With labor costs on the rise and inflation impacting all aspects of medical practice, groups need to look at their managed care contracts to increase revenue. Successful negotiation of these agreements can be the difference between a thriving practice and a downward spiral of financial ruin. Managed care companies recognize this fact and deploy teams of highly trained and experienced negotiators to tip the balance of power in their favor. This presentation is designed to show participants how to successfully negotiate managed care agreements using trade secrets from a former managed care negotiator. The presenter will take the group through the entire negotiation process, from beginning to end, and show them how to effectively deal with these managed care relationships.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how to evaluate positions and proposals
• Develop best strategies for given situations
• Understand the negotiation process
• Evaluation of reimbursement types

Speaker:

Ron Howrigon, CEO Fulcrum Strategies

Ron Howrigon is President and CEO of Fulcrum Strategies. Ron has 18 years of experience in the Managed Care Industry as a Negotiator and Network Manager. He has held Senior Management level positions with three of the largest Managed Care Companies in the country, including Kaiser Permanente, CIGNA HealthCare and BlueCross BlueShield. His experience with these organizations covered the North East, Mid-Atlantic, and Western areas of the country.

Ron has held a number of board level positions. He is the past President of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Association of Health Plans, as well as a past member of the Lovelace Health Systems Board of Directors, and the Utah Visiting Nurses Association Board of Directors.

Ron earned a Masters in Economics from North Carolina State University, where he focused in the area of Health Economics with a minor in Statistics. He also earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Western Michigan University.