CSL Ltd Annual Report 2019

17 Public policy engagement We also engage with governments directly and through active membership in industry groups, and contribute to public policy through engagement with patient organisations, public health agencies, and other stakeholders at a national and global level. CSL recognises the importance of participating in political and public policy matters that directly impact business operations. Public policy initiatives are focused in key geographies where appointed senior personnel are responsible for representing the company and engaging with governments and other key stakeholders. Over the reporting period, CSL contributed a total of US$3,000 in political contributions in the US and A$29,895 to political organisations in Australia solely for attendance at political party conferences, roundtables and/or fundraising events (such as breakfast briefings, lunches or dinners). In all other regions, CSL made no political contributions. CSL also provides for the administrative costs of a political action committee (PAC), which enables eligible employees in the US to have a voice in the political process by voluntarily pooling funds that can be contributed to candidates for elective office. The PAC is run by an employee PAC Board and is fully compliant with US election laws and reporting requirements. CSL Limited Annual Report 2019 28 A Trusted Health Partner Examples of public policy initiatives across our regions Asia CSL has offered its expertise to Chinese government stakeholders in exploring solutions to address the unmet needs of rare disease patients in China. Australia CSL has continued to engage with the biotech sector and the Australian Federal Government in relation to the research and development (R&D) tax incentive. We provided written and oral input to a Senate inquiry specifically opposing proposed changes which would have disadvantaged companies which manufacture in Australia. Europe CSL Behring is engaging with stakeholders on the European Blood Directive to promote an environment for efficient and safe collection of plasma that meets the need of patients in Europe. CSL Behring is also collaborating with leading patient organisations such as EURORDIS, European Haemophilia Consortium or Alpha-1 for joint initiatives on improving patient access to rare disease therapies. To help supply information for policy analysis and discussion, Seqirus sponsored the International Longevity Center (ILC -UK) to conduct, “An economic analysis of flu vaccination”. This report presents findings from a new economic model on cost-benefit analyses for differing uptake and efficacy scenarios for the English flu vaccination program. Given the rapidly ageing population of the UK and growing pressures on the National Health Service (NHS), tackling influenza is an important challenge, especially during the winter months when flu and other related health conditions are most prevalent. Vaccinations are recognised as a crucial defence against flu outbreaks, helping to protect individuals directly and by creating herd immunity. Key findings include that vaccination averts between 180,000 and 626,000 cases of influenza per year in England, and that flu vaccination helps avert between 5,678 and 8,800 premature deaths per year. North America CSL Behring has supported the efforts of state haemophilia associations in Arizona and Virginia, US, in addition to the Immune Deficiency Foundation, to secure legislation that restricts co-pay accumulator programs in those states. Co-pay accumulator programs are used by health insurers to track utilisation of pharmaceutical manufacturer-sponsored co-payment assistance programs and ensure that the manufacturer contribution does not count toward a patient’s deductible or otherwise reduce the patient’s responsibility for out-of-pocket expenses. Patients whose insurers utilise co-pay accumulator programs are unable to benefit from assistance, and as a result, must pay more directly out of pocket.