Are you looking for educational opportunities?

The Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) provides presentations on a variety of issues that affect physicians and their clinics. Each presentation is tailored to the needs of the audience and is delivered by content experts from among MMA staff or leadership. MMA Rounds presentations are available free of charge.

Presentation topics

• State Health Care Reform - General Overview
• Federal Health Care Reform – General Overview
• Accountable Care Organizations
• Health Care Homes
• Meaningful Use
• Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act
• Provider Peer Grouping
• Quality Reporting
   

MMA also can arrange speakers on the following topics:

• Interpreter Training Workshop
• Medical Records Management
• Medicare: Recovery Audit Contractors Program
• Obesity (by appointment – this is a physician-led presentation)
• Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) – Health Care Directives Forms
   

State Health Care Reform - General Overview
State health care reform has been a top priority of the MMA for many years. The 2008 legislation outlined a series of reforms, including coverage expansion, payment reform, quality measurement and reporting, delivery system redesign with health care homes, and investment in public health. Learn the status of Minnesota’s health care reform act and how these reforms will impact your practice.

Federal Health Care Reform – General Overview
Federal health care reform, also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), includes numerous provisions that will affect Minnesota physicians. Learn about the status of ACA, including changes to Medicare physician payment, expansion of Medicaid, insurance market reforms, and quality improvement initiatives.

Accountable Care Organizations
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are among the hottest health care topics in discussion today. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has incorporated ACOs as a significant component of Medicare reform. Intended to combine new models of payment in exchange for new care delivery models, ACOs have the potential to fundamentally change the health care landscape. It is not clear, however, whether ACOs will live up to their expectations or what their implications for physicians will be. Learn about the concept of ACOs, Medicare’s plans for adopting ACOs, and how ACOs might change medicine in Minnesota.

Health Care Homes
Health care homes have captured the attention of both policy makers and clinicians. The MMA will share information about Minnesota’s health care home model and provide information about how physician practices can position themselves to make the changes necessary to meet the state’s criteria for certification and payment.

Meaningful Use
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which included the Health Information Technology (HIT) Extension Program, authorized billions of dollars in grants, loans and incentive payments under Medicare and Medicaid for providers who adopt certified EHR technology. Learn about the key HIT provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and how Minnesota physicians can receive incentives, loans, or grants.

Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act will dramatically change the Medicaid program. In 2014, nearly one in seven Minnesotans will be covered by Medicaid. The ability of physicians to continue to provide high quality care to Medicaid enrollees could be limited if Medicaid does not update its payment models to better reflect the cost of care and the value of care delivered. This presentation will examine trends in both Medicaid enrollment and Medicaid physician payment and consider their implications on access to care.

Provider Peer Grouping
The amount and adequacy of comparative information on health care costs and quality is extremely limited. While efforts to quantitatively measure or profile the performance of physicians on measures of cost and quality are not new, Minnesota’s 2008 health care reform act seeks to expand its use. The state is developing a methodology for measuring physician clinics and hospitals on measures of cost and quality. Learn how peer grouping will be used in Minnesota to measure the cost and quality of the care you provide and its implications for your practice.

Quality Reporting
The 2008 state health care reform act expands the collection and public reporting of health care quality measures. Learn about quality reporting initiatives in Minnesota, how your clinic can prepare to comply with data submission requirements, and what MMA is doing to minimize the burden on practices.