On Wednesday, January 15, the Federal Government Relations group hosted the latest installment in its Speaker Series with a health care policy breakfast briefing on Medicare and the challenges for patients and providers related to the competitive bidding process. The distinguished guest and speaker was Congressman Tom Price, M.D., who is a representative from Georgia’s 6th District, member of the House Ways and Means Committee and a former orthopedic surgeon. Representative Price discussed how Medicare has been routinely criticized for its non-binding bid process and lack of transparency. He and others in Congress suggest development of a more open program based on a marketplace structure. Following the Congressman’s comments was a Q&A session that further illustrated the many challenges surrounding this issue. The audience for the roundtable discussion was comprised of an array of health care industry business leaders and government affairs officers from companies such as Johnson & Johnson, PPG, Medtronic, Philips Healthcare and more. Many thanks to Alex Brunory and Mike Strazzella for putting together this highly successful event.