Health Policy Veteran Emily Donaldson Joins Avalere

Health policy expert Emily Donaldson has joined Avalere as a principal and will focus on helping life sciences companies and health plans interpret, prepare for, and influence policy changes that will impact their strategic business goals.

"Emily's extensive background in state policy and prescription drug benefits will prove invaluable as companies turn to us for support on issues related to commercial market health insurance, Medicaid, 340B, and state policies like prescription drug review boards," says Miryam Frieder, practice director.

Before joining our firm, Emily served as director of US Policy at AbbVie, where she developed policies and strategies to help the company navigate the private health insurance and Medicaid markets, the 340B program, and the state health policy landscape. Previously, she served as deputy vice president for Policy and Research at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), where she led the commercial market and state issues portfolios. She has also served as director of state policy at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and policy counsel for BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Emily also served as staff counsel for the South Carolina Senate after receiving her juris doctorate from the University of South Carolina.

"Avalere has built an unparalleled reputation for delivering insights," adds Emily. "As more companies in the industry struggle to steer their business through the paradigm of changes, I'm looking forward to working with clients on cost, coverage, and affordability issues. Whether we're looking at changes to the private insurance landscape or the sudden intersection of various state and federal policy issues like healthcare pricing and 340B, I can't imagine a more exciting time to join this talented team."