Rise

Opening Remarks

Co-chairs:
Sandra Elizabeth Ford, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.P.
Public Health Expert
CEO
BFT Consulting, LLC
Former Special Assistant to the President for Public Health and Science
White House Domestic Policy Council

Krista Drobac 
Co-Chair 
Aligning for Health  

Keynote – The Whole of Government Approach to SDoH – Update from The White House

Christen Linke Young 
Deputy Assistant to the President for Health and Veterans Affairs 
The White House  

Fireside Chat – Connecting The Policies of the Playbook with the Challenges on the Ground

Sandra Elizabeth Ford, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.P.  
Public Health Expert  
CEO 
BFT Consulting, LLC 
Former Special Assistant to the President for Public Health and Science 
White House Domestic Policy Council 

Krista Drobac  
Co-Chair  
Aligning for Health   

Panel – A Whole of Government Approach to SDoH Across Federal Agencies

• As program administration often exists in siloes, it is critical for federal agencies to work together to develop cross-sector, coordinated solutions to address both health and social needs.   
• Hear from officials across the federal government on cross-agency partnerships to address health and wellbeing and to ensure an efficient use of federal funds to improve SDoH 

Moderator:
Sandra Elizabeth Ford, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.P.
Public Health Expert
CEO
BFT Consulting, LLC
Former Special Assistant to the President for Public Health and Science
White House Domestic Policy Council

Panelists:
Richard Cho
Senior Advisor for Housing and Services
HUD

Kumar Chandran
Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition
USDA

Reena Duseja, M.D.
Senior Advisor, Office of Quality and Patient Safety
Veterans Administration

Additional speakers to be announced  

Panel – Federal Efforts to Address Hunger, Nutrition, and Health

• Hear from officials about the goals and outcomes from the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. 
• Panelists will provide an update on how the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health is being implemented, next steps to address nutrition and hunger, and the role of public-private partnerships.  

Moderator: 
Dr. Shannon Decker 
Principal 
VBC One 

Panelists:  

Alberto A. González, Jr., MPP
Senior Advisor for External Engagement
Food and Nutrition Service
United States Department of Agriculture

Rachel Fisher  
Senior Advisor, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion 
Co-lead, Food as Medicine 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Allison Gertel-Rosenberg, MS  
Vice President, Chief Policy and Prevention Officer 
Nemours Children's Health 

Sam Chasin  
Director, Social Responsibility Partnerships and Policy 
Government Relations and Policy 
YMCA OF THE USA 

Panel – Improving Health and Wellbeing Through Community Care Hubs

• In November 2022, officials from across HHS published an article in Health Affairs on improving health and well-being through community care hubs.  
• This panel will explore this concept in more detail, including key functions of hubs, examples of these organizations, and policy opportunities to maximize their role.  

Moderator: 

Elena Rosenbaum, MD 
Medical Director  
Health Alliance 

Panelists:  

Kelly Cronin
Deputy Administrator, Innovation and Partnership
Administration for Community Living (ACL)

Karen Hacker, MD, MPH
Director
CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)

Sam Meklir
Senior Policy Advisor
US DHHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT

Panel – Lessons from the Community - CBO Learning and Action on SDoH

• Community-based organizations (CBOs) play a critical role in addressing the health-related social needs of the communities they serve.  
• This panel will showcase CBOs working across the country to address SDoH, and key best practices/challenges CBOs face in this work, including with respect to access and exchange of data and the infrastructure needed to do so. 

Moderator:
Denise Harlow 
CEO 
National Community Action Partnership 

Panelists:
Rick Whitted
President & CEO
U.S. Hunger

Esther Dyson
Founder
Wellville

Megan Shreve
CEO
South Central Community Action Programs (SCCAP)

Jo Ellen McNamara
Vice President Housing + Healthcare
National Equity Fund

Panel – Leveraging Social Needs Information to Improve Outcomes

• CMS has issued and implemented several regulatory proposals in recent years to better address health-related social needs across CMS payment systems.  
• This panel explores how CMS is embedding health equity across payment systems, including key areas such as risk adjustment, quality stratification, identifying disparities and social needs, performance evaluation in CMMI models, and driving development of care plans and referrals to address SDoH. 

Moderator: 

Rick Whitted 
President & CEO 
U.S. Hunger 

Panelists:

Sarah Downer
State and Population Health Group
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)

Doug Jacobs, M.D.
Chief Transformation Officer, Center for Medicare
CMS

Dr. Jessica Lee 
Acting Chief Medical Officer for Medicaid and CHIP 
CMS 

Panel: Experiences in Data Sharing and Information Exchange

• Hear from state organizations, community-based organizations and other experts about successes and challenges in data sharing  
•  Discuss how data-sharing is being enabled within private / public organizations and what kind of partners are being used  
• Examine what additional resources (and policies) are needed to support SDOH data exchange 

Moderator: 

Timi Leslie 
President   
Blue Path Health 

Panelists: 

Evelyn Gallego, MBA, MPH, CPHIMS 
Chief Executive Officer & Founder 
EMI Advisors 

Anwar Zoueihid  
Vice President, Long Term Services & Supports 
Partners in Care Foundation 

Cortney Nicolato  
President and CEO  
United Way of Rhode Island 

Interactive Roundtables

Join us for interactive roundtables on pertinent industry topics. These idea-exchange sessions are 20 minutes long, allowing you to make your way to several roundtables per session.

