LOWN26: Confronting Healthcare Affordability
The healthcare affordability crisis isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a human one. This one-day conference brings together leaders who recognize that solutions won’t come from staying in our corners. It will come from those brave enough to step out of them.
LOWN26 convenes policymakers, clinicians, hospital leaders, business executives, and union organizers, united by one conviction: care shouldn’t crush the finances of American families.
Through open debate and honest exchange, we’ll break down silos, stress-test assumptions, and identify areas of consensus. The goal is not performance or positioning, but clarity about where progress is possible and what responsibility demands. A special focus will be placed on young clinicians whose voices are vital to the work ahead.
After decades of gridlock as our nation’s health declines, there’s no more time for hesitation and finger pointing. Where things go from here depends on leaders willing to rethink what’s possible and act with boldness and purpose.
Are you ready to shape the future rather than wait for it? Join us at LOWN26!
Registration is open!
NOTE: Early bird pricing ends on March 10
Program
All events will take place on the 3rd floor of the LeMeridien Hotel in Cambridge, MA.
LOWN26 conference sessions will be held in plenary in the Jerome C. Hunsaker room. The Bernard Lown Award dinner will also be held in this room. The networking cocktail reception will be hosted in the Lawrence B. Anderson Roof Garden.
10:00am – Opening remarks
Competing policy ideas for affordability and the search for common ground
- Micheal F. Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute
- Hayden Rooke-Ley, Senior Fellow for Healthcare, American Economic Liberties Project
- Adam Gaffney, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Past-President, Physicians for a National Health Program
Reality check: What will and won’t work in the real world
- Lily Cervantes, Director of Immigrant Health and Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; 2024 BLASR winner (moderator)
- Fred Cerise, President and Chief Executive Officer, Parkland Memorial Hospital
- Jeanne Lambrew, Director of Health Care Reform and Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation
- Noam Levey, Senior Correspondent, KFF Health News
12:00pm – LUNCH
Red state, blue state: Health secretaries assess the situation
- Vikas Saini, President, Lown Institute (Moderator)
- Gloria Sachdev, Indiana Secretary of Health and Family Services; Former CEO of Employers Forum of Indiana
- Kate Walsh, Former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Massachusetts; Former CEO of Boston Medical Center
Hospital CEOs on maintaining affordability and sustainability under pressure
- Donna Lynne, CEO, Denver Health (Moderator)
- Jason Carter, CEO, Duke Regional Hospital
- Susan Ehrlich, CEO, Zuckerberg San Francisco General
Young clinicians take the mic: Burnout, purpose, and the fight for socially responsible medicine
- Lily Cervantes, Director of Immigrant Health and Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; 2024 BLASR winner (Moderator)
- Reshma Ramachandran, Assistant Professor, Yale; Co-director, Yale Collaboration for Regulatory Rigor, Integrity, and Transparency; 2025 BLASR winner
5:00 pm – Networking / Cocktail Reception
6:30 pm – 2026 Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility Dinner
2026 Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility Dinner
This year our dinner honoring the winner of the Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility will be held in conjunction with the LOWN26 conference.
The BLASR is awarded annually to a young clinician who demonstrates bold leadership in social justice, health care reform, environmental justice, global peace, or other humanitarian efforts, and comes with a $25,000 prize.
Previous winners:
Dr. Mona Hanna, who helped expose the Flint, Michigan water crisis.
Dr. Altaf Saadi, an advocate for immigrants and others impacted by trauma.
Dr. Lilia Cervantes, who secured lifesaving care for undocumented immigrants.
Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, a leader in the promotion of fair access to medicines.
Why attend?
Genuine ideological diversity – This isn’t an echo chamber. You’ll engage with people who have different points of view but, like you, are ready to figure out where collaboration is possible anyway.
Solutions over performance – No panels designed for applause lines. No keynotes that avoid hard truths. Just honest exchange about what’s actually blocking progress and what might move us forward.
Action, not just analysis – You’ll leave with concrete next steps, new collaborators, and renewed clarity about where you can make the biggest impact.
Access to unlikely allies – Where else will you find young clinicians, hospital board members, business leaders, union organizers, and health policy researchers all working the same problem from different angles?
Bottom line: we need leaders like you – If you see yourself as a leader and want to shape the future rather than wait for it, this is your conference.
Boston is beautiful in the spring!
For more information about the LOWN26 Conference, BLASR Dinner, and/or sponsorship opportunities, reach out to Grant Sabean at lownaward@lowninstitute.org.
For press inquiries, contact Aaron Toleos at atoleos@lowninstitute.org.
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