Event Recap: Fourth Annual Health Solutions Summit

Despite a recent ice storm, over 200 people turned out for hot chocolate and health policy on January 28, 2026‘s for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's Fourth Annual Health Solutions Summit on Capitol Hill. Each year, the summit gathers policymakers and researchers to discuss how to reduce federal health care costs. This year focused on Medicare solvency, Medicare Advantage (MA), Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces, and prices in the commercial sector.

Watch the event here and below:

The event opened with Anna Bonelli, the Committee’s Director of Health Policy, discussing how health care costs drive a significant portion of spending for the federal government and how offsetting Congress’s spending priorities is of the utmost importance with our current high and rising deficits. Bonelli highlighted some of the significant health policy changes over the past year, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, ACA negotiations, and Administrative actions.

The first keynote speaker Kim Brandt, Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), highlighted some of the agency’s many priorities, including modernizing the technology CMS uses to pay claims. Brandt also highlighted important efforts from CMS to tackle fraud so Medicare and Medicaid will be more sustainable over the long term.

The second keynote speaker, Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) described how the U.S. pays more for health care than other developed countries and has worse health outcomes. Senator Welch discussed the importance of lowering health care costs broadly and ensuring coverage and access to care for all Americans. He urged action to avoid insolvency for the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund and discussed how MA will be overpaid by over $1 trillion over the next decade. He emphasized the need for short-term changes to the program to ensure long-term program sustainability.

Following Senator Welch’s remarks, the first panel on “The Future of Medicare” was moderated by Marc Goldwein, the Committee’s Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director, and featured Elinor Hiller of Alston & Bird, Ben Ippolito of the American Enterprise Institute, and Tricia Neuman of KFF. This panel discussed newsworthy topics such as the MA overpayment estimates and the recent agency actions to moderate long-term spending. Panelists also discussed solutions to improve traditional Medicare such as site-neutral payments – paying the same amount for the same service regardless of where the service is delivered – among other reforms.

The second panel, “Reducing Health Care Costs,” was moderated by Bonelli and featured Ge Bai of Johns Hopkins University, Patricia Kelmar of US Public Interest Research Group, Randy Pate of Randolph Pate Advisors, and Chris Whaley of Brown University’s Center for Advancing Health Policy Through Research. This panel kicked off by discussing the recent debates on ACA enhanced subsidies and its relationship to high and rising commercial health care prices. Panelists also discussed the benefits and drawbacks of implementing full-scale price transparency.

The program concluded with a networking reception that hosted academics, health policy experts, media, and Congressional staff. The Committee thanks all of our distinguished speakers and all who attended the event.