Ahh, Las Vegas. The land of bright lights, fine dining, and 24/7 fun. But did you know that Sin City also hosts some of the nation’s biggest conventions, trade shows, and corporate meetings? This April 24-26, staff from Longview’s Pacific Surgical Center (PSC) will attend the annual LBG Advisors Benefits Symposium to present a lecture on medical tourism.
The LBG Advisors Benefits Symposium addresses healthcare costs, employee benefits, membership retention and expansion, and insurance issues. Hosted by the Lynnwood-based LBG Advisors, they’ll have speakers from across the industry spectrum.
PSC’s long-time commitment to upfront, clearly posted, transparency pricing makes them a leader in the outpatient surgical community. Procedures are handled quickly, professionally, and paying cash often costs less than the copay/coinsurance portion of traditional insurance. With this in mind, PSC has become a magnet for medical tourism, drawing patients from Alaska, Canada, and around the region and the world.
At the conference, PSC representatives will study many relevant topics to pass information and cost savings on to their patients. Events open with a keynote address on technology. Organizers acknowledge that “Technology is moving today at a pace that is as fast as we have ever seen and as slow as it is ever going to be. Although Insurance and Human Resources have been somewhat of a laggard when it comes to the adoption of technology, times have certainly changed with new products and solutions entering the market on a daily basis. Every aspect of a day in the life of a Human Resource professional is impacted by this onslaught of technology.”
The initial session will focus on employee engagement, demographic shifts, recruiting, benefits enrollment, disease management, mental wellness, and human capital management. Complicated as it sounds, this strives to ensure the best care at the best price for all PSC patients.
After studying technology’s cutting-edge world, organizers look back on ‘Lessons Learned’ in the struggle to control health care costs. “Over the past several years there has been an explosion of programs in the marketplace aimed at controlling health care costs. From Reference Based Pricing to Cancer Care Management to Patient Decision Support tools, we now know what’s working, what results can be expected and what challenges lie ahead for employers looking to reduce the ever-rising cost of care.”
Attendees will be able to sign up for additional classes on contracts and hospital partnerships, cost-reduction tips for self-insured employers, retiree health care, health savings accounts (HSAs), personalized medicine, and how to better manage claims.
Midway through, it’s time for a look at artificial intelligence. Presenting speakers acknowledge that “Employers are hungry for a way to bring an Amazon-like experience to benefits, and the reality is, the current fragmented experience (multiple websites, phone numbers, and apps) has discouraged people from using and getting the most out of their benefits.” Using streamlined, automated systems and A.I. may provide a solution to frustrations and customer error.
PSC will be represented by Melodie Wilson and Kevin McHugh. This is the second year a contingent has attended the Symposium and Wilson hopes “to provide education to self-insured employer groups and continue to develop relationships with self-funded employer groups.”
Wilson’s Breakout Session topic is titled ‘Transparency Pricing is Key to Outpatient Medical Tourism.’ She’ll teach “how Medical Tourism may not be getting you quite the pricing control that you think. Other programs may show savings vs. what a network hospital/facility would charge your plan for a procedure but how about those costs versus other medical tourism locations such as Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) or centers of excellence? You will learn how the key to medical tourism programs is transparency and knowing what your plan will pay prior to the procedure.”
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports that 10% of the city’s guests arrive for conventions. Nearly 3.5 million people visited in January 2019 alone, with 683,000 of those attending a professional conference. If sensory overload plus information overload leaves you feeling drained, take heart. PSC’s dedicated team will do the work for you.
Don’t let worry about treatment or billing questions, unfamiliar jargon, and surgical stress hold you back. For more than 10 years, PSC has proudly worked to “provide you with the highest level of personalized attention and we’re totally focused on your individual needs. We customize our surgical care to be the most effective and appropriate for you, and then deliver it with compassion and dedication to help ensure you get the very best surgical outcomes.” Give them a call at 360-442-7900 to get started.
