Niall Brennan | Chief Data and Analytics Officer
Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

Niall Brennan is Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Previously Niall was the Senior Advisor for Data Strategy to the CDC Director where he provided guidance to the CDC Director on the multi-billion dollar CDC Data Modernization Initiative (DMI), as well as working directly with CDC Centers and Offices to accelerate implementation of the DMI. Prior to coming to CDC, Brennan was Chief Analytics and Privacy Officer at Clarify Health, where he led Clarify’s analytics and informatics strategy. He joined Clarify following his role as CEO of the Health Care Cost Institute, from 2017–2022, and previously served as the Chief Data Officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, from 2010–2017, where he led the Obama administration’s healthcare transparency efforts, built an advanced analytics enterprise, and played a key role in implementing numerous Affordable Care Act provisions, including the Qualified Entity Program and the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.

Appearances:

Day One @ 15:10

Bridging the US Payer Trust with Robust Real-World Evidence

Payers' Perspective on RWE in the US
How can we align manufacturer evidence with PBM requirements, can the same data also influence CMS and state-level decisions?
How do we establish standardized RWE benchmarks to fairly and accurately cap prices using up to date HTA data?
How can manufacturers prove clinical ROI within the standard 3-to-5-year U.S. payer population turnover window, rather than relying on lifetime models?

Charles Makin, Head of US Real World Evidence & Epidemiology, Boehringer Ingelheim

Daniel Ollendorf, Chief Scientific Officer and Director of Health Technology Assessment Methods and Engagement, ICER

Kimberly Lenz, Chief Pharmacy Officer, MassHealth

Patricia Dorling, Senior Director, HEOR, Gene Therapy, Insmed

Blythe Adamson, Founder, CEO, Infectious Economics

Niall Brennan, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

Day Two @ 15:10

The AI Arms Race: Navigating The Automation Of Processes Across All Stakeholders In The Healthcare Industry

Why has automated friction between provider and payer AI systems driven record healthcare inflation while patient outcomes stayed flat?
How can we responsibly operationalize AI in industry workflows to drive faster patient access and lower costs
Can we effectively regulate the use of agentic AI in billing without compromising efficacy, care or eroding patient trust?

Niall Brennan, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

Siguroli Teitsson, Director, GHEOR Economic & Predictive Modeling, Bristol Myers Squibb

Ankur Jain, Founder, Artha Consulting Lab