Since she joined ASBMT in 2016, Director of Health Policy & Strategic Relations Stephanie Farnia has been a positive force in our community.
Not only has her professionalism been unwavering, her passion for the field of cellular transplantation has been a huge asset to the ASBMT team. It's why it's incredibly bittersweet to announce that Stephanie is leaving our organization for an incredible opportunity that has yet to be announced. Her new role will focus on developing a system to implement coverage and payment mechanisms for emerging cell and gene therapies.
This is a unique position in which Stephanie will no doubt thrive—she can continue her work of advocating for member providers and patients that need these new products, with the hope of creating a set of structures that supports the accessibility of these therapies in the future. While it's a loss for ASBMT, it's a wonderful opportunity for Stephanie and a major win for her new employer.
Her last day is Nov. 8, and the ASBMT team is working with a series of consultants to try and find someone who can live up to Stephanie's legacy. ASBMT plans to retain the services of Cavarocchi, Ruscio, Dennis Associates, LLC, for government relations and advocacy support. We will still engage Nimitt Consulting for coding and payment issues, and we're recruiting internal resources to lead advocacy issues in Washington D.C.
It's pretty incredible to look back and see all the amazing work Stephanie has done for us. Despite only being with us for two years, she organized the very first multi-stakeholder conference on how to establish value proposition for CAR-T treatments; she successfully sought new CPT codes for CAR-T this spring; she submitted more than a dozen letters—totaling more than 150 pages—to CMS during the last two annual reimbursement policy cycles; and she established ASBMT as the key provider voice with industry and payer organizations, including CMS, on issues of cellular therapy coverage and payment.
Her impact on ASBMT will be felt for years to come, and while we will miss her dearly, we wish her well in her new position. The ASBMT will have some big shoes to fill in finding permanent replacement for Stephanie but I believe that she has not only made ASBMT a stronger society but also one that is much better equipped to further advance our mission of education and advocacy for our members, our payers and our government.
Thank you Stephanie for all your hard work.
John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD