Diverse Faculty Joins AJMC as ACO Coalition Heads West

PLAINSBORO, N.J.—An outstanding group of experts will guide discussions among a cross section of health plan leaders, providers, hospital officials, pharmaceutical representatives, and others who are working to bring new payment models to life, as the ACO and Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition is set to meet April 30-May 1, 2015 in San Diego, California.

The meeting, to take place at the historic Hotel del Coronado, will be the Coalition’s first live meeting since a recent series of events that have put accountable care organizations, hospitals, and physicians on a faster timeline to provide value-based care.

CMS has called for 50% of all Medicare payments to be value-based by 2018. On March 12, 2015, CMS announced the “Next Generation” initiative for those ACOs that are ready to take on enhanced levels of risk. And this month, Congress and President Obama replaced Medicare’s sustainable growth rate formula with value-based incentives for the nation’s doctors.

Anthony D. Slonim, MD, DrPH, CPE, FACCPE, president and CEO of Renown Health, will serve as meeting chair and moderator. The previously announced keynote speaker is Suzanne F. Delbanco, PhD, MPH, executive director of Catalyst for Payment Reform.

Faculty speakers at the ACO Coalition meeting also include:

• Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP, vice president and CEO of Integrated Health Services, IBM Corporation. Dr Rhee has direct global responsibility for all IBM integrated health services strategy, design and operations.
• Howard Springer, MBA, MSW, administrative director of strategy for Accountable Care at Swedish Health Services, which includes 5 hospitals, 1000 providers, and $2 billion in annual revenue (owned by Providence Health & Services). He oversees the transition of delivery systems to value-based care by aligning governance, reimbursement, and service delivery.

Other faculty participants include those who represent payers and have broad experiences in Medicaid managed care and Medicare Advantage. Some work in quality management, patient advocacy, care coordination and population health. Others work in technology or even mediation.

“I am proud to present so many outstanding speakers to our Coalition members at this critical time in the evolution of payment reform,” said Brian Haug, president of The American Journal of Managed Care.

The ACO Coalition was created in early 2014 and now includes more than 180 members from across the healthcare spectrum.

About the ACO Coalition

As ACOs and other emerging delivery and payment models evolve and move away from traditional fee-for-service system models toward cost-effective and value-based care, the need to understand how these models will evolve is critical to building long-term strategic solutions. The mission of the ACO Coalition is to bring together a diverse group of key stakeholders, including ACO providers and leaders, payers, IDNs, retail and specialty pharmacy, academia, national quality organizations, patient advocacy, employers and pharmaceutical manufacturers to work collaboratively to build value and improve the quality and overall outcomes of patient care. Coalition members share ideas and best practices through live meetings, Web-based interactive sessions and conference calls. Distinguishing features are the Coalition’s access to leading experts and its small workshops that allow creative problem-solving. To learn more, click here.

nbeagin@ajmc.com

www.ajmc.com

CONTACT: Nicole Beagin (609) 716-7777 x 131