IIR - A New Forum for Discussion

By: Chris Cobourn, VP of Regulatory Compliance
chriscobourn@cis-partners.com

I would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s IIR Conference in Baltimore, in both our Full-Day Advanced Government Programs Workshop (which ran concurrent to MDRP 101), as well as our open Panel Discussions Thursday and Friday. We have received very positive feedback from participants on the panels as well as attendees, and we look forward to continuing this tradition in the future, so look for the 3rd Annual Advanced GP Workshop next February!

Our goal was to create an environment to foster open dialog between the many people involved in Government Programs, including agencies, auditors, consultants, lawyers, and industry professionals. We had a number of issues to discuss, developed from our work with clients, CMS, the OPA and the VA. We also hit on hot topics like TRICARE, and the potential impact the new administration could have on the industry (especially with Medicare Part D plans, Dual Eligibles, and the 340B Program Improvement and Integrity Legislation).

As you know, the GP community is a small and close knit group. We all know each other by first name, and most of us have been doing this for some time. CIS felt that what the community really wanted, and needed, was an open forum for meaningful dialog. I felt really positive about the conference last week, and I welcome your input or feedback so that we can continue to develop and build upon forums like this.

CIS heard lots of great information at the conference, and is currently writing Blog and PCX Newsletter articles on topics including (but not limited to) Medicaid Restatements, Penny Pricing, and Inpatient vs. Outpatient Assumptions, so keep an eye out for those articles in the coming weeks! Tomorrow we'll have Business Development Director Steven Moore's take on the "Infamous Fourth Wave..." Stay tuned!

Also, many of you had the opportunity to meet Dave Rice at the CIS booth. Dave will be starting with CIS in March, leading our Federal Contracting offerings. We look forward to Dave joining the team!

Thank you again
Chris