As implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act heats up, nearly 100 of Nashville’s emerging health care leaders had the opportunity to meet with top Washington officials to discuss the state of health care policy and its impact on the industry in Nashville and around the country.
On March 10 and 11, the Nashville Health Care Council’s Leadership Health Care (LHC) initiative made its 12thannual journey to our nation’s capital to hear from lawmakers, Administration officials and professional Capitol Hill staff instrumental in writing, influencing and implementing health care policy. Delegation speakers also included representatives from key health care trade organizations and senior policy advisors.
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Photo credit: Keith Mellnick
Delegates also heard from keynote speaker Dora Hughes, former White House advisor and senior CMS official, as well as a lively panel discussion among policy and regulatory leaders at key health care industry trade groups about what’s next in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
“The 2014 delegation provided Nashville’s emerging health care leaders with the opportunity to hear from some of the country’s top policy experts about the future of health care reform and other important issues before Congress,” said LHC Director Jenni Bradley.
“The great thing about the delegation is that attendees get direct insight into the health care discussions that impact policy decisions in Washington,” said Ted Lomicka, LHC chairman and vice president and assistant treasurer with Community Health Systems. “Delegates can take that information home and apply it to their business strategies.”
The annual delegation to Washington is a signature LHC program. This year’s agenda also included:
- U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
- U.S. Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN)
- U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN)
- U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)
- Tom Cassels, Executive Director, The Advisory Board
- Dan Durham, Vice President, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, America’s Health Insurance Plans
- John Harris, Editor in Chief, POLITICO
- Jeni Healy, Health Counsel, Office of U.S. Senator Bob Corker
- Alicia Hennie, Staff Member, Senate HELP Committee, Office of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander
- Katie W. Mahoney, Executive Director, Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Tom Nickels, Senior Vice President, Federal Relations, American Hospital Association
- Mary Ella Payne, Senior Vice President, Policy and System Legislative Leadership, Ascension Health
- Rahul Rajkumar, Senior Advisor, The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation
- Michael Ramlet, Founder and Editor, “The Morning Consult”
- John Schaeffler, General Manager, Government Relations, GE Healthcare
Rajkumar spoke to delegates about some of the payment and service delivery model programs that the CMS Innovation Center is testing across the country in an effort to reduce costs while improving quality. Noting the recent decline in health care spending, he said, “We now feel fairly confident that these changes in health care payment and delivery are beginning to bear fruit.”
The delegation also included a dinner featuring John F. Harris, editor in chief of POLITICO, the go-to source media source for coverage of all things politics and government in Washington.
“LHC’s annual visit to Washington helps further the organization’s mission of cultivating future health care industry leaders and spreading the word about Nashville’s health care expertise,” said Council President Caroline Young. “We’re pleased to have had such strong participation for our 12th annual delegation.”
Attendees represented diverse sectors of Nashville’s health care industry, including hospital management, ambulatory surgery centers, health care IT, urgent care centers and wellness providers, as well as professional services such as finance, law, communications and accounting.
Delegation scholarships were awarded to Peter Attwater, MBA student, Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management; Melissa Bogle, nurse practitioner and statewide practice manager, CVS/MinuteClinic; and Sarah Hirsch, director of clinical care management, Advantage Behavioral Health.
Sponsors for this year’s LHC Delegation to Washington D.C., were Bass, Berry & Sims, BDO USA, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings,c3/consulting, GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services, Harris Williams & Co., Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock, Kraft Healthcare Consulting,Lovell Communications and United Community Bank – Healthcare Banking.