Record Attendance at the 2011 MCRA Conference in Napa!
The Meritage Resort and Spa provided an excellent setting for this year’s conference.
“Great location, Great hotel”
“This conference had it all: excellent speakers and topics; wide breadth of attendees; terrific facility and location.”
A special thanks to our 2011 corporate sponsors:
Gold Level
Celtic
hms
OptumHealth
Silver Level
Excelsior Solutions
INTERLINK Health Services
LifeTrac, Inc.
OneBeacon Professional Insurance
Presidio
RGA Reinsurance Company
Summit Re
The Assist Group
Bronze Level
HCC
Northshore International Insurance Services
Star Line Group
Our conference started Monday evening with a wine reception in The Meritage’s Estate Wine Cave.
“Wonderful opening reception, great networking.”
Tuesday morning opened with our keynote speaker, Dave Sanderson. Mr. Sanderson was an inspirational survivor of “The Miracle on the Hudson.” Heeding his mother’s advice to always do the right thing and take care of other people first, Sanderson became a true American hero on that fateful January day. Everyone on board survived the crash, due in large part to Sanderson’s heroic efforts.
“Keynote was fabulous!”
“Opening speaker was insightful.”
Mike Carr and Steve Holden, attorneys with Holden & Carr, shared with us useful information on litigation strategies and how to avoid bad faith liability. The case study discussion provided great information for us to consider.
“Tuesday’s topics were informative.”
Steve ErkenBrack with Rocky Mountain Health Plans gave us an interesting perspective on the direction of State Health Insurance Exchanges, which was defined as an organized marketplace for customers to shop for health insurance based on price and quality. He further explained that it is an integration of community resources in an independent practice system.
“Liked Steve ErkenBrack a lot!”
Leo Tokar with Locton Companies returned to MCRA to give us an update on the evolution of health care markets. He explained many things including how health care reform will create new markets and expand current ones, and pointed out that the most significant trend is the change in how the money flows. Stay tuned for the many changes with HCR!
“The speakers were great; good topics.”
“Crush” season in Napa – No better time to be there!
This year’s group outing was enjoyed at the Silverado Vineyards where we had an exceptional peek into the harvest experience with a winery tour, views of the vineyard, and small bites to pair with great Silverado wines.
“The winery tour was great.”
Wednesday morning started with Dr. Dennis Irwin sharing trends in transplantation, including industry trends and cost trends. In summary, industry trends are constant. There is a need to stay on top of both clinical and economic issues that affect the industry.
“Loved the transplantation presentation.”
Bob Repke with Global Medical Conexions shared information on global healthcare, an industry that is continuing to stir up interest and discussion. The driving forces of global healthcare, we learned, are high healthcare costs, limited coverage, long wait times, and procedures/technology not available in the U.S.
“All of the presentations were excellent.”
Our after lunch speaker was Mark Nielsen, Principal with Groom Law Group. Mark spoke about medical loss ratios (MLR) and their impact. Health insurers and health plans are required to calculate MLR on all insured business. We heard information about the rules, unresolved issues, and issues of controversy surrounding medical loss ratios.
“Mark Nielsen’s presentation on MLRs was one of the best presentations!”
The day wrapped up with a presentation on Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs. Walter Kopp with Medical Management Services and Jib Martins with Beacon Partners discussed evaluating the risks of building clinically integrated communities. It’s apparent that healthcare reform creates incentives for providers and payors to work together, share data and manage chronic conditions across a population.
“Walter Kopp’s presentation was the most relevant of all presentations.”
For those present at the end of our conference, a prize drawing was held for two lucky winners!
Thank you to our 2011 Board of Directors!
Co-Presidents: Robin Brown & Julaine Crossman Novak
Vice Presidents: Dan Carlson, Kelly Munger, Chuck Newton & Patti Sciubba
Congratulations to our 2012 MCRA President, Kelly Munger!