How public-private partnerships can improve innovation and outcomes

Statement of the Problem: The United States of America (USA), like many other nations, faces a wide range of health problems: mental health, infectious disease, chronic disease, vaccine production, etc. The government can (and most of the times should) play a pivotal role in combatting these challenges, however, experience has shown that when the US government has strategically partnered with appropriate private sector partners the results have been truly astounding. The purpose of this speech would be: 1. to outline how government(s) should think about when and how to choose these partners: 2. Discuss in detail successful examples both in the USA and abroad; 3. Share lessons learned. As the USA and other nations continue to combat these existing and new challenges it is imperative that governments examine what has and hasn’t worked in the past. A few examples of what has worked that will be examined include: Operation Warp Speed (how within a year 2 vaccines had been FDA-approved and millions of doses were sent out the day after approval); PEPFAR (how the US has worked with the private sector to combat the AIDS epidemic in Africa); LymeX (how the US government is currently using a PPP to combat Lyme Disease); KidneyX (how the US government is using a PPP to combat dialysis and end stage kidney disease) and how the World Health Organization has come to think about the use of ppp’s in recent years

Biography :

Ken Callahan is currently a Principal at the Hargan Group where he does healthcare consulting, regulatory analysis and business development for healthcare providers, digital health, medical device and home health companies. Prior to that he was the Chief of Staff for the Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan (#2 official) in the Immediate Office of the Secretary (IOS) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Deputy Secretary’s office plays the role of Chief Operating Officer for a department that has 27 agencies, 80,000 employees and an annual budget of $1.3 trillion. In this role, Callahan was responsible for executing the HHS/CMS payment rules and the allocation and distribution of $175 billion from the Provider Relief Fund. He also played major roles in department wide initiatives such as telehealth expansion during COVID-19, Stark and Anti-kickback reform, the Rural Health Action Plan, Interoperability rules and launching LymeX – the largest public-private partnership to combat Lyme disease in history. He began his career on Capitol Hill working for Congressman David Joyce (R-OH), then Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) before joining HHS in January of 2018. Callahan received his BA from Ohio Wesleyan University and his Masters in Health Administration from Cornell University.

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