The Changing World of Healthcare (and Why You Should Care)

Why are hospitals merging? Why are hospitals opening clinics and buying doctors groups? Why is Kaiser Permanente coming into the Northern Colorado market? Why has the Poudre Valley Health System decided to offer its own insurance product? What is happening to healthcare in this country? What will happen in the Supreme Court with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”)?

Is all of this change in the healthcare sector good or bad for the economy of Northern Colorado?

What does all of this mean to me personally and to my family and employees?

These and other questions will be answered at a Chamber event on Wednesday March 28 at 7:30 a.m. called “Health Care in Your Future.” It will be at the Embassy Suites,4705 Clydesdale Parkway in Loveland.

The purpose is summit is to provide you with insights into the confusing and rapidly changing world of healthcare and how it will impact you, your company and Northern Colorado.

Rulon F. Stacey, Ph.D., FACHE and Chief Executive Officer of University of Colorado Health will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Stacey is the author of the book Over Our Heads, an account of why healthcare costs in the United States have risen over the years. He is the current chair of the 38,000 member American College of Healthcare Executives.

Dr. Stacey’s remarks will be followed by a panel discussion looking at healthcare from various views. The panel will feature local physician Dr. Jim Sprowell, Flood and Peterson Employee Benefits Executive Jim Sampson, Poudre Valley Hospital President & CEO Kevin Unger, Columbine Health Systems Director Yvonne Myers and a representative from Tolmar Pharmaceuticals.  Members of the panel will be looking at the state of healthcare from their unique perspectives as a physician, an insurer, a hospital president, a senior living administrator and a pharmaceutical manufacturer, respectively.

Two breakout sessions will be offered. “This is Getting Old Fast” will include comments by State Demographer Elizabeth Gardner, Columbine Health Systems Director Yvonne Myers, Pathways Hospice CEO Evan Hyatt and Homestead Instead Senior Care Owner Mike Maguire. “All This Reform Stuff Sounds Expensive: Who Pays” will include comments by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Vice President Janet Pogar and Colorado Choice Health Plans CEO Cynthia Palmer.

Box lunches will be provided during the 11:30 a.m. closing session featuring Regional Economist Dr. Martin Shields speaking about “Money and Jobs: What Does All This Change in Healthcare Mean to the Economy of Northern Colorado.”  His comments will conclude at 12:30 p.m. with the resource hall being available until 1 p.m.

Individual ticket prices are $35 per person for Chamber members and $40 per person for non-members. A table of 10 people is $300. Registration is available HERE or call the Chamber at (970) 482-3746. You will receive breakfast, lunch, a copy of Over Our Heads and a better understanding about what is happening with healthcare and how it will impact you.