Atlantic Information Services Releases Full Agenda for Oct. 8 Virtual Conference on Dual-Eligible Programs Implementation

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Atlantic Information Services

Sep 09, 2013, 03:00 ET

Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 09, 2013 -- Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS), the industry-leading health business publisher of Medicare Advantage News, Health Plan Week and the annual Managed Medicare and Medicaid Factbook, is pleased to announce the full agenda for its upcoming Oct. 8 virtual conference, Dual Eligibles Program Implementation. Split into four sessions featuring health plan executives and top consultants from companies such as UnitedHealthcare, Gorman Health Group, WellPoint's Amerigroup and WellCare, the virtual conference will provide intensive training on the most serious challenges facing the implementation of dual-eligible programs: benefit design, enrollment processes, provider contract restructuring, and performance measurement and improvement.

  • 11:00 – 12:30: “An Overview of Who Is Doing What Both Inside and Outside the CMS Initiative” — Gorman Health Group, LLC’s Robb Cohen, senior vice president of public policy, and Bill MacBain, senior vice president of finance — both former senior executives of health plans that have major stakes in government programs — will provide a fast-paced status report on the current state and future direction of new duals programs inside and outside the CMS initiative. They will discuss important details on differences in general approaches, payment methodologies and much more.
  • 12:45 – 1:45: “Benefit Design in Duals Initiatives” — Catherine Anderson, vice president, health policy, for UnitedHealthcare Community and State, and Rhys Jones, vice president, Medicare and dual eligible policy and market development, specialty products group, for the Amerigroup Medicaid business unit of WellPoint, Inc., will offer insights on the critically important issue of what kinds of benefits should be offered in programs for dual eligibles. This will include a focus on supplementary benefits such as behavioral health, vision, dental and long-term care. They will analyze benefit options in the context of an overall duals-program structure that includes limited payment rates, continuity-of-care provisions and generous appeals processes.
  • 2:15 – 3:15: “Enrollment Issues: Outreach, Processes and Minimizing ‘Opt-Outs’” — Jeff Viohl, a former high-level state-government official who now consults on duals initiatives and founder and president of government relations consulting firm Viohl & Associates, Inc., will lead this panel on what the states want, the best strategies for accomplishing what is needed, and how to minimize the number of duals who choose to opt out of the initiatives.
  • 3:30 – 5:00: “Assessing the Performance of Duals Programs: Strategies for Detecting and Fixing Problems” — John Baackes, president, VIP plans, for The AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies, Alan Smith, M.D., senior corporate medical director and health services director for WellCare Health Plans, Inc., and Gorman Health Group’s Robb Cohen and Bill MacBain will examine how CMS and the states will be evaluating plan performance on duals initiatives, what key indicators plans should look for to assess their progress, what the consequences may be of any shortcomings discovered, and how programs may need to be refocused to achieve clinical-outcome and financial goals.

Each session will conclude with a generous question-and-answer period, allowing participants to get individualized advice from the presenters.

AIS’s virtual conference allows participants to attend a live conference without having to travel to a meeting site. Plus, the registration fee includes a free On-Demand recording of each session, so any agenda items can be reviewed at a later time.

For more information, including speaker biographies, visit http://aishealth.com/dual-eligibles.

About AIS
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is a publishing and information company that has been serving the health care industry for more than 25 years. It develops highly targeted news, data and strategic information for managers in hospitals, health plans, medical group practices, pharmaceutical companies and other health care organizations. AIS products include print and electronic newsletters, websites, looseleafs, books, strategic reports, databases, webinars and conferences. Learn more at http://AISHealth.com.

Contact
Shelly Beaird-Francois
Atlantic Information Services, Inc.
202-775-9008 ext. 3064
sbeaird-francois(at)aishealth(dot)com

Shelly Beaird-Francois, Atlantic Information Services, http://aishealth.com, +1 (202) 775-9008 Ext: 3064, [email protected]