Greg Simon, JD, former leader of President Biden's Cancer Moonshot and current head of Simonovation, LLC, recently joined Cure CEO Seema Kumar to discuss the future of US healthcare policy and its implementation. Simon, who has advised two US vice presidents, highlighted the urgent need for accessible, affordable healthcare solutions, emphasizing that saving lives hinges less on new technologies and more on the effective use of existing ones.
As president of Simonovation, Simon consults on US and international science, innovation and technology policy and issues. His expertise in healthcare, life science research, information technology and patient advocacy informs his insights on healthcare affordability, empathy, and policy reform.
During the recent 2024 BioFuture meeting he addressed these issues, which he further discussed in an exclusive with Kumar for Cure Tuesday Talks. He also explored the potential impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, signaling a call to action for reshaping the US healthcare landscape.
Implementing Existing Healthcare Solutions
Simon underscored a critical truth: while technological innovations capture attention, actual progress in reducing cancer deaths and improving health outcomes depends on better implementation of existing solutions.
“Imagine if there were no technological innovations or advancement for the next 10 years,” Simon posed. “What would you do to save more lives from cancer? The answer is all the things we know we should be doing now, but we don’t.”
He emphasized improved nutrition, prevention, and greater access to current treatments. “We fail miserably at getting what we already have to those who need it,” Simon said.
Innovating Healthcare Accessibility and Affordability
Simon’s view on healthcare affordability is deeply personal. Having battled chronic lymphocytic leukemia, he pointed out the exorbitant costs of life-saving drugs—$20,000 per month each—and questioned how families without substantial health insurance manage.
“How does a family of four making $50,000 afford that kind of treatment?” he asked. Simon highlighted the importance of innovations being accessible, affordable and accurate, adding, “If it’s not those three things, it’s not going to change many lives.”
Simon emphasized that real innovation must focus on access, affordability and clinical care.
He said, “There are plenty of breakthroughs to be had, but the real innovation needs to come at the implementation level, access, affordability and clinical care. It’s going to come from here if we have empathy, which we’re in short supply right now. If we have empathy, we will think about how to distribute what we can do now to save people from treatable cancers. And that is what I am focused on right now.”
The Role of the Inflation Reduction Act
Simon discussed the potential of the Inflation Reduction Act to reshape drug pricing, drawing from his insider experience at Pfizer.
“I was at Pfizer for two and a half years and I saw how we set prices and it is not pretty and it is not logical,” he said.
He emphasized that the negotiation opportunities enabled by the Act could help address the tension between pharmaceutical companies and patients.
“I think that the negotiation that was made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act will actually resolve some of pharma’s political tension with the American consumer. And that will be in their long-term interest,” Simon said.
He noted that while Wall Street’s focus is often on short-term gains, the long-term benefits of such measures will ultimately be recognized.
“I understand there's a lot of whining, but I think at the end of the day they’ll be glad we took the nail out of their forehead,” he remarked, illustrating that eventual acceptance of these reforms could lead to a healthier relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the public.
A Futures Market for Healthcare
Simon’s broad and deep policy expertise was evident as he proposed an imaginative idea: a futures market for healthcare. Unlike other major sectors, healthcare lacks a derivative market to manage financial risk, leading to price hikes and denied access. Simon’s vision is for a market where payers and companies can plan for future healthcare costs collaboratively.
“If we can trade cotton in a thousand ways, why not healthcare?” he argued.
Simon also pointed to artificial intelligence as an emerging tool for guiding personal health decisions.
“AI could help by showing you the straightest line between where you are and where you should be,” he said, likening it to a ‘Waze’ – the navigation app for real-time traffic and driving directions – for healthcare.
He added, “Our phones represent our subconscious. We program our phones with all of our biases. AI could tell you in your phone that you need to be doing X instead of Y, and here’s the reason.”
With a global outlook informed by his fellowship with the Asia Society, Simon called for strategic, long-term thinking in international relations when it comes to healthcare.
He argued that the US should view China as a partner in tackling major health challenges, stating, “China thinks a hundred years ahead, we think a year or two.” His message was clear: The path forward involves innovation, imagination and collaboration to ensure that what we have works for everyone, everywhere.
