As the debate over health care reform intensifies ahead of the November presidential and congressional elections, the University of Miami School of Business Administration is planning a conference focusing on the impact that the election may have on health care reform and what it will mean for health care organizations and businesses in general. The conference on Feb. 1, 2013, “The Business of Health Care Post-Election,” will be hosted by the School’s Center for Health Sector Management and Policy and will bring together top government and health care industry leaders.
Confirmed speakers include Mark McClellan, who served as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as senior director of health care policy during the administration of President George W. Bush; Chris Jennings, former senior health care advisor to President Bill Clinton; former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle, author of the book “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis”; and Karen Ignagni, the president and CEO ofAmerica’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala, who served as the Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton, will also take on a major role, says Steven Ullmann, director of the School’s Center for Health Sector Management and Policy
“There has been much debate about what the future will look like in terms of health care policies and how it will all affect the health care industry and businesses. This conference will provide insight on that,” says Ullmann. “The topic will be that much more important after the presidential and congressional elections.”
The conference will come two years after the Center hosted a Global Business Forum called “The Business of Health Care: Defining the Future.” That conference featured speakers such as Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services and Margaret Hamburg, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. The event drew approximately 750 people and coverage from such national media as Modern Healthcare magazine and C-SPAN.
At the 2013 conference, there will be four “living room sessions” in which a moderator will host a discussion with one or two speakers. Early registration for the conference, which is open to the public, is $150.
“Business people will be able to walk away from the conference with a better understanding of how to position themselves and their organizations for the potential changes that will take place in the business of health care over the next several years,” says Ullmann.
The conference is part of the growing number of programs and initiatives taking place at UM’s School of Business Administration. For more than 30 years, the School has offered an Executive MBA in Health Sector Management and Policy program, which is ranked the nation’s No. 2 such program by Modern Healthcare magazine. The next class in the Executive MBA program begins in January 2013, with classes held one weekend per month. Students in the program include physicians, nurses, mid-to-high level executives and other highly experienced health care professionals working in group practices, hospitals, government agencies, biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms, insurance companies, managed care organizations, and medical device companies.
The School also offers a joint MD/MBA program in partnership with the Miller School of Medicine, as well as a major and minor in health sector management and policy at the undergraduate level.
The Center for Health Sector Management and Policy was established in 2010. In addition to hosting conferences, the Center serves as a resource to businesses and policy making bodies, conducts and disseminates leading edge research, offers consulting services to the health care and business community and provides training and education for those in the health sector.
