Rise

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Melissa Smith, Founder 

Newton Smith Group 

Keynote Address

CMS Final Rule: Overview of Key Provisions

• Learn about the key provisions impacting product design, including changes related to supplemental benefits 
• Explore how to adjust your benefit strategy to comply with new requirements 
• Understand potential financial impacts  

Melissa Smith, Founder 
Newton Smith Group 

Part D Changes and Challenges Impacting Product Design

• Discuss recent and upcoming Part D changes under the Inflation Reduction Act, including the lowered maximum out of pocket cost, prescription payment plans, and Medicare drug negotiations, and their impact on product design 
• Analyze how the changes could affect member behavior 
• Take away product design ideas that will help balance your Part D budget 
• Understand utilization trends of certain drug classes, such as GLP-1s 

Omar Daoud, Senior Director of Pharmacy 
Community Health Plan of Washington 

Gary Melis, Clinical Pharmacist 
Network Health 

Product Design Strategies to Boost Your Star Rating

• Understand the intersection between product design and Stars 
• Review the new Health Equity Index and consider whether pursuing that reward is right for your plan, especially if you don’t currently have a large high-need population 
• Get tips for implementing elements to your product design that could result in a higher Star rating 

Courtney Meyer, Senior Director, Development & Distribution 
Sanford Health Plan  

Lisa Franklin, MS, Director of Individual Medicare Business and Product & Marketing Strategy (Government Programs)
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

Rex Wallace, CEO 
Rex Wallace Consulting, LLC 

Benefits Analysis: What to Keep and What to Cut to Optimize ROI and Health Outcomes

• Get strategies for making the right product decisions when facing revenue headwinds 
• Learn how to analyze your market to determine the supplemental benefits that not only attract members but truly add value, address social drivers of health (SDoH), and improve outcomes 
• Analyze whether monetary benefits, like Part B buybacks and zero-dollar premiums, work for your market over the long term 
• Understand how to calculate the return on investment (ROI) of supplemental benefits 

Danica Holliston, Medicare Product Manager III
Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield

Jenn Kerfoot, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer
DUOS

Panel Discussion: Real-Life Experiences with VBID

• Get insights into effective use of the CMS Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) model to improve health outcomes and health equity while containing costs 
• Review the new application process and requirements for participating in VBID 
• Discuss the hospice benefit under VBID and how plans will be impacted by the discontinuation of that component 
• Hear about offering supplemental benefits and Part D rewards and incentives through VBID to address SDoH and improve outcomes 

Omar Daoud, Senior Director of Pharmacy 
Community Health Plan of Washington 

Responding to New Reporting Requirements for Supplemental Benefits

• Review the requirements, with a focus on the most cumbersome areas 
• Gain strategies for efficiently tracking and reporting the required data 
• Understand provisions to include in vendor contracts to help with compliance 
• Get insights into the strategic advantages that collecting more data will bring to your health plan 

Melissa Smith, Founder 
Newton Smith Group 

Closing Remarks

Melissa Smith, Founder 
Newton Smith Group