The feature topic that was the one on everybody’s mind as we were entering the new year: What is the future of the Affordable Care Act? What problems, successes and fixes can we anticipate and should we be prepared for? How will what has happened so far, and what is to come, affect patients, providers, insurers and vendors? Some of the issues we explored included technology innovation, data collection and analysis, care integration, insurance risk pools and the effect on premiums and reimbursement, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care trends, the shifting role of employers, and growing consumer responsibility.
Leading the discussion, was a panel of seasoned Washington health policy experts, including:
Julie Barnes, a healthcare attorney, policy analyst and former Capitol Hill staffer, serving as Senior Advisor for Leavitt Partners, counseling health industry clients about ACA implementation, federal and state budget issues, and insurance and deliver system trends. Previously Julie served as an advisor to Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle and Bill Frist, Senator Pete Domenici, and Dr. Alice Rivlin.
Gail McGrath, Founding partner of GPG Health Strategies, a healthcare industry consulting firm that advises healthcare providers on compliance and management solutions. Gail previously served as Director of the Center for Beneficiary Choices at CMS, that developed and implemented Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit for seniors. She was also a staff member to the minority leader of the House Ways and Means Committee, and held other executive positions in the healthcare industry.
Jennifer Pharaoh, an attorney in the government relations practice at Nelson Mullins, who regularly advises clients on current healthcare legislative issues, and who for years was a senior aide on Capitol Hill, where she designed and managed policy agendas for several Members of Congress, including Chairman John Dingell.
David Abernethy, former Senior Vice President for Government Relations of EmblemHealth and prior to that staff director of the Subcommittee on Health of the House Ways and Means Committee.
We also discussed Health TechNet’s upcoming Investor Day, scheduled for March 13, at which early and growth stage companies will be matched with potential investors in a day-long networking event designed to stimulate healthcare entrepreneurialism in the DC metropolitan area.