Featured Speakers

DEBBIE WELLE-POWELL, MPA, CMPE

"Effective Strategies for Negotiating and Evaluating Managed Care Contracts"

In this session you will learn how to develop a powerful contract negotiation strategy and the essential components to include in your organizations' managed care strategy. You will learn to identify and mitigate risky financial and operations language and discover how to turn these contract terms into "key indicators" for setting up a payer auditing system. You will also explore Silent PPO structures and the risks associated with ERISA versus fully insured products.

Debbie is the Vice President of Managed Care and Network Development for Exempla Healthcare, a large provider system in the Denver metro area. Debbie is responsible for the payer and employer contracting strategy for three acute care hospitals, behavioral inpatient/outpatient center, and a fifty employed-physician medical group. She chairs several health policy committees, where she is involved in testifying on health care bills as well as working with Colorado Senators and Representatives on developing health care policy and legislation. Debbie has devoted considerable time to projects related to paying for clinical quality and in January 2004 signed its first P4P contract.

She has held leadership positions within Medical Group Management Association, including President of the Managed Care Assembly and member of the Government Affairs Committee. She has a Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis in health care from the University of Colorado in Denver.

RON WILLIS

 

"Best Friends / Worst Nightmares: Employee Relationships"

Wherever men and women come together to accomplish a common goal, conflict seems to be an inevitable companion. Ron will identify numerous basic life principles that gradually transform worst nightmares into best friends in the workplace. The Power of Love in the Workplace... Participants will learn that love is more than an emotion... It is a daily decision and act of will. At every moment of choice in the workplace, we must ask ourselves "What is the loving thing to do?" Ron will stress the importance of never causing pain unintentionally. The Importance of Drawing Bigger Circles... Lack of forgiveness and the ready willingness to "let go" of little things lies at the heart of much conflict in the workplace. Ron will discuss the practical application of forgiveness, focusing on releasing the desire for retaliation and fostering a spirit of reconciliation. Keeping Work Issues in Perspective... Ron will discuss the danger of losing joy by taking our eyes off blessings and focusing on the things that are not working out. The Encouragement of Affirmation... Ron will remind participants of the importance of encouragement and affirmation in the workplace and demonstrate the relationship between confidence and the ability to make decisions when policy and procedure does not make sense.

DAVID GLASER

"Not Everything is Illegal: Legal Tips to Improve the Bottom Line"

Falling reimbursement creates considerable pressure on administrators to develop creative ideas for improving the bottom line. This session will discuss how misunderstood coding and documentation principles cause clinics to unnecessarily forgo revenue. We will also discuss options for ancillary services, joint ventures and coding that are often mistakenly dismissed as illegal or "too difficult". Finally, we will briefly cover how yours staff should respond to audits and investigations.

David is a shareholder in Fredrikson & Byron's Health Law Group and helped establish its Health Care Fraud and Compliance Group. David assists clinics, hospitals, and other health care entities negotiate the maze of health care regulations, providing advice about risk management, reimbursement and business planning issues. He has considerable experience in health care regulation and litigation, including compliance, criminal and civil fraud investigations, and reimbursement disputes.

David's goal is to explain the government's enforcement position, and to analyze whether this position is supported by the law or represents government overreaching.

MARILYN MANNING

"Leading Change in Challenging Times"

How do you deal with the pressure of constant change? Do you have to do more with less, faster, cheaper and better? Are you creating positive change or mostly reacting to problems? In this session, learn how to manage the emotional reactions to change. Discover ways to motivate others through transitions and resistance. Apply practical change models and strategies.

Dr. Marilyn Manning, international author, speaker, and certified management consultant, has been helping her clients solve difficult organizational and people problems for over twenty years. Through meeting facilitation, strategic planning, and one-on-one coaching, she shows people how to become more effective at resolving conflicts, building teams, and implementing change. She has a PhD and 2 Masters' degrees. She's a guest lecturer at Stanford University. Her topics include: Leadership, Change, Communications, Team Dynamics, and Conflict Management.