2018 Heartland Physician Alliance Spring Conference 

7:15 am           

Registration Opens

8:00 – 8:10 am

Welcome and Session Overview
Don Klitgaard, MD, President, Heartland Rural Physician Alliance

8:10 – 8:40 am

Breakfast Address
Milan Raich, VP Business Development, The Garage

How can a population health platform like The Garage support value-based healthcare

8:40 – 9:55 am

Keynote – Win-Win-Win Approaches to Accountable Care: How Physicians, Hospitals, Patients, and Payers Can All Benefit from Healthcare Payment and Delivery Reform
Harold Miller, President and CEO of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform (CHQPR)

Can healthcare spending be reduced without harming patients, physician practices, and community hospitals? Is there a future for small practices and hospitals in a world of value-based payment? Harold Miller will describe how well-designed alternative payment models can allow primary care providers, specialists, and hospitals to deliver better care to patients at a more affordable cost in way that is both financially feasible and professionally rewarding. Miller will explain the weaknesses with many current approaches to value-based payment and describe examples of better payment models for primary care and specialties such as cardiology, oncology, and orthopedics. He will also describe better ways to pay hospitals that can preserve access to high quality health care in rural areas.

9:55 – 10:10 am

Break

10:10 – 11:00 am

Maximizing MIPS 2018 and beyond; Where do APMs fit in?
Amy Mullins, AAFP

This session will focus on understanding the CMS Quality Payment Program’s Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), including new updates for the 2018 performance year. How can you maximize performance on the four components of the MIPS score to most positively impact payments, while improving the care provided. Also, how do the CMS Alternative Payment Models (APMs) work with MIPS? Explore the pros and cons of APM and Advanced APM participation.

11:00 – 11:45 am

MSSP ACO Results, Benefits, and Opportunities
ACO Participant Panel

This session will include a description of how a Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (MSSP ACOs), composed of independent practices

and hospitals, can work to address improved healthcare quality and lower costs. How can new data streams be leveraged to improve care of individuals and populations? How is Quality measured and reported? What insights into practice patterns and opportunities can be gained from CMS claims data? What are the main drivers of cost and how can they be impacted to drive shared savings? Hear from Heartland leadership, as well as current MSSP participants about their ACO experiences.

11:45 – 12:10 noon

Aligning Quality Improvement Efforts with Payment
Cheri Olson, MD, Medical Director, and Kate Nisbet, MBA, Director of Quality and Clinical Education, Interstate Postgraduate Medical Society

Making meaningful improvements in the quality of care provided is integral to the success in any value-based payment arrangement. Learn about the success of improvement efforts in ACOs, targeting both improved ACO or MIPS quality measures which also positively impact cost. These efforts are also designed to include CME/CEU credit for physicians, advanced providers and nurses, as well as Part IV Board certification credit for physicians. Additionally, the same project can meet MIPS Improvement Activity requirements.

12:10 – 1:00 pm          

Lunch and Networking

1:00 – 1:45 pm

A Wellmark BCBS ACO Results, Benefits, and Opportunities
Tom Newton, Vice President, Network Engagement, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and ACO participant panel

This session will describe how a commercial ACO, made up of independent practices and hospitals, can drive improved outcomes and generate shared savings. How does the Wellmark VIS score assess value? What data is available from Wellmark to inform clinical changes? What are the main drivers of cost in a commercial ACO and how can they be addressed by improving care? How does risk adjustment work in the ACO setting? Hear perspectives from Iowa’s main commercial payer, as well as real-world ACO experiences from current ACO participants.

1:45 – 2:30 pm

Iowa’s Medicaid MCOs and the Path to Value-Based Purchasing
United Healthcare/Amerigroup MCOs

This session will discuss on the opportunities and challenges presented by the privatization of Iowa Medicaid. What is the direction set out by Iowa Medicaid for the MCOs? What opportunities are available for value-based purchasing through the MCOs, now and moving forward?

2:30 – 2:45 pm

Break

2:45 – 3:30 pm

Understanding Risk in Healthcare
Don Klitgaard, MD, CEO, MedLink Advantage

As US healthcare transitions from volume to value, physicians and practices frequently hear that this transition will involve taking on more risk. What does that really mean? What types of risk are being referenced in this broad statement, and is this cause for concern or optimism? Explore the different types of risk inherent in Value-based Purchasing arrangements and how to use this understanding to position your organization for success.

3:30 – 3:45pm

Wrap Up and Next Steps        
Don Klitgaard, MD, President, Heartland Rural Physician Alliance