With the second year of the Trump Administration under way, the Nashville Health Care Council’s Leadership Health Care (LHC) initiative led a group of more than 75 emerging health care leaders to our nation’s capital for two days of intensive learning and networking.
The annual delegation, held on March 12 and 13, offered participants an exclusive look at the issues shaping health care policy in 2018. New this year, delegates who arrived early to Washington, D.C., had the opportunity to participate in a tour of the Capitol. The delegation itself featured discussions with members of Congress, Administration officials, congressional staff and national thought leaders on the most pressing topics in health care policy, federal health care spending and reform implementation, among other issues.
Click here to view photos from the delegation.
On the first day of sessions, delegates heard from Andrew Bremberg, assistant to the President and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, as well as Dan Diamond, a Politico reporter whose investigation of former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s use of private jets for routine travel eventually led to Price’s resignation. The evening’s keynote dinner, hosted by the Nashville Health Care Council, featured Fox News Politics Editor Chris Stirewalt.
Click here to view a video interview with keynote speaker Chris Stirewalt.
“It’s a time of uncertainty for health care policy, particularly as we begin to look forward to the 2018 mid-term elections,” said Molly Vice, director of Leadership Health Care. “That made for an exciting exchange of ideas among our speakers and this year’s delegates.”
The annual delegation to Washington is a signature LHC program. This year’s agenda also included:
- Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)
- Congressman Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.)
- Nick Bath, health policy director, office of Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate HELP Committee
- Andy Bressler, managing director, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research
- Wilson Compton, M.D., deputy director, National Institute on Drug Abuse
- Richard G. Cowart, chairman, health law and public policy department, Baker Donelson
- Gregory Marotta, president and CEO, CleanSlate Centers
- Brett Meeks, counsel, Senate HELP Committee
- Kathryn Phillips, general counsel and secretary, American Addiction Centers
- Bill Prentice, CEO, Ambulatory Surgery Center Association
- John Schaeffler, executive global government relations leader, General Electric/GE Healthcare
- Karen Summar, M.D., health policy director, office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Grace Stuntz, majority staff, office of Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Senate HELP Committee
- Jessica Wells, assistant vice president of education and research, HCA GME
- Dave Windley, managing director, Jefferies
- Eric Zimmerman, principal, McDermott+Consulting
The second day’s sessions featured separate dialogues with Congressman Cooper and Congressman Blackburn, as well a panel discussion on the nation’s opioid crisis and a briefing on the health IT provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act.
“The breadth and depth of health policy information covered during the LHC Delegation to Washington, D.C., is unparalleled,” said Claire Cowart Haltom, LHC chairman and shareholder with Baker Donelson. “Delegates always leave with actionable intelligence they can use to help grow their companies and support the broader $84 billion Nashville health care industry.”
Delegates to this year’s event represented Nashville’s diverse health care industry sectors, including hospital management, outpatient care, population health and health information technology – as well as professional service firms from finance, legal, public affairs and other areas. This year, a delegation scholarship was awarded to Monica Greene of LifePoint Health.
“For 16 years, LHC has hosted this annual delegation to Washington, D.C., to provide educational and networking opportunities that help foster the next generation of health care industry leaders,” said Hayley Hovious, president of the Nashville Health Care Council. “We’re proud to have had such outstanding participation from this year’s delegates, and we are thankful for the time and expertise of our speakers and panelists.”
This year’s delegation was presented by UnitedHealthcare. Supporting sponsors were Bradley, Cerner and GE Capital Healthcare Equipment Finance. Associate sponsor was Gordon & Associates and communications sponsor was Lovell Communications.
Click here and here to read the NashvillePost’s coverage of the 2018 LHC Delegation to D.C.