A media conference call will give reporters a chance to hear from the co-author of a new study of group purchasing organizations. A press release from the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association, a trade group, says the study "concludes that GPOs deliver cost savings to hospitals and the health care supply chain – particularly to small providers – and that GPO contract administrative fees do not have an impact on the prices paid by hospitals for medical goods and services."

The call will feature study co-author and Purdue University Professor Leroy Schwarz, Amerinet, Inc. President and HIGPA Board Chair Todd Ebert, and HIGPA President Curtis Rooney.

The Kaiser Family Foundation will sponsor a briefing with two former Medicare and Medicaid administators to examine how Medicare reform options now being considered might work and their implications for beneficiaries and taxpayers.

During the policy panel keynote luncheon at the 2011 BIO International Convention, former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle, former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean, Republican political strategist Karl Rove, and U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) will debate the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing the act, as well as efforts to repeal and reform the law.