Join us for a fireside chat with U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., senior senator from Louisiana and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) to discuss the AI and healthcare regulatory environment and what this will mean for the future of business and the healthcare industry.
This discussion will be moderated by Brian Regan, Head of Healthcare Group and General Partner at Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe (WCAS).
Please note that due to capacity, CBS students, alumni, and faculty, and VIP guests will get priority in registering for this event. Admission will be on a first come first serve basis (in-person only; this event will not be live-streamed). Due to high demand and limited space capacity, an overflow room will be reserved for attendees once the main event space is at capacity. Columbia ID or government-issued ID that matches the name on your registration will be required to check-in to the event.
Read the Event Recap: Navigating AI’s Role in the Future of Healthcare and watch a video of the event
Agenda
6:00 PM-6:05 PM ET: Welcome remarks by Costis Maglaras, Dean of Columbia Business School, and the David and Lyn Silfen Professor of Business at Columbia University
6:05 PM-6:45 PM ET: Fireside chat with U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., moderated by Brian Regan, Head of Healthcare Group and General Partner at Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe (WCAS)
6:45 PM-7:00 PM ET: Open Q&A with the audience
About the Speakers
U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D.
Dr. Bill Cassidy is the senior senator from Louisiana and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). He is the first physician to sit as HELP Ranking Member or Chairman since 1933, when it was called the Education and Labor Committee.
Dr. Cassidy has been a member of the HELP Committee since arriving to the Senate in 2015, and has been instrumental in prior committee efforts to lower the price of prescription drugs, prevent patients from receiving surprise medical bills, reform America’s mental health care system, address disparities in the health care field, increase access to in-school mental health services for students, and shield pregnant mothers from workplace discrimination. He has also engaged in extensive oversight of the administration and has sought to improve accountability and transparency into taxpayer-funded programs.
In addition to serving as the Ranking Member of the HELP Committee, Dr. Cassidy is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Dr. Cassidy grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attended Louisiana State University (LSU) for undergraduate and medical school. After his medical residency, Dr. Cassidy worked for over 25 years in the Louisiana charity hospital system to ensure Louisiana families could access quality health care, regardless of income. He also joined LSU Medical School teaching medical students and residents.
During this time, Dr. Cassidy co-founded the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic, a clinic providing free dental and health care to the working uninsured. He also created a private-public partnership to vaccinate 36,000 greater Baton Rouge area children against Hepatitis B at no cost to the schools or parents. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he led a group of health care volunteers to convert an abandoned K-Mart building into an emergency health care facility, providing basic health care to hurricane evacuees.
After serving in the Louisiana legislature, Dr. Cassidy was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2008 to represent Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District, where he served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In the House, he was influential in the passage of the legislation to address the nation’s obesity crisis and give Americans the power to make their own health care decisions.
He is married to Dr. Laura Cassidy and they have three children. Laura is a retired general surgeon specializing in breast cancer. She also helped found a public charter school in Louisiana specialized in teaching children with dyslexia. The Cassidy family attends church at the Chapel on the Campus in Baton Rouge.
Brian Regan (Moderator)
Brian Regan is Head of the Healthcare Group, a General Partner, and a member of the Management Committee at Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe (WCAS), having joined WCAS in 2002. He serves on the Boards of Directors of US Anesthesia Partners, US Radiology Specialists, Abzena, Kiniciti and Liberty Dental Plan. In addition to his portfolio companies, Brian is also on the Board of Directors of the Health Management Academy, a strategic partner of WCAS that provides research, knowledge sharing and leadership development to leading US health systems. Brian was previously involved in former WCAS investments in Shields Health Solutions, NEWAsurion, Aptuit, Laurus Labs, Ardent Health Services, Bausch & Lomb, Select Medical, MultiPlan/Viant and Ruesch International, Springstone and US Acute Care Solutions. Before joining WCAS in 2002, Brian worked in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch.
Collaborators
Healthcare Spotlight Series: This event is part of the Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Management Program's Healthcare Spotlight Series, an event series that aims to highlight a pressing topic in the healthcare industry and engage in discussion with industry experts, thought leaders, and innovators who are making a significant impact in or have expertise relevant to the topic area of focus. The healthcare industry has a number of pressing issues and we aim to put a spotlight on innovative business solutions, strategies, and leaders addressing the issue in a real way.
Digital Innovation Conference: AI and the Future of Business: This event is also part of the Digital Future Initiative’s inaugural Digital Innovation Conference: AI and the Future of Business, which aims to explore technology’s profound impact on business, people, purpose, and growth. Our panel of experts will examine technological breakthroughs, workplace adaptability, the dynamics of human capital and machine interaction, regulation, and outlook for the coming years.
This event is also in partnership with the Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS) at Columbia Business School.
Co-hosted by Columbia Business School’s Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Management Program (HPM) and The Digital Future Initiative (DFI).