| 2006 Annual Conference for MCRA |
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The 2006 MCRA Annual Meeting was held at the exclusive
Garden of the Gods Club in Colorado Springs. Located at the
base of Pikes Peak directly across from The Garden of the Gods
Park, the beautiful setting was enjoyed by all who attended. Click here to open 2006 Conference MCRA Photo Album. 
2006 MCRA Conference Highlights - Colorado Springs, CO - September 18-20, 2006
The above comments are just a few collected from the conference questionnaire. Thanks to all who provided feedback.
Our 2006 conference started with a Welcome Reception on Monday night, versus the Sunday nights we’ve done in prior years. The board received many positive comments on a Monday night kick-off to our annual conference.
Tuesday morning began the start of the presentations with Dan Carlson, MCRA’s President, welcoming everyone and introducing our first speaker, Brian O’Malley.
The Spirit of Adventure Brian O’Malley
“Inspirational speaker was a good addition.”
With stunning pictures and creative storytelling, Brian O’Malley shared his phenomenal adventure of hiking Mt. Everest. Hearing of his journey allowed many of us to realize the importance of living life to its fullest.
Disease Management – Can it reduce managed care risk? Dr. Iver Juster, Active Health Management, Inc. www.activehealthmanagement.com
“Great job! All of the presentations were very informative.”
Dr. Juster, Senior VP of Health Informatics at Active Health Management, Inc., shared how disease management emphasizes prevention of exacerbations and complications utilizing evidence-based practice guidelines and patients’ empowerment strategies. Medicaid Managed Care Grace-Marie Turner, Galen Institute
“I would like to hear again Grace-Marie Turner, Scott Nystrom, and Bob Ziomek.”
Grace-Marie Turner, President of Galen Institute, shared that the 2005 Federal Medicaid expenditures for Medicaid beneficiaries – Adults, Children, Blind & Disabled, and Aged – totaled $184.2 billion. She spoke on the common themes for many states: Focus on-
An Aging America: Challenges & Opportunities Scott Nystrom, Ph.D, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
“Speakers also very good (especially Brian O’Malley and Scott Nystrom).”
Scott Nystrom is the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He gave us much to consider, including the fact that in the United States, baby boomers began turning 60 years of age in 2006. Almost 8,000 boomers will turn 60 each day! And the first Boomers will be eligible for Social Security starting in 2008; Medicare in 2011.
Emerging Trends in the Transplant Network Marketplace Bob Ziomek, Axia Strategies
“Really enjoyed speaker presentations of Brian O’Malley, Scott Nystrom, and Bob Ziomek.”
Bob Ziomek, Principal of Axia Strategies confirmed the benefits of a transplant network: improved clinical outcomes; transplant contract savings; and clinical support. He explained that the selection and utilization of an appropriately designed transplant network continues to represent the best method for addressing the clinical and cost implications associated with transplantation. The burden falls on the payor to properly and routinely assess their transplant trends and to logically evaluate on an on-going basis, and in a fully transparent environment, the transplant network components that most impact transplant clinical outcomes and costs. Wednesday morning, our final day of the conference, started with a group break-out session headed by Kevin Wilson and Chuck Newton.
MCRA Top 5 Lists
“Break-out session was fun.”
Kevin and Chuck divided the room into two groups – underwriters and MGUs in one group; brokers and intermediaries in another. Each group was to then make a list of their top 5 concerns with the “opposing” group. Proved to be interesting, productive and very informative to us all! The board received several positive comments on this session.
MCRA Year in Review
“Thank you! Dan, you and the Board rock.”
Dan Carlson provided detailed information on the MCRA budget and expenses, including a conference cost analysis for prior years’ conferences.
CMS Initiatives Tod W. Anderson, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Denver Regional Office
Best part of conference – “Venue, networking, CMS presentation.”
Tod Anderson is an Associate Regional Administrator for CMS in Denver. He shared that CMS is the largest health care payer in the world with a budget of approximately $650 billion. We heard about Medicare challenges; Medicaid challenges; and the latest news of Medicare Advantage and the Special Needs Plans.
Kevin Wilson “stepped up” as MCRA’s new Board President. Congratulations, Mr. Wilson!
Meeting was wrapped up by noon.
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