Roundtable Topics for Discussion Include:  

1. Housing - Jo Ellen McNamara, Vice President Housing + Healthcare, National Equity Fund   
2. Food and Nutrition – Gabriel Hitchcock, VP of Business Development, Healthrageous 
3. LBGTQA+ Issues – Beck Moore, CEO, Community Action Association of Pennsylvania (CAAP) 
4. Data Exchange - Kate McFadyen, Director of Government Affairs, AHIMA 
5. Behavioral Health - Dr. Ellen Fink-Samnick DBH, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, CCM, CCTP, CRP, FCM, Wholistic Health Equity Strategist, Content Developer, Educator, EFS Supervision Strategies, LLC 
6. Veterans Issues - Brandon Wilson, Chief Operating Officer, Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry 
7. Public / Private Partnerships - Amanda Mihalko, Director, SDoH, Highmark Health 
8. Children’s Health - Allison Gertel-Rosenberg, MS, Vice President, Chief Policy and Prevention Officer, Nemours Children's Health 
9. Rural Health - Zil Joyce Dixon Romero, State Government Affairs Manager, National Rural Health Association (NHRA)

Opening Remarks

Chairperson to be announced 

Patient Focus Panel – Insights from Patients Impacted by SDoH

Hear direct feedback from a panel of community members affected by SDoH around their experience, access to care and ways to improve policy efforts.  

Moderator:

Adrienne Tenney 
Director of Operations 
Engagys 

Panel – Updates from Congressional SDoH Champions

Hear from the Congressional SDoH champions on key accomplishments to-date during the 118th Congress.  

Moderator: 

Krista Drobac  
Co-Chair  
Aligning for Health   

Panelists:  

Sara Berkemeier Bell,  
Policy Advisor to Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK)  

Rachel Fybel  
Health Policy Advisor to Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) 

Jennifer Chandler  
Chief of Staff to Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)  

Panel – Payer Perspectives: Optimizing Private / Public Partnerships to Provide Best-in-Class Care

• Hear how plans are utilizing approaches to addressing health-related social needs while tapping into services at the state level 
• Discuss use of 1115 waivers 
• Examine how health plans are using Medicaid managed care contracting   
• Learn how health plans are investing into their community outside of specific state requirements  

Moderator: 

Karin VanZant, MPA 
Seasoned SDoH Champion  

Panelists: 

Mikal Sutton 
Managing Director, Medicaid Policy  
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA)   

Ray Prushnok 
AVP, Program Development  
Executive Director, UPMC Center for Social Impact 
UPMC Health Plan 

Amanda Mihalko 
Director, SDoH  
Highmark Health   

Panel – Important Players in the SDoH Health Care Workforce – How Providers are Helping to Address Health-Related Social Needs

• Community-based providers and entities play a critical role in bridging gaps in the health care workforce and providing necessary services to address health-related social needs at the community level.  
• This panel will discuss the key players within the SDoH health care workforce and innovative approaches to address SDoH within the communities they serve.  

Moderator: 

Megan Cundari 
Senior Director, Federal Relations  
American Hospital Association 

Panelists: 

Dara Koppelman, MHSA, RN
EVP, Health Services and Programs
Mary’s Center

Rev. Kimberly Williams 
Choose Healthy Life   

Suyanna Linhales Barker, DrPH 
Chief of Programs and Community Services  
La Clinica del Pueblo 

Brandon Wilson
Chief Operating Officer 
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry  

Panel – Lessons from the Ground - State Best Practices and Support on SDoH

• Hear about innovative pilots, payment models, and programs aimed at improving health and wellbeing for individuals at the state level.  
• Panelists will discuss best practices and lessons learned that can be leveraged by other states looking to engage in this work.  

Moderator: 

Naomi Senkeeto 
Managing Director, Health Equity Policy  
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) 

Panelists:

Sandra Wilkniss
Senior Program Director of Population and Public Health
National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP)

Carrie Cochran DrPH
Chief Policy Officer
National Rural Health Situation (NRHA)

Lourdes Aceves
Interim Director, Health and Wellness
National League of Cities (NLC)

Additional speakers to be announced

Closing Remarks

Sandra Elizabeth Ford, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.P.  
Public Health Expert  
CEO 
BFT Consulting, LLC 
Former Special Assistant to the President for Public Health and Science 
White House Domestic Policy Council 

Krista Drobac  
Co-Chair  
Aligning for Health