Exploring Heartland Conference 2024: What's on the Agenda?

Published in Member Communities on March 20, 2024

Every year, the VGM Heartland Conference delivers a one-of-a-kind learning experience with the best education in the DMEPOS industry. At Heartland Conference 2024, taking place June 10-12 in Waterloo, IA, attendees can access over 60 sessions and earn up to 15.25 contact hours/CEUs throughout the two-day conference. This year, prepare for unparalleled educational sessions with our diverse array of specialized tracks, including:

Billing and Reimbursement
Regulatory and Audits
Leadership and People Strategy
Business Operations
Complex Rehab Technology
Sales, Marketing, and Retail
Respiratory
Specialty Markets, including Women’s Health and Wound Care

Below is just a sample of sessions for Heartland 2024:

Heartland Conference Session Preview

State of the DME Industry: How SWOT Might Shape Your Future

Track: Business Operations
Presenter: Alan Morris, SVP, Strategy, VGM & Associates

This presentation will dive into the current state of the DME industry, including the strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, it will discuss the external environment and the opportunities and threats it poses. This all culminates to an analysis of what the future of our industry might look like and how DME providers should prepare themselves for an evolving environment.

Collection, Reduction, & Waiver of Copayments: Rules to Follow & Traps to Avoid

Track: Billing and Reimbursement
Presenters: Miriam Lieber, CEO/Owner, Lieber Consulting, LLC and Kim Cuce’, Director of Business Optimization, VGM & Associates

This session will explain the legal risks of reducing or waiving copayments for DME suppliers. It will also show how to do it properly and avoid violating federal laws. The topics include: (i) the anti-kickback statute, the beneficiary inducement statute, and the False Claims Act; (ii) the legal criteria for reducing/waiving copayments; (iii) the procedures for reducing/waiving copayments; (iv) a properly drafted Copayment Reduction/Waiver Policy; and (v) working with charities to help patients.

New Managers: Embracing Leadership (Be Who They Need)

Track: Leadership and People Strategy
Presenter: Mike Isaacson, SVP, Government and Regulatory Relations, VGM & Associates

“Be Who They Need” is a journey of self-reflection and provides a context to evaluate personal leadership motivation and values. The importance of positive, thoughtful leadership in healthcare has never been more relevant in today’s climate. The daily challenges that leaders face can turn into fatigue and burnout. Maintaining and enhancing employees’ work life starts with a deep dive into everyone's own “leadership capital,” learning to create their own balance so that they can help those they serve and be who they need to be for their people.

Know Your Data, Save Your Business

Track: Regulatory and Audits
Presenter: Kelly Grahovac, General Manager, The van Halem Group

Every year, the Presidential Budget invests billions of dollars in funding to the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control program, with an expected triple return on that investment to program integrity functions. HME suppliers face many audits, especially from UPIC, which can have devastating impacts on a business. Program integrity functions also extend to provider enrollment, with revocations and deactivations becoming frequent occurrences. Protecting your business and your bottom-line means learning what can trigger an audit and identifying risk areas in your organization. Kelly will explain how you can utilize your own data to not only prepare for audits, but to protect your business when faced with audits or provider enrollment threats.

The Future of PAP Adherence with the Use of AI

Track: Respiratory
Presenter: Colleen Lance, MD, Chief Medical Officer, React Health

This presentation will provide an understanding of the use of AI to improve PAP Adherence.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Discuss the challenges of adherence in the realm of PAP therapy.
Discuss the intersection of AI in the management of the sleep therapy patient population.
Discuss how to increase operational efficiencies by early identification of PAP patients at risk for non-adherence.

Marketing 101: Strategies for Business Growth and Boosting Revenue

Track: Sales, Marketing, and Retail
Presenters: Kayla Mahler, Director of Marketing, Vendor Accounts; Mandi Rodgers, Senior Director, Marketing & Communications; and Krista McNurlen, SVP, Marketing, VGM & Associates

Do you have set marketing initiatives with KPIs? If so, when is the last time that you checked how your marketing initiatives are performing? This session is not just Marketing 101; it's a roadmap to success specifically crafted for our members. We’ll delve into strategy on social media, websites, and paid advertising to discover where your marketing dollars can create the most significant impact. Brace yourself for a revelation on how marketing, when made easy and swift, becomes the catalyst for increased traffic or marketing qualified leads. Additionally, a marketing startup guide will be presented, offering valuable recommendations on free or low-cost tools to build essential marketing assets.

Breaking into the Wound Care Space

Track: Wound Care, Specialty Track
Presenters: Heather Trumm, Amanda Yavorsky, Sr Manager of Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships - HME Division, McKesson Medical Surgical

Thinking about diversifying your business in wound care? Learn about the five steps to breaking into the wound care space. The presentation will start from scratch with building the logistics of a program focusing on LCD/PA to building out a formulary. The presentation will close with how to take a wound care program to market by focusing on what is important to your referral sources.

Panel Sessions

In addition to educational sessions, the Heartland Conference panel discussions offer a unique chance to learn from your peers and industry experts all at the same time. Some of the panel discussion topics include:

Best Practices Understanding and Billing in the CGM Market

Track: Billing and Reimbursement
Presenter: Ronda Buhrmester, Senior Director, Payer Relations, VGM Government Relations

This panel will explore the latest advances in continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and how patients with diabetes can benefit from this technology. It will provide billing best practices and strategies for data mining CGM candidates from your existing patient database to help you grow your bottom line.

Panelists:

Joe Ault, GEMCO
Craig Douglas, VGM
Collin Donoghue, ABCO Medical Supply
Shawn McCoy, Eclipse Medical
Ashley Brown, Brightree

Embracing Innovation: Welcoming AI in HME

Track: Business Operations
Presenter: Chris Rose, Regional Account Manager, VGM & Associates

This panel will discuss how HMEs can welcome and incorporate artificial intelligence into their business practices.

Panelists:

Scott Hagberg, Application & Automation Architect, VGM Group, Inc.
Shane Rogan, VP of Analytics, VGM Fulfillment

[Panel] Empowered Leadership: Women Driving Excellence in HME

Track: Leadership & People Strategy
Presenter: Arienne Martinez, Director of Organizational Development, VGM HOMELINK

Join this powerful and entertaining panel of female leaders, including the 2023 HME Woman of the Year award winner and VGM's top female executives for their perspectives on leadership. The panel will cover everything from work-life balance to exuding confidence in the board room.

Panelists:

Barb Anderson, Chief Financial Officer, VGM Group, Inc.
Christa Miehe, President of Corporate Communications & Events, VGM Group, Inc.
Dana McLaughlin, President, Medical Service Company
Lindy Tentinger, President, VGM & Associates
Sara Laures, Chief People Officer, VGM Group, Inc.

View the complete agenda for Heartland Conference 2024 at www.vgmheartland.com/agenda. Be sure to register before the early bird pricing ends April 12.

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