
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, MD
Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, and Co-Director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, is one of the leading practitioners shaping the future of health care, with a long record of experience at the top levels of policy. Trained both as an oncologist (MD, Harvard Medical School) and a political scientist, Zeke offers a uniquely thoughtful perspective on the most difficult issues in medicine today. From 2009 to 2011, Zeke was a special advisor for health policy to the White House Office of Management and Budget. As one of the most prominent voices advising the White House about health care, he had a significant impact on federal health care budgets and the Affordable Care Act. Dr. Emanuel is the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, and the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a founding chair at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Emanuel is also a Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO). He is the author of 15 books including, Reinventing American Health Care and Prescription for the Future. Dr. Emanuel published two new books in 2020. Please click here for full bio.

Conference Speaker
Leana Wen, MD
Physician and Healthcare Executive, CNN Medical Analyst, Contributing Columnist, The Washington Post, and Former Baltimore Health Commissioner
Dr. Leana Wen will give an update on the COVID-19 pandemic and what we need to do to prepare for future pandemics. Dr. Wen is an emergency physician, visiting professor of health policy and management at George Washington University, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is also a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, a CNN medical analyst, and author of the critically-acclaimed book on patient advocacy, When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests and a memoir, Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health. Previously, she served as Baltimore’s Health Commissioner.
Conference Agenda
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9:00 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.
Introduction and Welcome
Lora Pellegrini, President & CEO, Massachusetts Association of Health Plans
9:10 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.
Remarks from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Governor Charlie Baker
9:20 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Remarks from the Massachusetts Senate
Honorable Karen Spilka, President of the Massachusetts Senate
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Health Policy in the Biden Administration and What it Means for Massachusetts
Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, and Co-Director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute, University of Pennsylvania
10:30 a.m. – 10:40 a.m.
Remarks from the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Honorable Ronald Mariano, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
10:40 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.
Remarks from the Secretary
Marylou Sudders, Secretary, Executive Office of Health and Human Services
10:50 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Remarks from the Attorney General
Honorable Maura Healey, Massachusetts Attorney General
11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
COVID-19 Pandemic – Where do we go from here?
Leana Wen, MD, Physician & Healthcare Executive, CNN Medical Analyst, Contributing Columnist — The Washington Post & Former Baltimore Health Commissioner
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Addressing Racial Disparities Magnified During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- 11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Presentation of Preliminary Findings on Wi-Fi Telehealth Study: Advancing Telehealth Equity

Alon Peltz, MD, Instructor, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Harvard Medical School
- 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Health Disparities — Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 PandemicThea James, MD, Vice President of Mission and Associate Chief Medical Officer, Boston Medical Center, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine
Juan Fernando Lopera, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Beth Israel Lahey Health
Danna Mauch, PhD, President & CEO, Massachusetts Association of Mental Health
Moderator:Martha Bebinger, Reporter, WBUR
12:30 p.m.
Wrap Up
Lora Pellegrini, President & CEO, Massachusetts Association of Health Plans
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