Times are changing, according to experts at Stevens and Lee, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based law firm.
For the first time in 50 years, "we finally have a shot at healthcare reform," said Scott Malan, executive director of federal affairs for Stevens and Lee. This summer, Congress will be working on comprehensive healthcare reform legislation.
Malan and his colleague Nancy Bell, Stevens and Lee senior managing director of healthcare finance will be speaking at a Monday June 15 session at Healthcare Financial Management Association's ANI, the Healthcare Finance Conference in Seattle, on their take of the changing Washington landscape and how it will affect providers. The session will be held from 2:45 to 4 p.m. and is titled "Washington Update."
Malan works with clients in federal matters, with a focus on healthcare and has 27 years of experience in government relations and health policy. Bell works with the firm's healthcare legal group on federal lobbying and regulatory issues and is a leading expert on Medicare payment issues.
According to both speakers, the session should help attendees to identify potential legislation and its drivers and what it could mean for the industry.
Bell said attendees will be able to have a better understanding of the key players involved in healthcare reform and the political process that is currently unfolding in Washington. She also said she will cover the "pay for" part of healthcare reform, which will have a significant impact on hospitals.
Malan said the session will instruct attendees on who the healthcare players are in Washington, including those in the private sector; the process involved in upcoming legislation; policies and perceptions; politics, and predictions. He preferred to keep his predictions close to the vest for now, reserving those for attendees of the event.
"We do make predictions and we explain why we think what we do," he said. But, he offered a caveat: "If we had a real crystal ball, we'd be working Wall Street not Capitol Hill. We're appropriately optimistic that something will happen, how meaningful that will be yet, we really don't know," Malan said.