The Payer Exchange
Unscripted conversations with the people shaping drug pricing, access, and reimbursement around the world.
Hosted by Omar Ali, Head of Payers at Verpora, The Payer Exchange brings you honest, off-the-record discussions with payers working at the frontline of healthcare funding. Each episode features a one-to-one conversation with a payer from a different country—exploring local challenges, emerging trends, and contrasting approaches to some of the biggest questions in market access.
From horizon scanning to contracting, rare disease to real-world evidence, we ask the same core questions—but get different answers every time.
This isn’t a panel. It’s not a pitch. It’s a rare chance to hear what really drives decision-making—direct from those making the decisions.
Episodes
12 episodes
E10: Saudi Arabia - Abdulrazag Al-Jazairi
In the final episode of the series, Omar speaks with Dr Abdulrazag Al-Jazairi, Advisor to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, about the rapidly evolving payer and HTA environment in Saudi Arabia.They discuss what it means to develop payer...
E9: Belgium - Lieven Annemans
Omar is joined by Professor Lieven Annemans, former chair of Belgium’s health economics advisory committee, to explore the complexities of European HTA policy.They talk about the role of Joint Clinical Assessment (JCA), the risk of over-...
E8: Canada - Don Husereau
In this episode, Omar speaks with Canadian health economist and policy advisor Don Husereau about Canada’s unique payer landscape. Don isn’t your typical policy analyst. He’s worked in HTA, advised governments, and written widely about the gaps...
E7: Poland - Krzysztof Łanda
Omar speaks with Dr Krzysztof Łanda, former Deputy Minister of Health, health economist, and someone who’s helped shape the pricing and HTA landscape in Poland over the past two decades.They examine the influence of external pricing refe...
E6: UK - Yousaf Ahmad
In this opening episode, Omar Ali is joined by Dr Yousaf Ahmad, Chief Pharmacist and Director of Medicines Optimisation at a NHS Integrated Care System.They explore the practical trade-offs being made inside the NHS today: the pressure t...
Series 2 Trailer
What happens when the world’s pricing pressures start reshaping national systems from the inside?In Season 2 of The Payer Exchange, we speak to former payers and policy leaders from five different countries—each responding to the same g...
E5: Spain - Jaime Espín
In this final episode of our first series, I speak with Jaime Espín—health economist, former adviser to the Spanish Ministry of Health, and one of the country’s most recognised payer voices.We explore the latest regulatory reforms reshap...
E4: Netherlands - Hans Serverens
In this episode, I speak with Hans Severens, former Vice Chair of the Dutch Health Council and a key figure in health technology assessment at ZIN in the Netherlands.We dig into how the Netherlands is advancing value-based pricing framew...
E3: Italy - Fabrizio Gianfrate
In this episode, I’m joined by Professor Fabrizio Gianfrate, a voting member of AIFA—the Italian Medicines Agency—and a long-time figure in European health economics.We explore why Italy is viewed as a strong market for rare disease acce...
E2: Germany - Detlev Parow
In this episode, I speak with Detlev Parow, a former payer from one of Germany’s largest statutory health insurance funds. We unpack how German systems are managing access and affordability—sometimes in surprising ways.Detlev shares why,...
E1: France - Jean-Claude Castanier
In our first episode, I’m joined by Jean Claude Castanier, a former CEPS member and leading voice in France’s pricing and reimbursement landscape. We talk about the ongoing challenge of preserving net price across multiple indications, the paye...
