Building Collaborative Relationships:

Transcription

1 ahla Building Collaborative Relationships: In-House Health Plan Lawyers and the American Health Lawyers Association Relevant Information Peer-to-Peer Connections Education and Training American Health Lawyers Association

2 Why You Should Be a Member of AHLA As the business of healthcare delivery expands, so does the need for expert legal counsel. The American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) provides you with the information and resources you need to be a more effective health plan attorney, on issues such as operations and management, managed care, litigation, regulations, privacy, and security. About AHLA When you join AHLA, you become a part of the nation s largest non-profit educational professional association devoted to legal issues in the healthcare field. You join a network of almost 12,000 in-house counsel, attorneys from law firms and government agencies, solo practitioners, academicians and law students, compliance and privacy officers, and health professionals. AHLA provides a collegial forum for interaction and information exchange, produces quality non-partisan educational programs and products, and serves as a public resource on selected healthcare legal issues. Membership in AHLA marks you as a health lawyer so that current and future colleagues know that you are serious about learning and understanding your profession and your craft. Our educational opportunities and access to a collegial peer-to-peer network are unparalleled for the in-house managed care attorney. Join today! Call (202) , prompt #2 2

3 AHLA has allowed me to be the first to alert my clients and lawyer colleagues about critical information Todd Ebersole, V.P. & Senior Associate General Counsel at OptumRx, a UnitedHealth Group company Benefits of AHLA Membership AHLA membership offers in-house plan lawyers valuable benefits, including: Complimentary first year enrollment in the Payors, Plans, and Managed Care (PPMC) Practice Group which addresses all legal issues concerning health plans and insurers, including but not limited to plan operations and management, managed care, litigation, regulations, privacy, and security (a $50 value); PPMC Discussion List sign-up is free; Health and Life Sciences Law Daily and the Health Lawyers Weekly digital e-newsletters that deliver concise and timely information about regulatory and legislative activities of importance to health plans; AHLA Connections membership magazine that is made available to you each month digitally and in print; 3

4 Significant discounted rates for AHLA in-person programs and webinars; Savings on AHLA publications and ebooks such as Health Plans Contracting Handbook: A Guide for Payors and Providers, Sixth Edition ( Access to the AHLA Career Center and online job bank; Membership Directory network with peers and colleagues from around the country; and Participation in the AHLA Mentoring Program. Relevant Information and Analysis Receive the resources you need to be a more effective health plan lawyer, including: Weekly summary of cases and stories of interest to the health plan community; E-alerts on breaking news and hot topics; Focused discussions with other plan in-house attorneys and outside counsel, specifically geared to issues of importance to managed care attorneys; Dynamic Affinity Groups delivering content available to only PPMC members Health Plan, Managed Care Contracting, Medicare Advantage and Part D; There is no better way to work through legal and regulatory issues that in-house lawyers face than to talk to a colleague dealing with the same issues. Lois D. Cornell, Sr. Vice President of Human Resources, General Counsel, Tufts Associated Health Plans Inc.

5 Newsletters with in-depth articles on real-world topics and issues; Downloadable tutorials that enable PPMC members to get up-to-speed on substantive topics, including PBM regulatory requirements; Analysis pieces, like the Executive Summary on Shared Savings Program Opportunities and Challenges for ACOs and Health Plans; A Healthcare Reform Litigation Resource Center; Managed Care Contracting Toolkit with resources for plan and provider counsel; Educational Task Forces on Healthcare Reform and Accountable Care Organizations. AHLA also provides specialized analysis on areas in-house plan lawyers need to know from the basics, to advanced specific topics regarding health reform, PBMs, HITECH, and health reform implementation. In-House Peer-to-Peer Connections Offering Unique Networking Opportunities with Industry Leaders No lawyer can do it all by him or herself. The greatest association benefit may be the give-and-take of conversations with those who sit on the same side of the table and those who sit across the table. This collegiality leads to greater understanding of perspectives and genuine friendships. At AHLA, you will find a complete network of friends and colleagues who will introduce you to resources that will help you meet the demands of your professional life in short, helping you to help people. Through your membership in AHLA, through your participation at programs or webinars, in the PPMC Practice Group or Affinity Groups, you will develop a network of support that will serve you well. There is no better way to work through legal and regulatory issues that in-house 5

6 plan lawyers face than to talk to a colleague dealing with similar issues someone who understands the practicalities and challenges of implementing new laws, regulations, guidance and requirements; someone who also has to balance the issues of limited resources and negotiating complicated and nuanced situations. At AHLA, you can also talk with a colleague who negotiates for providers, and he or she can give you invaluable advice on the challenges ahead. Your AHLA in-house colleagues will talk through different approaches to solve problems and help you identify who the legal experts are in a particular specialty area. The connections you make as a result of your AHLA membership will provide immediate value and long-lasting friendship. AHLA offers in-house counsel the opportunity to learn how and when to best use the services of outside counsel. Many AHLA members have served both in in-house and outside counsel roles during their careers, and they freely share their know-how and expertise through AHLA programs and resources. While educational seminars offered by an outside firm can have enormous benefit, it cannot replace valuable insights and ideas that can only come from learning from a cross-section of the health law bar. Education and Training AHLA s educational programs are the gold standard in the legal community. As the premier provider of continuing legal education to the profession, AHLA leads health law to excellence through many venues, from its highlyregarded in-person programs held across the country to its webinars that cover breaking regulatory issues and hot topics. In-Person Programs In-House Plan Program A one-day conference was held in Bloomfield, CT, on May 8, 2013 that focused on topics of interest to lawyers practicing at plans and payors. Additional programs are being planned for the future. In-House Counsel Program Held annually in June, this program includes a track of plan-centered sessions especially for plan lawyers. 6

7 AHLA Annual Meeting Sessions focus on issues of interest to plans and payers. The PPMC Practice Group also sponsors its annual luncheon during the June meeting. Fundamentals of Health Law In-house plan lawyers need background and understanding of a multitude of issues that come across their desks, and AHLA s Fundamentals of Health Law Program does just that. The Program provides an overview of managed care law as well as presentations and materials on health law topics that help in-house plan lawyers get up-to-speed on new areas of the law they need to understand. Join us in Chicago, IL, in November 2013 for this special program. Webinars AHLA offers webinars on a variety of relevant and timely topics throughout the year. Each one has a special website where the agenda, presenter biographies, CLE application, evaluation form, and materials are posted and available to registered participants. Often, webinars are sponsored by the Association s Practice Groups and when this is the case, members enrolled in those PGs who register for the webinar receive a special discounted registration rate. Each year AHLA offers more than twenty webinars, roundtable discussions and teleconferences on topics of relevance to health plan counsel. The PPMC Practice Group also offers two Luncheon Meetings each year. eprograms AHLA collaborates with the West Legal Ed Center to provide content from AHLA s in-person programs and webinars, online and on demand so you can earn CLEs, all from the comfort of your home or office. The leadership opportunities that AHLA offers are invaluable as well as the friendships and bonds you can develop. Lisa A. Hathaway Assistant General Counsel, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc. 7

8 Many AHLA members have served both as in-house and outside counsel during their careers, and they are glad to freely share their know-how and expertise through AHLA programs and resources valuable insights and ideas that can only come from learning from a cross-section of the health law bar. Peter Pavarini, Squire Sanders ahla American Health Lawyers Association 1620 Eye Street, NW, 6th Floor Washington, DC