CEO Update 185
2024 NABH Annual Meeting Starts Monday!
We’re pleased to devote this week’s edition of CEO Update to details about the 2024 Annual Meeting that starts Monday, May 13 in Washington, D.C.
This year’s Annual Meeting focuses on The Future of Behavioral Healthcare, and our presenters will explore this theme as it relates to behavioral health information technology, parity, workforce issues, and more.
To prepare for the meeting, please view our preliminary program, learn more about this year’s speakers, and see our list of exhibitors and sponsors attending the meeting.
Be Sure to Access the 2024 NABH Annual Meeting Mobile App!
Again this year, attendees will have access to all Annual Meeting programming and materials through NABH’s web-based app.
Early Monday, NABH will send all attendees an Annual Meeting alert with this link to the app that displays details about sessions, speakers, meeting room locations, NABH’s advocacy priorities, and more. Attendees can also access the link through a QR code near the Registration Desk at the Annual Meeting.
Deputy National Coordinator for Health IT Steven Posnack to Open Monday Sessions
NABH is pleased to welcome Deputy National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Steven Posnack, M.S., M.H.S. as our first 2024 Annual Meeting presenter on Monday, May 13 t 2:45 p.m. ET in the Salamander hotel’s Grand Ballroom.
Posnack advises the national coordinator, leads the execution of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) mission, and represents ONC’s interests at a national and international level.
Together with the national coordinator, Posnack also oversees ONC’s federal coordination, regulatory policy, public-private initiatives, and the overall implementation of statutory authorities and requirements, including those from the 21st Century Cures Act and HITECH Act. He will discuss behavioral health information technology at our Annual Meeting.
NABH Education and Research Foundation to Workforce Panel on Monday at 4 p.m. ET
Building on last year’s success, the NABH Education and Research Foundation will host a panel discussion featuring NABH members and workforce consultants on Monday from 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET.
This year’s panel will focus on NABH member best workforce practices, internships, apprenticeships, and other “grow your own” programs.
NABH Education and Research Foundation Vice President Jim Shaheen of New Season, who also serves on the NABH Board of Trustees, will moderate the panel that will feature Jason Brooks, Ph.D., senior vice president of Human Resources at New Season; Rhonda Ashley-Dixon, vice president of Strategic Partnerships & Engagement at Vanderbilt Behavioral Health; Beth Kuhn, principal at Stonegate Strategies and former commissioner, Kentucky Department of Workforce Investment; and John Pallasch, founder and CEO of One Workforce Solutions and former U.S. assistant secretary for employment and training at the U.S. Labor Department (DOL).
This year’s panel discussion will include poll questions for the audience, and we urge NABH members to attend and engage with panelists during the question-and-answer period!
DOL Official Timothy Hauser to Discuss Parity on Tuesday, May 14 at 10 a.m.
Timothy D. Hauser, deputy assistant secretary for program operations of DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will discuss parity when he kicks off Day 2 of the NABH 2024 Annual Meeting on Tuesday, May 14 at 10 a.m.
Hauser, who serves as EBSA’s chief operating officer, joined DOL in 1991 as a trial attorney for the Plan Benefits Security Division (PBSD), where he represented the department in federal district court and appellate litigation. From November 2000 until November 2013, Mr. Hauser was the associate solicitor of the division. As the head of PBSD, he was responsible for all of DOL’s legal work under ERISA.
Before joining DOL, Mr. Hauser worked as a trial attorney for six years at Legal Aid of Western Missouri. Hauser graduated from Harvard Law School in 1985 and earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois.
Election Analyst David Wasserman to Examine 2024 Elections at 11 a.m.
Following Hauser’s presentation Tuesday morning, election analyst David Wasserman will provide Annual Meeting attendees with an in-depth look at this year’s upcoming presidential and congressional elections.
Wasserman is the senior editor for the non-partisan newsletter The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, which has analyzed U.S. presidential, Senate, House, and gubernatorial races since 1984. Referred to as “pretty much the only person you need to follow on Election Night” according to Meet the Press host Chuck Todd, Wasserman is also a contributor to NBC News.
Prior to joining the The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter in 2007, Wasserman served for three years as House editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a widely respected political analysis newsletter and website founded by renowned University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato (a former NABH Annual Meeting presenter). Wasserman graduated from the University of Virginia.
NABH President and CEO Shawn Coughlin to Address Attendees at Annual Meeting Luncheon
Please join us for this year’s Annual Meeting Luncheon on Tuesday at Noon to hear brief remarks from NABH President and CEO Shawn Coughlin.
Coughlin will provide updates on NABH’s work and help prepare attendees who will head to Capitol Hill for congressional visits following the luncheon.
Help Us Advocate Your Issue Priorities at Hill Day 2024!
NABH is eager to welcome its members and guests to Hill Day 2024 on Tuesday, May 14 from 1:30 – 5 p.m. ET!
As always, Hill Day is an excellent opportunity for NABH members to meet personally with Members of Congress and their staff to share our association’s advocacy priorities. It’s not too late to register if you’re interested!
If you registered for the Annual Meeting, are interested in Hill Day, and have not yet signed up, please contact e-mail NABH Associate Manager for Congressional Affairs Emily Wilkins.
How it Works:
After you register for the NABH Annual Meeting, the NABH Congressional Affairs team will match you with legislators who represent your facility’s footprint.
On Hill Day, NABH will have our Advocacy Room open from 12:30 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. in the Renwick Room of the Salamander. Here NABH will help prepare you with materials and talking points to guide your conversations with Members of Congress and their staff. The Advocacy Room will reopen from 4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. for you to debrief your meetings.
What We Need From You:
Please indicate in your Annual Meeting registration form that you are interested in Hill Day, and be sure to include all the states where your system has a footprint. If you have an existing relationship with a legislator, please let us know! This is very helpful when scheduling meetings.
Also, Hill Day participants—and all Annual Meeting attendees—can review the association’s 2024 Advocacy Priorities and Hill Day fact sheets before or during the Annual Meeting through our web-based meeting app.
Wednesday Policy Breakfast to Feature Remarks from Rep. Doris Matsui & NABH Consultant Meiram Bendat, J.D., Ph.D.
Join us for the Annual Meeting Policy Breakfast on Wednesday at 8 a.m. to watch a brief video from NABH Champion Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and to learn about the ongoing Wit v. United Behavioral Health case from NABH consultant Meiram Bendat, J.D., Ph.D.
Matsui will highlight her legislation, the Behavioral Health Information Technology Coordination Act, and discuss why adopting BHIT is critical.
An attorney with a background in mental health, Bendat represented children and families in the Los Angeles child welfare system and treated patients before he founded Psych-Appeal, the country’s first private mental health insurance law firm, in 2011.
Since then, Bendat has helped patients and providers successfully challenge denials of mental health treatment through administrative appeals and impact litigation, recovering millions of dollars in wrongly withheld benefits.
The NABH team wishes everyone a safe trip to Washington, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Please note: NABH will not publish CEO Update next week and will publish the next issue on May 24. For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond