Medicaid Managed Care Congress Brochure Ready for Download

We invite you to download the brochure for the 19th Annual Medicaid Managed Care Congress. Medicaid Managed Care organizations are facing their toughest challenges yet with the onset of healthcare reform and the rise in newly approved eligibles. Hear from over 40 of the nation’s top Medicaid Managed Care government officials and health plan executives as they discuss strategies to help health plans overcome their most pressing needs while improving quality and controlling costs.

Hear from our distinguished speaking faculty:

Keynotes:

• -Richard Gilfillan, MD, Acting Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
• -Edwina Rogers, Executive Director,Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative
• -Philip Bonaparte, MD, Chief Medical Officer,Horizon NJ Health
• -Kevin Hayden, CEO and President,WellPoint
• -Charlotte MacBeth, MBA, MHA, JD, President and CEO, MDwise

Hot new topics for the 2011 event:
o Obtain the latest information on healthcare reform to best position your plan in uncertain times
o Get updates on CMS including information from the Center for Innovation to learn about upcoming regulatory changes in the industry
o Gain insight on effectively working with ACOs in a mutually beneficial environment
o Explore health insurance exchanges and discuss their effect on the managed care industry
o Develop cost effective Medicaid Managed Care programming to work within state budget constraints
o Leverage technology to connect with members to increase retention rates and quality scores
o Implement patient centered medical homes to increase the quality of care while decreasing expenditures
o Learn best practices from states and plans that have begun to implement ACA regulations

View the complete Agenda and Speaking Faculty.

Download the brochure here.

Obama Administration makes Major Changes to Key Health Care Players

As reported by Kaiser Health News last week, the Obama administration is looking to re-align many of it’s key players from the newly created Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight Department. With the Republicans looking to overtake much of the Healthcare Reform Democrats have been working for, KHN believes that the department has been reorganized and added to the Medicare Agency in order to protect it. Michael Hash, former part of this department, will now be in charge of the Office of Health Reform in the Department of Health and Human Services. Jeff Angoff will now be the Senior Advisor to Katherine Sebilius, Health and Human Services Secretary.

Pharma government programs professionals are trying to implement healthcare reform, the players and processes keep changing and IIR's Government Programs & Pricing Compliance Summit, taking place March 7-9, 2011, in Baltimore, Maryland; and Medicaid Drug Rebate Summit taking place September 14-16, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois; are a great way for those in the industry to keep up to date with all the changes taking place. At both events this year, CMS-Medicaid and Medicare Officials will discuss policy and operations of healthcare reform implementation.

Treating for wellness: The New NY Medicaid Director

According to Jason Turner at the Room For Debate blog at the New York Times, Jason Helgerson, the new Director of Medicaid in New York State, should shift the care system to pay for performance, which will encourage wellness for those relying on the system for treatment of their mental health issues. One way to do this is to encourage the patients to work and take their treatments. This also allows for the Medicaid system to improve, as patients can be monitored in their day to day behavior.

What do you think? Will the new New York Medicaid Director bring improvements to the care for mental workers? Or do you disagree with Turner's stance on the Medicaid treatment of those with mental health problems?

One of the focuses at this year's Medicaid Managed Care Congress, taking place May 18-20, 2011, in Baltimore Maryland, will be on using a holistic approach to treating Medicaid members. Be sure to stay tuned to the webpage, as the exciting 2011 Agenda will be released soon!

High quality care rules to change in 2013

On Friday afternoon, The Medicare Agency released a detailed system to encourage the pay-per-performance to encourage better care in hospitals as proposed by the Democratic Healthcare Bill. The Hill commented that with the value-based purchasing system will look at both the quality of care and experience provided to the patient.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Donald Berwick said in a recent statement, "Today's proposal is a huge leap forward in improving the quality and safety of America’s hospitals for both Medicare beneficiaries and all Americans. The hospital value-based purchasing program will reward hospitals for improving patients' experiences of care, while making care safer by reducing medical mistakes."

Health Plans will be joining to discuss end-of-life care issues at the upcoming Medicare Congress Jan 24-26, 2011 in Scottsdale. For more information on Health Plans session, and the entire agenda, download the brochure.

Look who's attending the Medicare Congress

The Medicare Congress is around the corner! It is the only place to network with over 250 of the industry's top Medicare leaders, including:

AARP * Aetna Inc * Alabama Insurance Department * American Specialty Health * Amerigroup Corporation * Ameri-Plus Select Services * Arcadian Health Plan & Management Services * Arnold & Porter * Balboa Nephrology Medical Group * Barclays Capital * BCBS of Minnesota * Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee * Boehringer Ingelheim * California Association of Physicians Group * Capital District Physicians Health Plan * Care 1st Health Plan * Care N Care Health Plan * Caremore * Clarian Health Plans * DCA Solutions * DCIPA * Deft Research * Dendreon Corporation * Dial America * DMW Direct * Dynamic Healthcare Systems * Endo Pharmaceuticals * Essence Health Care * Essex Woodland * Express Scripts Inc * Family Health Plans * Firstsource * Forest Laboratories Inc * Fresenius Medical Care * Geisinger Health Systems * GemCare Health Plan * Gorman Health Group * Group Health Cooperative * Health Alliance Medical Plans * Health Data Essentials * Healthcare Partners * HealthMetrix Research Inc * HealthNet Government Programs * HealthPlan CRM * HealthSpring * Healthways Inc * Henry Ford Health System * HMS Permedion * Humana * Independence Blue Cross * Inspiris * Inter Valley Health Plan * Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado * Kaiser Permanente * Leprechaun * Marketing Direct Inc * Matrix Medical Network * Medagate Corporation * MedAssurant * MVP Health Care * North Texas Specialty Physicians * Old Surety Life Insurance Company * Oliver Wyman Actuarial Consulting * Peak Health Solutions * PopHealthMan * Preferred Care Partners * Quest Diagnostics * SCAN Health Plan Arizona * Sharp Health Plan * Silverlink Communications * South Shore * Sterling Life Insurance Company * Texas HealthSpring * The Bright Sight Group * The Harry Walker Agency * The Kaiser Family Foundation * The National Advisory Board on Improving Health Care Services for Seniors and People with Sisabilities* The Permanente Federation * Thoroughbred Research Group * TMG Health * TriZetto Group * Tucson Medical Centre * UMWA Health & Retirement Funds * United American * United Community Health Plans * United Health Care * Univita Health * UPMC Health Plan Inc * Varis * Visiting Nurse Service of New York * VNS Choice Medicare * Wilen Direct

Visit the webpage to learn more about this year’s agenda, and register today to join us in Scottsdale January 24-26, 2011!

Save the Date! 2011 Annual Medicaid Managed Care Congress

Join us May 18-20th, 2011 at the Hilton Baltimore for the 19th Annual Medicaid Managed Care Congress, the premiere Medicaid Managed Care event featuring the top industry leaders. Last year we had more than 250 attendees from across the country, representing Massachusetts, Michigan, California, Arizona, Texas and Washington, DC, to name a few.

At the 2011 Conference, you will:
• Obtain the latest information on healthcare reform and the current political climate for best plan positioning in uncertain times
• Gain insight about ACOs and learn how to effectively work with them in a mutually beneficial environment
• Explore the Health Insurance Exchange and discuss its affect on the managed care industry
• Work within economic, fiscal and state budget constraints to develop cost effective Medicaid managed care programming
• Discuss various ways of utilizing technology to connect with subscribers and keep their information confidential
• Discover specific ways to implement Patient Centered Medical Homes to increase the quality of care you offer while decreasing expenditures
• Get updates on CMS including information on the Council on Technology and Innovation Improve overall quality of your managed care program without increasing expenditures

Additionally, if you are interested in speaking about one of these topics, or if you are interested in speaking about another relevant topic, please email Sarah Gordon at sgordon@iirusa.com.

Visit The Medicaid Managed Care Congress webpage to find out more about the event:
http://bit.ly/f7XGAh

Register by Friday, February 25, to receive up to $600 off the standard registration rate. Call Customer Service at 888-670-8200 to reserve your spot today. Be sure to mention you are a reader of our Health Care Policy Blog. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind event. Our 18 years of experience prove that we are experts in the Medicaid managed care industry.