headshot of Public Policy Advocate, Danielle Bargo.

I am committed to changing how the United States pays for prescription medicines.

I develop and evaluate health policies that aim to improve how the United States manages, finances and provides access to prescription medicines. I do this as a Health Economist, Writer, Speaker, Advisor and Doctoral student in Health Policy. My personal and professional ambition is to remove the financial barriers that American’s face at the pharmacy counter and to make medicines more affordable.

Health Economist

I generate evidence on the value of prescription medicines.

I am Director of Real World Data Strategy at AstraZeneca, responsible for developing and implementing a strategy to identify fit-for-purposes data sources that can be leveraged to generate robust evidence that informs how patients, payers and physicians value medicines. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, I was a Global RWE Lead at Eisai and Head of Health Technology Assessments at Flatiron Health. I also held positions of increasing responsibility at the University of Oxford, Eli Lilly and Pfizer.

Writer

I write opinion columns evaluating and recommending health policies that aim to improve affordability of prescription medicines.

I have published opinion columns in the Colorado Sun on Colorado’s plans to import prescription medicines from Canada and in Penn-Live on the the importance of a Prescription Drug Affordability Board in Pennsylvania.

Speaker

I speak at events on the role of real-world data and real-world evidence in developing and evaluating health policies and enabling evidence-based decision making.

I have spoken at events including the IMPACCT RWE Conference, the MarketsandMarkets Real-World Evidence and Life Sciences Analytics Conference and the Evidence Life Sciences Real World Data and Analytics Conferences.

Advisor

I advise government agencies on the use of Health Economics in developing and evaluating health policies.

I was previously a member of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Clinical Effectiveness and Decision Science Advisory Board.

Doctoral Student

I study how to develop, implement and evaluate health policies as a Doctoral Student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Prior to my doctoral studies, I earned a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Butler University and a Masters degree in Social Policy with a concentration in Health Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Prescription medicines, symbolizing the healthcare system

My Story

Growing up my family would often ration prescription medicines in case we needed them again because the costs of a doctor's appointment to get the prescription and to then fill the prescription was costly and prohibitive.
This taught me from an early age that healthcare is unaffordable and a luxury. 

It wasn’t until I was a study abroad student in college that I realized my interaction with the healthcare system was reflective of how Americans pay for healthcare and that there are alternative ways to pay for and access healthcare that are more equitable.

I became a Health Economist to ensure drug prices reflect a medicine's value.

The use of Health Economics to inform the price of prescription medicines has predominantly been in countries that conduct Health Technology Assessments. However, when the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in August 2022 and Medicare was given the ability to negotiate drug prices, Health Economics took center stage as an approach to conduct drug prices negotiations. As a Health Economist I am committed to using my expertise to develop, implement and evaluate health policies that make medicines more affordable for Americans. 

“When you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.”

— Michelle Obama

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