Health plan leaders and compliance experts from across the country will address hot button issues from 2018 audits and potential changes for the 2019 audit season at CompliancePalooza on Oct. 29-30 in Baltimore.
One of the biggest challenges that compliance officers face is how to keep up with the changing regulatory landscape.
Even the changes announced for the Medicare annual enrollment period are mindboggling, says Beth Socoski, a healthcare compliance specialist. If compliance officers don’t stay on top of the changes, they may have to backpedal and rethink their approach to their plans and processes, she says.
Health plan leaders and compliance experts from across the country will address key focus areas from 2018 audits and examine potential changes for the 2019 season at CompliancePalooza on Oct. 29-30 in Baltimore. The intensive, two-day event, sponsored by RISE, will also provide insight into why CMS delayed implementation of new audit protocols until 2020, as well as strategies for the oversight of First Tier, Downstream and Related Entities (FDR), and best practices to strengthen compliance programs.
Other featured sessions will address how to estimate potential civil monetary penalties from CMS, methods to enhance the effectiveness of your appeals and grievances departments, the FDR’s role within an audit, the importance of cyber security and privacy data protection, the mock audit process, and best practices to ensure a smooth independent validation audit experience.
In addition to the information gleaned from sessions, those responsible for compliance in health plan organizations will find it empowering to attend the networking opportunities offered throughout the conference, according to Socoski. “Some folks work in large organizations and it can be extremely isolating to be in a compliance role. So, it’s amazing when you go to these conferences that you learn, ‘I’m not alone and I didn’t realize other people have the same challenges,’” she says. “It’s nice to network with folks and bounce ideas off them.”
Deborah Marine, a compliance officer at SummaCare and a longtime support of the compliance conferences offered by RISE, also finds it beneficial to talk with others who share the same compliance responsibilities at their organizations. “I’ve found people are forthcoming and open about the challenges they face and how they fixed them,” Marine says of the contacts she’s made at previous conferences. “To me, the head’s up that I’ve been given have been priceless.”
Conference attendees will include vice presidents, senior managers, and directors from Medicare Advantage plans, and internal audit specialists. Participants will also include those responsible for compliance, FDR oversight and management, audit and corrective action, appeals and grievances, and risk adjustment for prescription drug plans, at risk providers and health systems.
For more information about CompliancePalooza or to register for the event, click here.