MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1

7:00 am–8:45 am
Registration and Breakfast
Grand Ballroom Foyer

8:45 am–9:00 am
Opening Welcome
Grand Ballroom

Lisa Simpson, President and CEO, AcademyHealth
Lucy Savitz, Assistant Vice President, Delivery System Science, Intermountain Healthcare

9:00 am–9:30 am
Opening Plenary
Grand Ballroom

Speaker: Steven Beshear, Former Governor of Kentucky

9:30 am–10:30 am
Election 2016: What Are the Candidates Saying?
Grand Ballroom

Moderator: Adriel Bettelheim, Managing Editor, CQ Roll Call

Speakers:

  • Lanhee Chen, David and Diane Steffy Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, and Senior Advisor, Marco Rubio for President
  • Christopher Jennings, Founder, Jennings Policy Strategies Inc. and informal outside advisor, Secretary Clinton's Campaign


10:30 am–11:00 am
Networking Break

11:00 am–12:30 pm
Concurrent Sessions

Paths to High Quality, Affordable Care: How Will Digital Get Us There?
Congressional B

Moderator: Eric Schneider, The Commonwealth Fund

Speakers:

Description: This session will examine how health information technology and new digital platforms are being used to improve quality and reduce costs, while enabling consumer engagement.


Paying for Value Part I: Physician Edition
Congressional A

Moderator: Alan Weil, Health Affairs

Speakers:

  • Lois Nora, American Board of Medical Specialties

Description: Until recently, physicians in the United States have been reimbursed though traditional fee-for-service models, which valued quantity over quality. New payment reform efforts seek to emphasize a more value and performance-based system through a variety of new physician payment models. This panel will discuss timely issues around physician payment reform, including merit-based incentives, the physician value modifier, and other alternative payment models to determine whether these reforms will lower costs and improve quality.


What's the Evidence on E-Cigarettes?
Mount Vernon Square B

Moderator: Christopher Koller, Milbank Memorial Fund

Speakers:

  • Brian King, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Description: Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are an emerging public health challenge, as they are not regulated at the federal level. There is still little known about the long-term affects of e-cigarettes, but their use, especially among youth, remains a concern. Panelists will discuss the current evidence on e-cigarettes and what still needs to be uncovered, as well as how states and communities continue to address tobacco use at the policy level.


Late Breaking Session
Affirmative Action and Implications for Health Policy
Mount Vernon Square A

Moderator: Georges Benjamin, American Public Health Association

Speakers:

  • Tomás León, Institute for Diversity in Health Management, American Hospital Association

Description: As the Supreme Court prepares to review affirmative action, health professional schools are continuing attempts to diversify the health care workforce. This session will analyze how the affirmative action decision may impact various facets of health care like diversity in the workforce, as well as other strategies to increase diversity within health professions.


12:30 pm–2:30 pm
Lunch Plenary
Grand Ballroom

Public and Population Health: Innovations at the Boundaries

Moderator: Ana Diez Roux, Dean and Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University

Speakers:

  • Donald Schwarz, Director, Catalyzing Demand for Healthy Places and Practices, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  • Hal Yee, Chief Medical Officer, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services

Description: The movement toward a "culture of health" has been on the forefront of new public health initiatives. Understanding how health policy interacts with the related policy domains such as housing, environment, education, and nutrition, provides a more comprehensive set of policy levers to promote health. This session will feature local and community level interventions that have aimed to improve health through innovations that reach across sectors to tackle deep seated health challenges.


2:30 pm–2:45 pm
Break

2:45 pm–4:15 pm
Concurrent Sessions

Payment Reform and Alternative Payment Models
Congressional B

Moderator: Ashish Jha, Harvard University

Speakers:

Description: The need for payment reform and innovation as a means for promoting quality and value health care is well-established in the United States. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation has begun to test and evaluate these models and establish best practices for implementation. Speakers on this panel will engage in an in-depth discussion of new and alternative payment models, such as ACOs, bundled payments, episode-based payments, and primary care transformation.


