Does your network contracting strategy need a fresh perspective?

Medical inflation, as well as the continuing backlash against managed care, has jumpstarted an intense interest among payors and health plans in new cost-controlling mechanisms that provide substantial benefits. Health plans are simultaneously grappling with the concurrent challenges of redefining and improving their contracting and administrative practices to dramatically reduce operational expenses, profoundly improve claims management and processing, and support care management efforts.

World Research Group's 6th Network Contract Optimization conference, taking place October 23-25, 2006, in Boston, MA will address key industry concerns and provide exceptional case studies, benchmarks and solutions from payors, health plans and industry thought leaders. This conference will focus on the solutions for the latest in healthcare network contracting challenges, including:

Leveraging network contracting to reduce organizational costs

Determining effective hospital pricing and contracts

Aligning the incentives of the healthcare delivery system participants with value-based reimbursement initiatives

Optimizing clinical outcomes, improving patient satisfaction, and achieving better utilization of healthcare resources

Aligning plan/provider operations and technology to pay claims quickly and accurately to avoid downstream process impacts

Developing and implementing tiered products that stratify providers using cost and quality measures

Ensuring broad access to coverage for your members while maintaining consistent cost, efficiency, and quality across your networks

Designing programs that offer the best opportunity for physicians and hospitals to engage in a P4P paradigm while improving outcomes and transparency

Take advantage of this unique opportunity to benchmark against and learn from the country's leading network contracting professionals. Hear case studies and examples of what "really works." Compare initiatives and outcomes, generate new ideas, and confirm and measure your progress. Learn to work more efficiently, safeguard your revenue, improve customer service and decrease costs.

Specifically, you will learn how:

Aetna streamlined operations and improved financial controls with the implementation of its Hospital Contract Assessment Tool

Humana Health Plans of Ohio designed, developed and implemented its comprehensive and effective Medicare Advantage network

CIGNA HealthCare developed innovative, consumer-driven products to maintain a competitive edge

Health Net, Inc. developed effective pricing and contract standardization to maximize claims management

Keystone Mercy Health Plan maintains a large provider network and mitigates variations in clinical quality, patient experience, cost of care, and efficiency of care delivery while ensuring broad access to coverage for its members

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware avoids costly litigation and builds relationships with providers

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts designed, incented and adopted ePrescribing programs to support performance-based contracts

Highmark leveraged data analysis, quality improvement expertise and enhanced incentive payments to improve outcomes for its members

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota designed and implemented a tiered hospital product, incorporating hospital cost and quality measures

The 6th Network Contract Optimization conference has been designed exclusively to give you perspectives from health plans, insurers and payors of all sizes, types, medical practices and budgets. See why hundreds of your colleagues and competitors have attended this conference and return year after year. Don't miss this comprehensive event designed just for you!