In the Circle
 

Expand your knowledge with these Alliance Learning Circles tools and resources.

Upcoming Event(s)

• September 29, 2010: Alliance Learning Circle, Prioritizing Compliance Needs
• October 26, 2010: Alliance Annual Meeting, Behavioral Economics
• January 19, 2011: Alliance Learning Circle, Worksite Wellness
• April 13, 2011: Alliance Learning Circle, Hands-On Value-Based Benefit Design
• May 11, 2011: Alliance Annual Seminar

More information on  upcoming events can be found here.

Past Events

• Alliance Learning Circle:
  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,
  Balancing the Big Picture with Immediate Implications
  August 18, 2010
   
  Read the  executive summary  from this event.
  

Handouts:
PPACA Summary (.doc)
Grandfathered Plan Status Alert (.doc)
Preventative Care Status Alert (.pdf)

Presentation slides:
Health Care Reform Legislation Overview (.pdf)
2010 Plan Design Modifications (.pdf)
2010 Administrative Requirements Overview (.pdf)

Department of Labor E-mail Alerts:
Visit this link to sign up for e-mails from the DOL when Final Interim Regulations are released, along with Fact Sheets. To do so, click on Department of Labor updates by e-mail. You will then need to enter your e-mail information and optional password information. On the next screen, scroll down to Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act under Employee Benefits Security Administration and check the box.

Also, be sure to view our PPACA Updates page for more on this legislation.

• 2010 Annual Seminar: Getting Serious About Health Strategy
  and The Alliance 20-Year Anniversary Celebration
  May 4, 2010

Read the executive summary of this event. Below you can watch video of our featured speakers and download presentation materials.

Presentations:

Dee Edington, Ph.D., University of Michigan Health Management Research Center: "Health Management as a Serious Business Strategy"

• Video of presentation
• Presentation slides (.pdf)

Wendy Lynch, Ph.D., Health as Human Capital Foundation: "Aligning Human and Business Performance: How Health and Human Capital Connect"

• Video of presentation
• Presentation slides (.pdf)
• Alignment scorecard (.pdf)

Additionally, you may be interested in reading more about The Alliance's 20-Year Anniversary, which we marked at the Annual Seminar event.

• Alliance Learning Circle: Patient-Centered Medical Home: National, Local and Virtual
  April 7, 2010

Read the executive summary from this event.

Presentations:

• Paul Grundy, IBM: "Using the Patient Centered-Medical Home Break Through Performance" (.pdf)
• Larry Pheifer, Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians: "Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH): The Wisconsin Perspective" (.pdf)
• Mark Xistris, The Alliance: "The Alliance’s Efforts in Payment Reform" (.pdf)
• Larry Gebhardt, Quantum Health: "Coordinated Health/Care Programs" (.pdf)

A digital version of the Patient-Centered Medical Home Purchaser Guide (.pdf) from the Primary Care Collaborative is also available.

Additionally, you can learn more about NCQA's PPC-PCMH^™ program, and view the program's participating clinics.

• Alliance Learning Circle: Self-Funding: Embrace the Power and Maximize Your Plan
  February 17, 2010

Read the executive summary of this event.

Presentations:

• Catherine L. Knuth, Milliman: "Self-Funding: Tailoring Your Plan and Controlling Your Costs" (.pdf)
• Scott A. Weltz, Milliman: "Your Self Funded Claim Data: Confident Decision Making at Your Fingertips" (.pdf)
• Paul Rosowski, WEA Trust: "Prescription Drug Programs: Knowledge is Power" (.pdf)

• Alliance Learning Circle: Getting Hitched on Wellness: What Does it Take to Get to Employee Engagement?
  January 20, 2010

Read the executive summary of this event.
Participants also split into groups to discuss wellness challenges and ideas.

Presentations:

• Cheryl Larson, Midwest Business Group on Health: "What Employees Think" (.pdf)
• Cheryl Larson, Midwest Business Group on Health: "Focus Group Research Findings" (.pdf)
• Dennis Brown, Nord Gear Corporation: "Getting Employees Engaged" (.pdf)
• Kristi Schalow, Trek Bicycle Corporation: "We Believe in Wellness" (.pdf)
• Donna Owens/Patrick Trotter, Health Solutions: "Engaging Behavior Change" (.pdf)

A digital version of our Health and Wellness Resource Guide is available to Alliance members through the Employer Resource Center's "Worksite Wellness Kit."

Additional workplace wellness resources are also available to Alliance members through the Employer Resource Center.

Looking for more information on wellness? Sign up for WELCOA's Well Workplace University, to be held March 17, 2010.

• Alliance Annual Meeting 2009

Read the executive summary of this event.

Presentations:
James A. Klein
Melissa Duffy
The Alliance

Materials from The American Benefits Council:
Comparison of the Coverage and Revenue Provisions in Current Health Care Proposals
Condition Critical:10 Prescriptions for Reforming Health Care Quality, Cost and Coverage

• Issues in Focus: Taking a Closer Look at Comparative Effectiveness Research featuring Dr. John Santa, director of Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center, and Dr. Raymond J. Zastrow, president of QuadMed.

Presentations:
Comparative Effectiveness: A Consumer's Perspective
How Comparative Effectiveness Research Informs Value-based Purchasing Decisions

Read the executive summary of this event.

• Alliance Annual Seminar 2009
  Revolution Not Reform: The Battle for Better Care by Michael Millenson.
  
  Read theexecutive summary of this event

• Don't Let Heart Disease Flatline Your Bottom Line
  Alliance members and guests had a chance to learn more about one of their costliest concerns: heart disease.
  
  Read the executive summary of this event.
  
  Presentations:
  Understanding How Cardiovascular Disease Impacts Your Bottom Line and What to Do About It,
  Bruce Sherman, MD
  
  Start!, Marni Brown
  
  Putting Value on the Benefits you are Purchasing:
  Employer Experiences in Value-Based Insurance Design,
  A. Mark Fendrick, MD
  
  Resources:
  American Heart Association Start! Program
  
  "Fiscally Responsible, Clinically Sensitive" Cost Sharing: Contain Costs While Preserving Quality
  
  Value-Based Insurance Design
  
  American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Health Risk Calculator

• Mental Health and Addiction in the Workplace
  On January 27, 2009, Alliance members were able to learn more about mental health and addiction resources for their employees as well as more about the recently passed mental health parity legislation. Read the Executive Summary of this event.
  
  

  Presentations:
  Impact of Depression and Anxiety in the Workplace and Successful Programs to Minimize the Impact, David J. Katzelnick M.D.

  Alcohol and Drug Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment Services: Good Medicine and Good Business, Richard L. Brown, MD, MPH

  Mental Health Coverage Overview of State and Federal Law, Eileen K. Mallow

  Removing Barriers to Mental Health Access, Jeff Kluever

  Other Links:
  Mental Health America of Wisconsin
  www.mhawisconsin.org/

  Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems
  www.ensuringsolutions.org

  Calculate the expected prevalence of depression based on your region, age and gender distribution:
  http://www.depressioncalculator.org/Welcome.asp

  Calculate the number of problem drinkers in your workforce and employees' family members:
  http://www.alcoholcostcalculator.org/

• Weighing the Issue of Obesity in the Workplace
  On November 11, 2008, Alliance members took a look at the issue of obesity in the workplace, which increases annual medical costs by 37%. Read the executive summary of this Alliance Learning Circle event.
  
  
• Am I Hungry? Eating and Living Healthy!: an 8 week workshop series given by Susan Reinhardt, RN, BSN, CBN, Licensed Facilitator of Am I Hungry?^®