KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Jason Young
Culturetopia - The Ultimate High Performance Workplace

Jason Young is an expert at integrating your meeting objectives into powerful and compelling presentations that touch the heart and motivate any audience!

Based on his experience as an insider at famed Southwest Airlines and consultant to dozens of other Fortune 500 companies, Jason Young offers a dramatically different approach to creating and sustaining a high performance workplace. His solution for companies is to create an organizational culture where employees can do their best work and one that will produce the desired performance outcomes in productivity, profitability, employee retention and customer satisfaction. The key is intentionally identifying and developing the essential factors that impact performance for any organization: leadership principles, management practices, team alignment and employee behavior. These are the elements that truly define organizational culture and that have the greatest impact on results.

“In a world where customer service and business excellence are in short supply, Culturetopia is the perfect handbook on how your organization can thrive and rise above the competition.”

"Culturetopia will give you tools and processes to drive and sustain a high performance workplace where employees are satisfied and motivated." More quotes

Advising High Deductible Clients I - Pharmaceutical Benefits (1 MA CE approved - #C95455)

As health plans shift to higher deductibles with narrower networks, consumers take on more responsibility to shop for their own medical care. This course introduces brokers to some issues related to pharmaceutical benefits, including disease risk data, Rx benefit data and Rx risk data. It also introduces brokers to fundamental medical statistics that they can share with their clients about disease risks and intervention outcomes.

Presenter: Gary Fradin , President of Health InsuranceCE, LLCand member of the Mass Association of Health Underwriters Board of Directors. Gary has been involved in the education of brokers for many years, as a broker with his own business "Insurance for Members" , and as a CE instructor with Northeast Business Trust. Gary has authored several books, multiple articles and online courses about health care economics and has been a frequent speaker at industry related events nationally. After graduating from Harvard University, Gary attend the University College London, U. of London and Lancaster University.

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Advising High Deductible Clients II: Screening Benefits (1 MA CE approved - # C95456)

As health plans shift to higher deductibles with narrower networks, consumers take on more responsibility to shop for their own medical care. This course introduces brokers to some data sources about disease risks and screening tests. Specifically, it discusses outcome measures - including both benefits and risk - from mamography, prostate specific antigen tests and other commonly administered texts. This course also reviews some introductory medical statistics so brokers have a better understanding of reporting methodologies.

Presenter: Gary Fradin, President of Health InsuranceCE, LLC and member of the Mass Association of Health Underwriters Board of Directors. Gary has been involved in the education of brokers for many years, as a broker with his own business "Insurance for Members" , and as a CE instructor with Northeast Business Trust. Gary has authored several books, multiple articles and online courses about health care economics and has been a frequent speaker at industry related events nationally. After graduating from Harvard University, Gary attend the University College London, U. of London and Lancaster University.

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Value Based Benefit Design - VBBD: An Innovative Benefit Strategy links Quality & Cost (1 MA CE approved - #C96242)

A major impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) on groups depends on the type of group coverage and premiums current policy holders have or don’t have that will be the cost drivers in implementing and meeting the PPACA requirements. What constitutes grandfathered plans? What changes will occur in the rating practices of small groups? What group policy decisions will have the most impact on cost?  How will state policies, federal tax credits and MCC frame the ongoing cost containment efforts in the Commonwealth’s group health benefit plans?

Presenter: F. Randy Vogenberg, RPh, PhD, Principal, Institute for Integrated Healthcare and Executive Director, Biologic Finance and Access Council, a program of the Jefferson School of Population Health. Dr. Vogenberg is Principal, Institute for Integrated Healthcare, Sharon, MA; and Executive Director, Biologic Finance and Access Council, a program of the Jefferson School of Population Health, Philadelphia, PA. Focusing on integrated health and pharmacy issues, he is an Editorial Board member of several publications, and author of the new book "Pharmacy Benefits: Benefit Design and Management" for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. His experience includes managed care, employee benefit consultation; hospital and managed care research; and strategic consulting on medical-legal or economic issues in health care. Dr. Vogenberg is the Strategic Pharmacy Advisor to the Business Group Pharmacy Collaborative, associated through the National Business Coalition on Health.

Dr. Vogenberg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy and a Doctorate in Health Care Management. Additionally, he completed an ASHP Accredited Pharmacy Residency at the Brigham & Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston.

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Social Media and Broker Branding: How to Boost Productivity (Non- CEU)

Social media can empower you and improve your ability to do business and provide your clients services. A major concern with this popular social tool is how to measure and identify key aspects and effectiveness.

Presenter: Palmer Reuther, Senior VP at Racepoint Group. Palmer has 14 years of award-winning experience in public relations, corporate communications and marketing. He specializes in developing and executing integrated social and traditional media campaigns for clients looking to expand their digital footprints. Palmer has led the strategy and execution of a number of successful integrated social and traditional media campaigns for both public and privately held companies in the enterprise technology, health care and finance industries. Palmer has also worked in the government sector as a number of the clients with whom he has worked, target law enforcement, government agencies, and urban authorities as clients. Palmer has worked on thought leadership campaigns that have included the former Chief Security Officer of The White House and the former Deputy Director of NCIS. His experience includes work with 3i-MIND, 3M, AppSec, Bentley Systems, Cook Medical, Dendrite International, E*TRADE, Glasshouse Technologies, ICG Commerce, Kronos, Marathon Technologies, Neoware, NICE Systems, RES Software, Sentillion, Sony and Virtual Iron. Palmer is a member of SWSG’s advisory board and PRSA.

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Sharing a passion for the insurance industry with an engaging style, Troy Cook offers insight into insurance reform, ethics in business and the value of the agent with audiences large and small throughout the country. He regularly earns high marks from audiences and event planners for his entertaining approach to topics others may find routine.

Troy currently serves as National Legislative Council Chair and a member of the board of trustees for the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU). This position has given him a front-row seat to many of the proposals and reforms currently swirling around the issue of health care. His unique perspective has been covered in a number of publications.

As a 20 year agent, Troy has viewed the industry from a range of vantage points. He is presently Vice President – Client Relations at Marsh U.S. Consumer in Urbandale, Iowa. His employee benefits specialization has included service as manager of the employee benefit and financial services department at Krist Insurance and manager of Rogers Benefit Group's Iowa branch. Troy began his career as an independent life agent in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, becoming an agency supervisor at the age of 24. His specialization in the benefits area began at Group Specialists, Inc., a Cedar Rapids firm, over 15 years ago.

Troy has frequently been recognized for his performance in both the industry and the community. He is a four time member of NAHU's Golden Eagle Leading Producers Round Table. He received a Regional Distinguished Service Award from NAHU in 2008. Troy was recognized in 2008 as one of Des Moines Business Record's Forty Under 40 which honors emerging young leaders.

As a committed volunteer, Troy is currently the Vice Chair of the Parks Advisory Board for the City of Johnston. He is a past president and board member of Iowa AHU. Troy has also been a board member of the Des Moines Area Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, rotary and the Taste of Iowa festival. He has additionally served on the Blank Park Zoo Ambassadors and as membership chair at the Cedar Rapids Chamber. Troy also spent several years as a high school football coach early in his professional life and continued to coach youth recreational sports for several years.

In addition to community voluntarism, Troy has served as campaign manager, chair and in advisory roles to a number of national, state and local political campaigns.

A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, he is also certified as a Managed HealthCare Professional by HIAA and a Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow. Troy resides in Johnston, Iowa with his wife Deann; son Colin; and daughter Karly.