Leading with Diplomacy: Abbie Cornett

“The attributes of a good leader include the ability to work with diverse groups and lead them forward

while channeling them toward the art of compromise.”

— Abbie Cornett

WHEN IT COMES to being a leader, Abbie Cornett commands a following in many different public and private arenas. As chair and president of The Alliance for Biotherapeutics, Cornett leads a diverse group of constituents that includes patient groups, physicians, manufacturers and distributors. Additionally, her role as a state senator from Nebraska chairing the influential Revenue Committee puts her front and center with the country’s key decision makers. Cornett’s other leadership positions include university marketing consultant and serving as vice chair of the Environment Committee for the National Conference of State Legislators. When asked about balancing these various responsibilities, Cornett says setting priorities and avoiding procrastination is what keeps her at the top of her game. “The attributes of a good leader include the ability to work with diverse groups and lead them forward while channeling them toward the art of compromise,” Cornett explains. “You have to be organized and strategic while also knowing how to delegate when necessary.”

A Patient and an Advocate

The mother of three young children, Cornett stepped into her role as president of the Alliance with a unique perspective: She is a patient with a primary immune deficiency disease (PIDD) who understands firsthand what it’s like to struggle with access to care. In 2007, Cornett was one of the founding visionaries of the Alliance, which was originally formed under the name The Alliance for Plasma Therapies, a not-forprofit organization created to address the difficulties patients face in having access to intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) therapy.

As of its founding, The Alliance for Plasma Therapies became the first national group to represent all patients and providers of plasma therapies. In March 2011, the Alliance changed its name to TheAlliance for BioTherapeutics to become the leading voice for all who benefit from biotherapeutics therapies. “The mission of the Alliance is to help ensure that all individuals in need receive access to, and adequate reimbursement for, lifesaving and life-enhancing biotherapeutics,” Cornett says. “We represent patient groups, not specific diseases — we are working to give all patients affordable access to medications.”

Promoting Change at the State Level

As president of the Alliance, Cornett advocates for patients who lack access to lifesaving therapies, have reimbursement restrictions and/or are denied coverage. In her role, she also is passionate about helping patients who can no longer afford therapies prescribed by their physicians because of new policy restrictions. “Currently, the Alliance is focused on policy issues that work against the availability of lifesaving biotherapeutics,” Cornett says. “For example, one of the Alliance’s areas of focus is on specialty tiers, legislation that requires the patient to pay a certain percentage of the cost of their medication rather than a fixed copayment. This can make necessary medication unaffordable for many of the patients who need it most.”

In the debate over affordable care, Cornett notes that the contentious climate in Washington, D.C., has led to political gridlock that has made it more advantageous to pursue legislative change at the state level. “We realized that D.C. was becoming more and more difficult politically, so we’ve been looking at legislature at the state level, and the good news is there are several important bills on the table in Nebraska,Pennsylvania and California,” she explains. “Because the federal government has been stymied, states are stepping up to pass legislation, and I think the outcry from patient groups is bringing a lot of issues to the forefront.”

Bringing Stakeholders to the Table

As medical science expands, biotherapeutics are being used for a wider range of disease states and touching the lives of more and more patient groups. But the high cost of treating these patients has created a stalemate between the various stakeholders. Because her role with the Alliance puts her in front of so many key constituents, Cornett can act as mediator between differing viewpoints and move everyone closer to agreedupon solutions. “I travel to various states looking at the issues, listening to pharmaceutical companies and representatives for insurance groups,” Cornett says. “The truth is, there has to be buy-in from all of the stakeholders in order to reach a solution. Everybody acknowledges there is a problem — the question is how do we solve it?”

Although stalemates exist, Cornett asserts that resolutions are in sight. While some patient groups have accused the Alliance of “being in bed with the industry,” Cornett disagrees, stating that bringing all of the stakeholders to the table is an essential part of fixing a very broken healthcare and reimbursement system. “I’m proud of how far the Alliance has come, and our goal is to continue to grow nationally as a patient advocacy group and resource,” she says. “I’d like nothing better than to add an insurance representative to our board one day because even if we disagree, putting diplomacy into action is essential as we move toward arriving at agreedupon solutions.”