Business at OECD (BIAC) Health Forum Explores Health as an Engine of Economic Growth

Whitney Baird, President and CEOat USCIB, spoke on a panel at the 7th BIAC Health Forum: Healthcare's Competitive Future: From Reactive Systems to Economic Catalysts in Paris on December 3. The Forum united business leaders, OECD delegates, civil society, and global stakeholders to shape the future of health. USCIB member Dr. Wyatt Decker, Chief Physician at UnitedHealth Group, provided a keynote address, highlighting health as a strategic priority for national and OECD economies and stressing that advancing medical innovation, prevention, and health system reform is essential for productivity, fiscal stability, and competitiveness.

Industry experts on Baird's panel, Health Globally: A Strategic Lever for Productivity and Economic Resilience, drew on outcomes from the B7, B20, G20, and the UN General Assembly, to explore how health can be reclassified as an economic enabler, anchoring workforce resilience, social stability, and fiscal sustainability. USCIB member Olga Mironenko Stampfer (UnitedHealth Group and Chair of BIAC's Health Committee), Tamara Schudel(Roche), Michele Mestrinaro(Novartis), Christine Lepage(Medef), andMark Pearson(OECD) joined Baird on the panel.

During her remarks, Baird underscored the importance of ongoing public-private cooperation, noting that "continuous dialogue betweenthe private sector, which drives innovation, and public policy managers, ministers, governments, and organizations like the OECD is key to addressing issues."

Carla Cartwright(Johnson & Johnson), Chair of the USCIB Health Committee, spoke at the Forum as well, on a panel focusing on predictive health and artificial intelligence, reinforcing the private sector's role in shaping responsible, forward-looking health strategies.

Ashley Harrington, Policy Manager, Health and Sustainability, engaged with stakeholders and collaborated with external industry partners to further the advocacy objectives of the USCIB Health Committee. Harrington emphasized building strategic partnerships and underscored the committee's dedication to innovative approaches tointernational health system priorities.