Criminal Justice Meets Health: Collaborations Between Systems to Address Mental Health Care
Congressional A

Moderator: Gabrielle de la Guéronnière, Legal Action Center

Speakers:

Description: With the passage of the Affordable Care Act and expansion of Medicaid, a significant number of jail-involved individuals have become eligible for health insurance coverage for the first time. The coverage includes services for mental health and substance abuse services, which have the potential to help thousands both in the prison system and outside of it. Speakers will address the opportunities and challenges of collaboration and integration between the criminal justice and mental health/substance abuse care systems to provide quality, cost effective care.


State Scope of Practice Laws: Alternative Care Providers in Primary Care
Mount Vernon Square A

Moderator: Luis Padilla, Health Resources and Services Administration

Speakers:

  • Carl Rush, University of Texas Institute for Health Policy

Description: State scope of practice laws are continuing to evolve to allow providers, including nurses practitioners, physician assistants, and community health workers, to redefine their profession and practice to the top of their license. These providers are shifting and expanding their roles to include more comprehensive care management and collaboration across professions in primary care. Speakers in this session will discuss what is being learned about the impact of changing scope of practice laws on access, quality, and costs.

The Power of Research: Focus on the 2016 HSR Impact Award
Mount Vernon Square B

Moderator: Julie Rovner, Kaiser Health News

Discussants:

Description: This session will highlight the work of the 2016 HSR Impact Award recipients, who will discuss their research, as well as strategies and best practices to disseminate research to policymakers.


4:15 pm–4:30 pm
Break

4:30 pm–5:30 pm
Private Sector Plenary
Grand Ballroom

An Armchair Conversation: Private Sector Consolidation and Its Impact on Cost, Quality, and Coverage

Moderator: Martha Bebinger, Reporter, WBUR, Boston's NPR News Station

Speakers:

  • Sarah Lueck, Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
  • Robert Nesse, Senior Director of Policy and Payment Reform, Mayo Clinic
  • Samuel Nussbaum, Executive Vice President for Clinical Health Policy and Chief Medical Officer, Anthem, Inc.

Description: Private sector payers, provider systems, and new entrants into health care are reshaping the way care is delivered and financed–and potentially altering what care costs and how its priced. In this plenary session, experts from various fields will discuss what is being learned about the trends in consolidation, the policy implications of this consolidation, and what these changes mean for consumers.


5:30 pm–7:00 pm
Reception
Renaissance East

Sponsored by the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2

7:00 am–8:45 am
Registration and Breakfast
Grand Ballroom Foyer

8:45 am–10:00 am
Congressional Plenary
Grand Ballroom

Why Fiscal Policy is Health Policy

Moderator: Maya MacGuineas, President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Speaker:

Discussants:

  • Shai Akabas, Associate Director of Economic Policy, Bipartisan Policy Center
  • Donald Marron, Institute Fellow and Director, Economic Policy Initiatives, Urban Institute
  • Harry Stein, Director, Fiscal Policy, Center for American Progress

Description: This plenary panel will discuss the effect that health care spending has on the deficit and debt and the implications of the federal budget for national and state health policy.

10:00 am–10:30 am
Networking Break

10:30 am–12:00 pm
Concurrent Sessions

High Cost Drugs: What Options Are on the Table?
Congressional A

Moderator: Tricia Neuman, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Speakers:

Description: The high cost of pharmaceuticals that treat some cancers, rare diseases, and Hepatitis C continue to be a pressing issue for insurers, Medicare beneficiaries, and privately insured individuals. Panelists will examine a variety of policy options, including incentives and information sharing, innovative purchasing strategies, and value-based measures to improve patient access and reduce health care spending.

Paying for Value Part II: Hospital Edition
Mount Vernon Square A

Moderator: Sachin Jain, Caremore Health System/Anthem

Speakers:

Description: In recent months, the federal government has moved toward new payment models that reward better quality of care, instead of the number of services they provide. These payment models seek to decrease health care spending, but have faced implementation challenges and some resistance from hospitals and associations. This panel will discuss initiatives and issues related to hospital payments including the impact of penalty programs for readmissions and hospital-acquired infections, as well as the future of hospital payments in the long-term.

The Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Coverage, Access, and Health Outcomes
Congressional B

Moderator: Sara Collins, The Commonwealth Fund

Speakers:

Description: When half of the states in the nation expanded Medicaid, many low income individuals gained health care coverage. Several years later, studies are emerging on the effects of Medicaid expansion on coverage, access, and health behavior and outcomes. This session will explore how the impact of Medicaid expansion is being measured using the natural experiments created by state implementation and discuss some early results from these states.


Social Impact Bonds: A Fad or a Promising New Strategy?
Mount Vernon Square B

Moderator: Darshak Sanghavi, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Speakers:

Description: In communities across the country, social impact bonds are increasingly being used to finance public initiatives. Through this innovative funding mechanism, complex social challenges can be tackled quickly, creatively, and with force. Early results suggest that this strategy holds great potential for catalyzing social change, but that challenges remain. This panel will discuss the social impact bond model, illustrating current efforts to bolster communities and improve health.


12:00 pm–2:00 pm
Lunch Plenary
Grand Ballroom

Update on State Health Policy: Coverage Expansion and Delivery System Transformation

Moderator: Scott Leitz

Speakers:

  • Brooks Daverman, Director of Strategic Planning and Innovation, Tennessee Division of Health Care Finance and Administration
  • Amy Dowd, CEO, New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange
  • Lauren Hughes, Deputy Secretary for Health Innovation, Pennsylvania Department of Health

Description: Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, states have undergone tremendous changes in health care coverage options and delivery system innovations. Health policy officials from several states will discuss their programs, including their experiences with the health insurance exchanges, State Innovation Models, and delivery system transformation. Each panelist will also provide success stories and challenges from their state to further inform the application of these innovations across the country.

2:00 pm–2:15 pm
Break

2:15 pm–3:45 pm
Concurrent Sessions

Innovations in Insurance Product Design
Congressional A

Moderator: Stephen Parente, University of Minnesota

Speakers:

Description: The individual health care exchanges have brought new and innovative insurance plans and benefit designs to the marketplace. This session will feature a discussion on the impact of these new products on consumers, carriers, and providers. High deductible health plans, issues of access and utilization, and narrow networks are just a few of the areas that panelists will examine.


Incentives and Strategies to Reduce Opioid Abuse
Congressional B

Moderator: Kathryn Santoro, National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation

Speakers:

  • Andrea Boxill, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
  • Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health Department

Description: Opioid abuse is a pressing public health concern as communities across the country struggle to prevent injury and death from abuse and overdose. Policy proposals and public health programs at the federal, state, and local levels have sought to address these issues through a variety of prevention and treatment efforts. Speakers on this panel will discuss recent policy initiatives, including implications for Medicaid and substance abuse collaborations, to curb this growing crisis.


The Virtual Care Revolution: New Models and Standards of Care
Mount Vernon Square A

Moderator: Margo Edmunds, AcademyHealth

Speakers:

Description: Virtual visits, online communications, and other telehealth technologies offer new opportunities to improve access to care and transform the provider-patient relationship, but they are challenging current payment models and raising concerns about quality of care. Panelists from the public and private sectors will discuss how innovative models for delivering health care can improve individual and population health.


Late-Breaking Session
Addressing the Challenges Facing Women's Reproductive Health Care
Mount Vernon Square B

Moderator: Debra Ness, National Partnership for Women and Families

Speakers:

Description: Over the last several years, women’s reproductive health has been at the forefront of political and budgetary debates. In 2016, Congress and the Supreme Court will be taking on some major issues this year, which could alter the national landscape of women’s health. Panelists will discuss these potential changes and their implications for broader health policy issues in the coming year.


3:45 pm–4:00 pm
Break

4:00 pm–5:00 pm
Closing Plenary
Grand Ballroom

Media and Polling: Straight Talk on the Priorities and Politics of Health Policy in the 2016 Election

Moderator: Marilyn Werber Serafini, Vice President for Policy, Alliance for Health Reform

Speakers:

  • Robert Blendon, Senior Associate Dean for Policy Translation and Leadership Development, Harvard University


5:00 pm
Conference Concludes