2023 Fall Conference - Negotiated Managed Care Contracts – Secrets from a Former Managed Care Executive - HBMA Store

Negotiating Managed Care Contracts – Secrets from a Former Managed Care Executive Presented by Ron Howrigon

As presented at HBMA's 2023 Fall Conference September 26th-28th, 2023.

Description:
With labor costs on the rise and inflation impacting all aspects of medical practice, groups need to look at their managed care contracts to increase revenue. Successful negotiation of these agreements can be the difference between a thriving practice and a downward spiral of financial ruin. Managed care companies recognize this fact and deploy teams of highly trained and experienced negotiators to tip the balance of power in their favor. This presentation is designed to show participants how to successfully negotiate managed care agreements using trade secrets from a former managed care negotiator. The presenter will take the group through the entire negotiation process, from beginning to end, and show them how to effectively deal with these managed care relationships.

Objectives:
Course participants will be able to:

• Learn how to evaluate positions and proposals 
• Develop best strategies for given situations 
• Understand the negotiation process 
• Evaluation of reimbursement types 

Speaker Bio:
Ron Howrigon is President and CEO of Fulcrum Strategies, a consulting firm that represents physician practices across the U.S. in their dealings with managed care companies.  Over the last 19 years, Fulcrum Strategies has worked with over 5,000 physicians in 30 states covering all specialties.

Prior to founding Fulcrum, Ron spent 18 years in the managed care industry as a negotiator and network manager. He once held senior management-level positions with Kaiser Permanente, Cigna, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield. 

Ron is the author of the book “Flatlining: How Healthcare Could Kill the U.S. Economy,” which presents a concise, comprehensible overview of the critical issues and challenges facing the economics of healthcare.  He is currently working on his second book tentatively titled “The Prescription for the Cure:  How to fix the U.S. Healthcare System.”

Ron earned a Bachelors of Business Administration degree from Western Michigan University and a Master of Economics degree from North Carolina State University. 

He is the Past-Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Mariposa School for Children with Autism.  He has also served on the Board of Directors for The Miracle League of the Triangle, a baseball league dedicated to providing children with special needs the opportunity to participate in an activity that would otherwise not be available to them.  Ron currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Autism Society of North Carolina. 

Ron and his wife Kristen are the proud parents of three children, Connor, Brenden and Reagan.  He describes being a father as the hardest, best and most rewarding thing he will ever do.