System Change and Former Senior Advisor for Health Policy, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC

Jody Ann Noon RN, JD
Principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP, National Practice Leader for Deloitte's Health Care and Life Sciences Regulatory Practice, New York, NY

John Richardson, MPP
Director, The Health Strategies Consultancy LLC and Former Medicare Program Examiner, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC

Dean A. Rosen
Staff of Subcommittee on Public Health, United States Senate, Washington, DC

Brenton L. Saunders, JD, MBA
Senior Vice President, Global Compliance and Business Practices, Schering-Plough Corporation, Past President, Health Care Compliance Association, and Founder and Chair-elect, International Association of Privacy Officers, Kenilworth, NJ

Ian Spatz
Vice President, Public Policy, Merck & Co., Inc., Washington, DC

Bert Spilker, PhD, MD, FCP, FFPM
President, Bert Spilker & Associates, Clinical Professor, Pharmacy Practice, University of Minnesota, and Former Senior Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, PhRMA, Bethesda, MD

Howard Tag, Esq.
President, Tag & Associates, PC and Senior Counselor on Healthcare Payment and Reimbursement, Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, Washington, DC

Timothy P. Trysla
Policy Advisor to the CMS Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC

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MEDICARE CONGRESS EXHIBIT & SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION:

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Joni Lipson
Exhibit Manager
Phone: 215-599-6626
Fax: 215-545-8107
joni.lipson@rmpinc.com

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