WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2018 — Experts participating in the American Bar Association Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference will tackle hot-button topics, including the legal issues surrounding immigrant health care, a new era for Medicaid, antitrust developments and artificial intelligence in health care, among many other issues.
What:
Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law
Sponsored by the ABA Health Law Section
When:
Wednesday-Saturday, Feb. 21-24
Where:
Westin Kierland Resort
6902 E. Greenway Parkway
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Program highlights include:
“Protecting Immigrant Access to Health Care”— As immigration policy continues to evolve, this session will focus on laws and policies at the federal, state and local levels related to immigrant access to health care and human services and what providers face firsthand as they furnish care. A panel of experts will discuss programs available to undocumented immigrants, how they have been enforced, barriers to access and the issues that providers face when treating immigrants.
Wednesday, 5-6 p.m.
“Health Care Politics & Policy 2017-2020: Election, Regulation, Legislation” — This session will review and analyze expected healthcare policy developments through the next Congress. John Kelliher, managing director, Berkeley Research Group, Washington, D.C., will review policy and political developments in 2017 and will also cover the 2018 midterm congressional election and its potential outcomes and impacts, Medicare regulations for 2018, Medicaid policy developments at the state level, regulatory developments affecting the ACA exchanges and the impact of tax reform on the health care sector.
Thursday, 9-10:15 a.m.
“Crisis in Our Emergency Departments: Proving Better Care to Mental Health Patients” — About 1 in 8 emergency department visits in the U.S. is due to a psychiatric emergency, a substance-use disorder or both. Hospitals and health-care professionals are often not able to provide adequate care to these patients. A panel of experts will outline this crisis and its impact on patient care, patient flow and costs to the health care system, as well as related legal issues facing hospitals, providers and payers. The panel will also outline possible solutions to this crisis, including the use of crisis units and tele-psychiatry consultations.
Thursday, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
“Medicaid: A New Era for the Federal and State Partnership” — Medicaid programs vary widely from state to state. In recent years, states have pursued innovative approaches to their Medicaid programs, such as through ACOs. On March 14, 2017, HHS and CMS issued a joint letter announcing a new era for this federal and state partnership. A panel of experts, including Caroline Farrell, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.; and Matthew Herndon, chief legal officer, BMC Health Net Plan, Charlestown, Mass., will cover new CMS policies regarding 1115 demonstrations that give states freedom to test and evaluate innovative solutions and examine one state direction – ACOs – in this era of new challenges and new flexibility.
Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
“Antitrust Enforcement in the Health Care Industry: What to Expect” — Antitrust enforcement officials from the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission will address recent federal government enforcement actions, priorities and future directions in healthcare antitrust. The panel, including Ryan Kantor, assistant chief of litigation, Antitrust Division, DOJ, Washington, D.C., and Haidee Schwartz, acting deputy director, FTC, Washington, D.C., will discuss investigations and litigation involving health plans, including mergers, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry and physicians and other healthcare professionals.
Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
“Artificial Intelligence in Health Care” — Artificial intelligence, cognitive learning and machine learning have the potential to revolutionize the health care industry and radically change treatment delivery. This session will explore legal issues involved with the dawn of big data in healthcare, including scope-of-practice issues and medical device classification. It will also cover privacy and security laws, some of the challenges of working with personal data in the current regulatory landscape and comparison with other countries’ approaches.
Friday, 1:45-2:45 p.m.
“Not for Sale: Human Trafficking as an Emerging Issue in Health Care” — Human trafficking is a heinous crime that continues to grow. Health care providers are in a unique position to respond to this crime, as more victims are likely to interact with a health care provider before they ever interact with law enforcement. A panel of experts will discuss the important role healthcare providers can play in combating this crime, the tools they need to assist these victims and best practices in the health care setting for providers and their attorneys.
Friday, 2:45-3:45 p.m.
A complete agenda can be found online.
This event is free and open to members of the press. For media credentialing, please contact Priscilla Totten at Priscilla.Totten@americanbar.org.
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