Detailed Agenda

This opening session will kick off the day with comments framing the conference agenda and the role State of Reform hopes to play in a new era of policy and politics.

DJ Wilson: Host, State of Reform

The Morning Keynote will include one on one conversations with some of health care's most thoughtful leaders at the intersection of health care and health policy. These dynamic conversations will offer insights into the impact of COVID across the country and how policy makers, health care leaders and each of their  respective silos are faring. 

Steve Love: Chief Executive Officer, Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council

Eric Hunter: Chief Executive Officer, CareOregon

Kim Bimestefer: Director, Colorado Health Care Policy and Financing Department

After months of negotiations and numerous changes to the plan, the future of the Build Back Better Act remains in limbo. So, what’s the outlook for the policy? This group of insiders will discuss the conversations happening in Washington DC that may point to the fate of the nearly $2 trillion policy agenda.

Liz Wroe: Principal, Leavitt Partners

Jennifer Babcock: Senior Vice President for Medicaid Policy, Association for Community Affiliated Health Plans 

Chris Jennings: Founder and President, Jennings Policy Strategies Inc.

The cost of health care remains a hot button issue. From market pricing power to utilization and prior authorization, various issues are drawing novel strategies to tamp down the cost of care. This session will talk through health care costs, highlight lessons learned, and discuss where we go from here.

John Kitzhaber, MD: Former Governor, State of Oregon

Joe Fifer: Chief Executive Officer, Healthcare Financial Management Association

Niall Brennan, MPP: Chief Analytics and Data Privacy Officer, Clarify Health

COVID has highlighted the need for thoughtful coordination and partnership across sectors and silos. At the same time, technology is reshaping care delivery and coordination. This panel will share how health care organizations are collaborating and coordinating in innovative ways, the implications moving forward, and how we can foster ‘new ideas’.

David Muhlestein: Chief Strategy and Research Officer, Leavitt Partners

Briana Duffy: US President, Beacon Health Options 

Todd Haedrich: Chief Executive Officer, Optimize Health 

Manjula Julka: Vice President of Medical Affairs & Senior Population Health Officer, Signify

As the pandemic stretches on, we are seeing increased substance use, increased anxiety, and economic instability weighing heavily on our behavioral health system. This panel will explore the role the pandemic has played, and discuss what steps we need to take to modernize our behavioral health system.

Sandeep Wadhwa, MD: Global Chief Medical Officer, 3M HIS

Sarah Arnquist: Senior Vice President, Integrated Behavioral Health, UpHealth

Robert Sheehan: Executive Director, Community Mental Health Association of Michigan 

California recently launched one of its most sweeping reforms of the safety net ever through the CalAIM initiative. The initiative, which officially launched in January 2022, aims to create a more coordinated, equitable program that focuses on whole person care. This panel will dig into the details, progress, and lessons learned from CalAIM’s first few months of implementation.

Les Ybarra: President, California Medicaid, Anthem

Linnea Koopmans: Chief Executive Officer, Local Health Plans of California

Susan Philip: Deputy Director, Health Care Delivery Systems, California Dept. of Health Care Services 

Kara Carter: Senior Vice President, Strategy & Programs, California Health Care Foundation

This panel includes some of the most important staff members of the Republican conference in health policy. They will share their thoughts on health and fiscal policy, and how the pandemic will continue to impact the congressional work in 2022. Bring your questions to what is always a highly attended and dynamic session.

Stuart Portman: Senior Health Policy Advisor, Senate Finance Committee

Corey Ensslin: Senior Health Policy Advisor, Senate HELP Committee 

Stephanie Parks: Staff Director, Health Subcommittee, House Ways & Means Committee 

Josh Trent: Principal, Leavitt Partners (moderator)

The impact of the social determinants of health is well known, but doing something to employ that knowledge in a meaningful and sustainable way is easier said than done. This session of experts will talk through the financing models in place to address the social determinants and what is being learned through that work.

Elizabeth Starr: Product Director, SDOH and Community Partnerships, Aetna

Eric Beane: Vice President, Regulatory and Government Affairs, Unite Us

Jami Snyder: Director, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System

Colby Dailey: Principal, Multiplier Advisors

After two years of immense strain, our understanding of COVID and its impact on society and our systems continues to evolve. This session will discuss the lessons from this moment and what we might expect to remain in the post-COVID world, from market activity to policy making.

Hon. Josh Green, MD: Lieutenant Governor, State of Hawaii

Joe DeMattos: President, Health Facilities Association of Maryland

Darryl Elmouchi, MD: President, BHSH Spectrum Health West Michigan

It's clear that technology will continue to disrupt health care, and with luck, leave the sector much improved. This session will discuss how policy makers can support innovation in the space while ensuring access to those in need, both on an individual and community level.

Megan Carr: Vice President, Regulatory & Government Relations, 3M 

James Lin, MD: Vice President, Information Technology, Hawaii Pacific Health 

Tim Pletcher: Executive Director, Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services

Ryan Howells: Executive Director, CARIN Alliance 

Arkansas has taken unique approaches to its ACA marketplace and to its Medicaid expansion, creating an environment of experimentation, partisanship at times, and innovation in how to best cover and serve its rural populations. This panel will highlight the development and successes of these unique approaches.

