Fever Pitch

The passage of the bill ended a yearlong legislative roller coaster ride. Although Democrats are thrilled with the outcome, Republicans, who describe the measure as big government run amok, are not. According to the White House, the health insurance reform will lower costs, guarantee choice, and enhance quality health care for all Americans.

One of President Obama's first moves after signing the bill was to travel to the Interior Department, the federal building with the biggest auditorium the White House could find, to address a crowd of more than 500 cheering doctors, nurses, patients, and federal employees.

Many feel this is just the first of the many meetings that will be held in the insurance and healthcare sector. In order to remain profitable, health insurers are going to have to redevelop business models to comply with the new law—which means many more meetings to discuss and enact these changes.

Space of Its Own

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida certainly is thrilled it added a state-of-the-art conference center to its Jacksonville, FL headquarters two years ago that encompasses 14,000 square feet of meeting space with a ballroom that can seat 1,000 theater style. "I think that the insurance industry as a whole will conduct more meetings to lay the groundwork for our future. We've definitely had more internal meetings about what we're going to do to comply with all the new regulations and the adjustments we're going to have to make to our products," says Kathleen Zwart, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida's meetings and events manager. "We have the advantage of all of this internal space so we don't have to go to offsite." With 6,000 employees in Florida, the majority in Jacksonville, the conference center has saved the company a great deal of money.

Blue Cross Blue Shield has been anticipating for years that a new law like this would be passed and has taken a proactive, not reactive, stance.

"Insurance companies can't just sit around and wait for the regulations to go into effect. They have to start working now for what is going to take place in the future. Our employees are having meetings about what this new law will mean for its department, its employees, and customers," explains Zwart.

In addition, senior management and those in the legal department are holding town hall-style meetings. "We encourage all our employees to participate in these conversations to learn about what our action plan is, what the regulations are, and what we are doing to comply," asserts Zwart. "I really feel we'll be ready for whatever ultimately comes out of this new law."

Spike Seen in New York City

Karen Shackman, founder of New York City-based Shackman Associates, a destination management and special events firm, has seen a spike in corporate and association meetings relating to healthcare reform and feels all the uncertainty surrounding these new measures will require more face-to-face interaction and discussion.

"The need to collaborate on exactly how the health care law affects numerous parts of the health care industry will offset current cutbacks in meetings that have largely been a product of budget constraints and public perception," asserts Shackman. "Think about it, if the majority of Congress who wrote the bill doesn't know exactly all its provisions, key members of the industry it affects will absolutely need to discuss its ramifications."

The new bill delivers some good news for device makers. One aspect of it is that fees that were proposed by the Senate Finance Committee for companies like Boston Scientific and Medtronic, would be delayed to 2013 after initial versions placed the deadline in 2010. The sector earlier won a reduced industry tax of $20 billion, down from $40 billion.

Shackman says this too will have an impact on meetings. "Many media outlets covering medical device launches are based in New York. New regulations on these devices may require face-to-face strategic planning among manufacturers and designers," she explains. "Besides a new device tax, the law requires greater resources for comparative research and right now, many companies in this field are uncertain how their pricing and reimbursement strategies will be affected. Hospitals and physicians are also uncertain as to how the new law will impact their decisions regarding device choice. Sorting out all these new regulations is a logical reason to hold a meeting, and perhaps a large one with several splinter sessions that include manufacturers, doctors, and hospital administrators."

Potential Dark Side

Although some provisions of the health care bill will go into effect this year, the bulk of the bill won't kick in until 2014. The Senate could also tweak the timing of some provisions in a reconciliation bill.

Since most of the bill's impact will not be immediate, Timothy Arnold of Hospitality Performance Network, a meeting management and site selection company based in Dallas, TX, who works with a great deal of medical associations, says he is not seeing a huge increase in meetings although it may happen down the road.

"Right now meetings are in a holding pattern," explains Arnold. "My gut in talking to customers is that there will be an influx of meetings but not until we get closer to the implementation of the bill."

Arnold is concerned about corporate meetings. "A few of my corporate customers have said that they may not be having as many meetings as they've had in the past because of the additional healthcare costs that will come out of this. I do see this as a potential dark side."

Business executives complain that the options offered for covering 32 million uninsured Americans would result in higher insurance costs for those employers that already provide coverage. One company that has been vocal about how the bill will negatively hit them is the world's largest construction machinery manufacturer, Caterpillar. It claims the health care reform bill will result in a 20 percent increase in insurance spending next year, equaling a $100 million growth.

Not only is he worried that the bill will be a detriment to his corporate business, Arnold personally opposes it. "In my opinion, there is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that makes it mandatory to buy any product offered by personal or private sector businesses. I feel that penalizing people for not having health insurance is a gross violation of the U.S. Constitution," declares Arnold. "The Tenth Amendment clearly states that anything not in the Constitution is for the states to determine. I feel the Congress and Senate are vastly overreaching on this. I'd like to see policies implemented more on a state-by-state basis than implementing an overreaching federal law. I am watching this carefully as a successful meeting professional must have their finger on the pulse of these types of issues."

Seth Kaplan of Biscom, a healthcare communications company, has studied the bill. "I am hard pressed to think of any way this act will affect the meetings industry, except that, as it creates even more costs to be born by employers, it will reduce travel and meeting expenditures by business. Perhaps the bill will accelerate the move to audio-web conferencing from physical travel, conventions, and trade shows."

The bill is close to a whopping 2,000 pages. Many members of the House of Representatives admit it is not an easy read. Charles Hauser, president of New Albany, OH-based Chauser Consulting, a management consulting company that specializes in the healthcare industry, says the rush right now is to understand what's in the legislation and what needs to be done from a strategic level.

"As more elements of the bill are brought to life there will be a shift to implementation types of meetings," says Hauser. "The best example I have is the human resources manager of a mid-sized company. His company president asked him for a complete evaluation of the impact of the bill on the company and he's struggling to find reliable sources and interpretations. He's a clear candidate for mass education. Current health insurance policies are not affected, but the company itself needs to look at hiring practices, company structure, retirement plans, and timelines of legislative implementation."

According to Daryl Richard of United Healthcare, which provides health benefit services to individuals, public sector employers and businesses, education has become a significant component of its communications with customers.

Locales rich in medical facilities and healthcare companies may see an uptick in business. Shackman points out that New York City's biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing sector is a $10.5 billion industry employing 67,606 individuals. She adds, "New York City also has the world's largest concentration of academic medical research centers, is home to 120 bioscience companies, and is number one in the country in National Institutes of Health funding for universities and colleges."

Another city with an impressive network of high-profile healthcare facilities is Jacksonville, FL. There is the Mayo Clinic, Memorial Hospital, Nemours Children's Clinic, St. Luke's Hospital, St. Vincent's Medical Center, Shands Jacksonville, University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute, and Wolfson Children's Hospital A thriving biotechnology industry and research and residency collaborations with the University of Florida, University of North Florida, Jacksonville University, and Florida Community College at Jacksonville have helped catapult the area to national attention. Jacksonville is also home to many insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida. The destination is focusing heavily on its medical and healthcare-related meetings market with its medical tourism initiative, branded "America's Health Center" that targets meetings, patient care, and business-to-business travel.

One thing is for sure: America's Healthcare Reform is going to have far reaching effects, meetings included.

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