Industry’s popular insurance workshops go virtual with 30 expert speakers,
20 educational sessions, and 17.5 credit hours over three-day event
NASHVILLE — Hundreds of medical practice managers, insurance coders, billers, auditors and other medical office professionals across the state are expected for the popular Tennessee Healthcare Symposium, scheduled for Nov. 10-12, 2020.
“Last year’s inaugural event brought together more than 500 attendees in four Tennessee cities,” said event producer Karen Baird, director of insurance affairs for the Tennessee Medical Association. “Despite the pandemic, and likely because of it, we’re anticipating an even greater turnout this year online.”
This year’s virtual format solves many obstacles associated with traditional days-long events, Baird said. Early registrants will enjoy discounts through Sept. 30, 2020 with further savings available to TMA members.
“By logging on for the specific sessions applicable to individual practices, attendees will save on travel costs, hotel costs and time out of the office, not to mention we’re providing continuing education credits at a fraction of typical costs,” she said.
This year’s educational event has expanded to three full days offering up to 17.5 CME and CEU credits, with early bird pricing available through September. The cost of registration will increase $50 after Sept. 30. See tnmed.org/Symposium for full details.
The 2020 symposium features Hodgen Mainda, Tennessee’s commissioner of Commerce and Insurance, among more than 30 outstanding industry speakers through 12 unique educational sessions and eight additional insurance plan update sessions to help enhance medical staff knowledge, practice efficiency and financial success.
“We are very excited that Commissioner Mainda will kick off this year’s event,” said Karen Baird, TMA’s director of insurance, and event producer. “He is the first Tennessee Commissioner to engage in this type of event with TMA, and it’s clear that he’s working to change the perception of payor bias when physicians file complaints in Tennessee.”
Attendees can submit questions to Mainda via karen.baird@tnmed.org no later than Oct. 31. The commissioner will attempt to address all questions during this session.
Day One of the event is a collaboration between the Tennessee Medical Association and major insurance carriers to highlight 2021 changes and updates to the payor plans. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with payers in virtual chat rooms for help with claims issues, disputes and appeals, prior authorization and more. Participants include BCBST, Cigna, United Healthcare, Palmetto, Humana, Ambetter, TennCare MCOs (Amerigroup BlueCare, United Healthcare Community Plan) and TennCare.
Day Two is tailored to Practice Management topics, which will include: post-pandemic revenue cycle and practice recovery, utilizing telehealth and remote patient monitoring for high risk patients; financial planning moves for 2021; enhancing the new patient experience; medical practice cyber security; and optimizing practice revenues via effective payer contracting.
Day Three is designed specifically for Billers and Coders, with sessions focused on: current vs. future regulation of E/M services; the role of coding in TennCare’s Episodes of Care program; capturing data for identifying social determinants of health; creating a winning appeal for denied insurance claims; and coding and billing for telehealth.
Private sector companies sharing their expertise for the symposium include LBMC, AllHealth Choice, Strategic Financial Partners, Centene, Burr & Forman, Jeter IT, Ackermann Marketing & PR, NAMAS and Doctors Management.