Matthew Vannatta: Vice President, Consumer and Retail Markets, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield

Bo Ryall: Chief Executive Officer, Arkansas Hospital Association

Dennis Smith: Special Advisor on Medicaid, Arkansas Department of Human Services

Health care reform remains a top issue for Democratic voters, and certainly a continued focus areas of primary concern for Democratic members of Congress. Bring your questions to what is always a thoughtful conversation on the future of health policy from these caucus members.

Rep. Debbie Dingell: Member, House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health 

Rep. Kim Schrier: Member, House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health

Sarah Singleton: Principal, Leavitt Partners (moderator)

This session will provide an update on the work of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation. This panel of thought leaders will share their insights on what the health care community can expect from CMMI’s plans for 2023 and what this means for the future of risk-based arrangements.

Amy Bassano: Managing Director, Medicare, Health Management Associates

Mara McDermott: Vice President, Consulting, McDermott Plus 

Aisha Pittman: Vice President of Policy, Premier

From access to health care and social services to vaccine distribution, there continues to be variation in health outcomes based on race, gender, and economic status. This panel will explore health equity in the United States and discuss strategies to bring about greater equity in how we address social factors in health.

Kristine Toppe: Assistant Vice President, State Affairs, NCQA 

Katie Ettman: Food and Agricultural Policy Manager, SPUR 

Donna Jacobs: Principal, Optimal Outcomes 

From the end of the public health emergency to new regulations coming from the Biden Administration, states will have to navigate numerous health-related challenges in 2022. In this session, stakeholders will provide an overview of five of the most pressing issues states will need to grapple with in the coming year.

Kathleen Nolan: Vice President, Health Management Associates 

Brad Lerner: Director, Public Policy, Behavioral Health, Anthem 

Hemi Tewarson: Executive Director, National Academy of State Health Policy

Colm O'Comartun: Managing Partner, 50 State

This session will review the innovations and activities taking place in one of the nation's largest health care markets. This panel of experts will bring a particular focus on Medicaid and the state's vision to drive broader system-level reform. Bring your questions to this deep dive into Florida's health care.

Beth Kidder: Managing Principal, Health Management Associates

Jennifer Sweet: Chief Executive Officer, Aetna Better Health of Florida 

Mary Mayhew: Chief Executive Officer, Florida Hospital Association

Nathan Landsbaum: Chief Executive Officer, Sunshine Health Florida

The 2022 midterm elections mark the halfway point between presidential elections. At these halfway marks, we often see the party holding the White House losing ground in the House and Senate elections. This session will bring key political insiders together to discuss the 2022 midterm elections, the potential shift in power, and what they might mean for health care and health policy on a national level.

Hon. Mark Begich: Former US Senator, State of Alaska

Jim Capretta: Milton Friedman Chair, American Enterprise Institute

Katie Keith: Principal, Keith Policy Solutions

The employer-based model of care has changed a lot over the last few years thanks to COVID-19. From telehealth and behavioral health, to better access and management of chronic diseases, employers are becoming increasingly more active in policy conversations to improve both the cost of care and options offered to employees. This panel of thought leaders will discuss employer-sponsored care, recent changes, and what that means for the future.

Shawn Gremminger: Director of Policy, Purchaser Business Group on Health

Jack Hooper: Chief Executive Officer, Take Command Health 

Alex Rule: Western Region Vice President, Health Care Strategy, Gallagher

The last two years have shown with uncommon clarity the role that race and racism play in our society and in our health care system. From street demonstrations to vaccine distribution, equity across demographics remains elusive. This session will review the data, the outcomes, and the implications for American society and its health care sector.

Robyn Taylor: Senior Director of Health Equity, National Association of Chronic Disease Directors 

Nilesh Kalyanaraman, MD: Health Officer, Anne Arundel County

Ben Danielson, MD: Clinical Professor, UW School of Medicine, Dept. of Pediatrics

COVID has taught us the importance of building up our workforce pipeline to match the demand for care. This panel will focus on how organizations across the country are rising to the challenge of creating a new framework for incentivizing workers to join or stay within the health care field.

Josh Ewing: Vice President, Legislative Affairs, Colorado Hospital Association 

Denise Octavia Smith: Executive Director, National Association of Community Health Workers 

Sarah Nolan: Deputy Policy Director, Health Care, SEIU

Nari Hesmati, MD: Senior Regional Medical Director, The Everett Clinic 

Michigan is continuing to explore ways to transform its behavioral health system through financing physical health and behavioral health similarly in specialty integrated plans. During this session, the panelists will discuss the pros and cons of these specialty integrated plans. Panelists will highlight other unique behavioral health legislation and what other states can learn from their interventions into the behavioral health system.

Rep. Mary Whiteford: Chair, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services

Phillip Bergquist: Chief Executive Officer, Michigan Primary Care Association 

Allen Jansen: Deputy Director, Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Administration, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services 

Dominick Pallone: Executive Director, Michigan Association of Health Plans

Senator Bill Cassidy, MD is a member of both the Senate HELP Committee and Senate Finance Committee. If health reform is going to move through Congress, it's going to pass through - and likely start - in these committees. In this keynote conversation, Cassidy will discuss future action on health policy in Congress, health care after the pandemic, and his thoughts on the road through a closely divided Congress. 

Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD: Member, Senate Finance Committee