Phoenix, AZ — November 18, 2025 — Mind Grove hosted a live panel discussion featuring “Market Access by Design: Creating a Function That Drives Commercial Success,” led by guest speaker Kimberly Norton, CEO of JDL Access, LLC, alongside panelists Jolayne Devers, Partner at JD Lymon, and Carla Monacelli, Co-founder of JD Lymon. The session brought together MedTech professionals focused on reimbursement strategy, payer engagement, and commercial launch readiness.
As the MedTech industry faces increasing pressure to demonstrate clinical and economic value to payers, reimbursement strategy has moved from a back-office function to a core commercial imperative. The panel emphasized that successful market access requires treating payers as customers — engaging them early and building a comprehensive strategy around their decision-making criteria.
A central theme of the discussion was the importance of integrating reimbursement considerations at every stage of product development — from initial concept through clinical study design, regulatory strategy, and commercial launch — rather than treating it as an afterthought.
A Panel Conversation Grounded in Real-World Market Access Experience
The discussion drew on the combined experience of Norton, Devers, and Monacelli to explore how coverage, coding and payment, and market adoption function as interlocking forces — each dependent on the others. Payer coverage decisions hinge on strong clinical evidence, total cost of care analysis, medical society guidelines, key opinion leader support, technology assessments, and patient access programs. The panelists shared how understanding what payers need at each stage is the foundation of a market access function that drives commercial outcomes.
The panel also addressed the critical question of team composition — identifying who needs to be “on the bus” across functions including regulatory, clinical, health economics, marketing, and sales — and how to align those stakeholders around a unified reimbursement strategy from the earliest stages of product development.
Why Reimbursement Readiness Is a Commercial Differentiator
For many MedTech companies — particularly startups and mid-sized innovators — reimbursement strategy is often underinvested until it becomes a commercial barrier. This panel provided a practical roadmap for building the infrastructure, evidence, and relationships needed to achieve sustainable coverage and payment.
“Understanding how to navigate payer relationships and build a market access function is critical knowledge for every MedTech company involved in bringing a product to market,” said Cindy Grabowski, Founder and Chief Pathfinder at Mind Grove. “Kimberly, Jolayne, and Carla brought a wealth of real-world expertise and practical frameworks that our attendees can apply immediately.”
To access resources from the Mind Grove Insights webinar series or explore training programs in Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Affairs, Data Management, Reimbursement, and Marketing, visit https://mindgrove.com or follow Mind Grove, Inc. on LinkedIn.
About the Panelists
Kimberly Norton is the CEO of JDL Access, LLC, a market access and reimbursement consulting firm specializing in MedTech and life sciences. With extensive experience guiding medical device companies through coverage, coding, and payment strategy, Norton is a recognized expert in building market access functions that align clinical evidence with payer requirements to drive commercial success.
Jolayne Devers is a Partner at JD Lymon, bringing deep expertise in market access strategy and reimbursement solutions for medical device and diagnostics companies.
Carla Monacelli is Co-founder of JD Lymon, with a focus on helping MedTech innovators navigate the complexities of coverage, coding, and payer engagement to accelerate commercial adoption.
About Mind Grove
Founded in 2024 by MedTech veteran Cindy Grabowski, Mind Grove is a women-led eLearning platform dedicated exclusively to the medical device sector. Mind Grove offers structured, skills-based training across six critical disciplines — Clinical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Quality Assurance, Reimbursement, Data Management, and Marketing. Learn more at https://mindgrove.com.
For media inquiries:
Cindy Grabowski
Founder & Chief Pathfinder — Mind Grove, Inc.
cgrabowski@mindgrove.com
(480) 298-8600