Registration
Grab your badge and register for the week ahead!
Lunch On Your Own
Try the famous chargrilled oysters at Drago’s Seafood in the hotel, or check out one of the many restaurants within walking distance, such as Mother’s Restaurant.
Creating A Winning Tech Strategy: The 2027 OPEN MINDS Seminar On What To Buy & Who Governs It
Only 8% of organizations in this field have clear policies governing artificial intelligence and seven states have written into law what AI may not do in behavioral health. Payers are now setting technology capability as a caching requirement.
This seminar builds a three-year technology plan for your own organization: what to buy, what to retire, in what order, and what it should cost at your scale. The second half produces the four things a board should want to know before approving: an inventory of the AI already running, a clinical-use boundary written to your state’s statutes, a vendor standard, and an approval route.
Sharon Hicks, MSW, MBA
Sharon Hicks has more than 30 years of experience in the health and human service field. She has extensive experience and wide range of expertise in health plan management, in clinical operations management, and technology.
Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Hicks spent two decades in a number of executive positions within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) system and within its health plan division. Ms. Hicks served as the Chief Operating Officer for Community Care Behavioral Health, a managed behavioral health organization. She was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s operations including fiscal, information systems, the claims processing department, and the design of clinical systems. In addition Ms. Hicks managed the day-to-day operations of including human resources, facilities, purchasing, and security.
Ms. Hicks also served as the Vice President, Internet Strategy, UPMC Insurance Services Division and, since 2002, as the Chief Executive Officer of Askesis Development Group, Inc. since May of 2002. In this role, Ms. Hicks was responsible for the growth of the company, profitability of the company, and the direction of software development.
Ms. Hick started her impressive health care career as a psychiatric social worker before being promoted to Assistant Director of Social Work. Prior to her executive promotions, Ms. Hicks served as a Clinical Administrator for both Ambulatory Services and Emergency and Intake Services at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. In this role, Ms. Hicks managed the behavioral health division, the budgets for all departments, and implemented new software replacing paper billing for clinical services.
Ms. Hicks received both her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Social Work degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Before pursuing her graduate education, Ms. Hicks received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.
M&A Strategy For A Shifting Market: The 2027 OPEN MINDS Seminar On Buying, Partnering, Or Being Bought
The ten largest insurers now hold more than half of all insured lives, and many are now building their own provider capacity. What they take first is the commercially insured outpatient consumer with better margins, and those with mild to moderate severity.
This seminar is about whether your organization is still independent in three years. You will score your own organization on financial strength, market position, governance and talent, work out the unit cost by service line that any buyer or partner will ask for, and see the real option set at each result. The second half covers mergers, acquisitions and affiliations, and what makes a shared-services arrangement deliver on promises made.
Ray Wolfe, J.D.
Raymond “Ray” Wolfe, J.D. brings over 40 years of experience in the health and human services sector to the OPEN MINDS team. Mr. Wolfe currently serves as a Senior Associate, a position in which he utilizes his expertise to successfully lead varying projects for OPEN MINDS. His areas of expertise include financial analysis and management, mergers and acquisitions, performance improvement, and strategic planning.
Before joining OPEN MINDS, Mr. Wolfe served in a 22 year tenure with Pittsburgh Mercy Health System in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most recently, Mr. Wolfe served as the organization’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) where he was responsible for oversight of all system operations, strategic planning, and performance management. Under his direction Pittsburgh Mercy achieved over $850K in value-based reimbursement contract quality bonus awards, integrated three organizations through merger/acquisition, and adopted a new performance management program for managers.
Before acting as Pittsburgh Mercy’s COO, Mr. Wolfe served as the organization’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and was responsible for the development of internal costing methodologies, contract rate negotiations, and financial forecasting activities. In addition, he coordinated an integrated care program with local partner hospitals to develop a series of diversion and respite programs, as well as, specialized primary care, integrated care management and high utilizer teams, while maintaining 15 straight years profitability.
Mr. Wolfe was promoted to CFO after serving as the Director of Fiscal and Information Security/Compliance for the health system. In this role, he was responsible for managing the transition of service contracts from fee-for-service (FFS), leading all compliance activities, and implementing a next generation electronic health record (EHR) system.
Prior to his time at Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, Mr. Wolfe served as Chief Fiscal Officer with the Summit Center for Human Development in Clarksburg, West Virginia, where he was responsible for reporting and budgeting functions and preparing Summit Center’s programs for FFS billing.
Previously, Mr. Wolfe served in billing and collections for two Pennsylvania-based hospitals. First, as an Accounts Receivables Manager for Brownsville General Hospital in Brownsville, PA, where he managed the accounting and billing system transition systems. Later as a Patient Account Manager for St. Francis Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA, where he improved collections to hit 95% rate through the implementation of new billing software and department reorganization.
Prior to working in the health and human services market, Mr. Wolfe spent five years practicing as a Lawyer with at Law Offices of Arch A. Moore in Moundsville, WV. In this role he provided general legal practice, created and established bylaws for multiple corporation, and handled West Virginia licensing of first vision insurance plan.
Mr. Wolfe earned his Juris Doctor from the West Virginia University School of Law in Morgantown, WV and his Bachelor’s degree with a focus in Political Science and Sociology from West Liberty University, in Wheeling, WV, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Grand Opening Reception of The Exhibit HallÂ
Join us for an unveiling of all of our great exhibitors! Unwind in New Orleans style during this networking reception featuring an open bar and hors d’oeuvres!
Executive Breakfast & Registration
If you haven’t registered yet, check in with us at the registration desk and then enjoy breakfast in the exhibit hall!
Thought Leader Discussion
Join our keynote for an interactive discussion where you can take time to ask your own questions and continue the conversation.
Lunch On Your Own
Try the famous chargrilled oysters at Drago’s Seafood in the hotel, or check out one of the many restaurants within walking distance, such as Mother’s Restaurant.
Executive Networking Reception
End your day by unwinding with your peers, colleagues, thought leaders, and vendors. Join us in the exhibit hall and enjoy a cocktail and hors d’oeurvres!
Executive Breakfast
Start your day off right with breakfast, served in the exhibit hall. Take this time to speak with our great exhibitors and talk to peers about what you’ve heard this week!
Thought Leader Discussion
Join our keynote presenter for an interactive discussion where you can take time to ask your own questions and continue the conversation.
Lunch On Your Own
Try the famous chargrilled oysters at Drago’s Seafood in the hotel, or check out one of the many restaurants within walking distance, such as Mother’s Restaurant.
Raffle Prize Drawing
Don’t miss the much-anticipated raffle drawing at 1:45 pm and come see if you’ve won any of the great prizes provided by our generous sponsors! (Must be present to win!)
Closing Keynote
Monica E. Oss
Monica E. Oss, M.S. is the founder of OPEN MINDS and serves as its chief executive officer, executive editor of its publications and websites, and executive lead of its consulting engagements. For the past three decades, Ms. Oss has led the OPEN MINDS team and its research on health and human service market trends and its national consulting practice. She is well known for her numerous books and articles focused on the strategic and marketing implications of the evolving health and human service field – and its focus on the verticals of the field serving consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs.
Ms. Oss has extensive experience in developing and implementing growth strategies for a wide array of organizations in the field. She has expertise in industry trend analysis, reimbursement and rate setting, and creating actionable plans for market success. In her role, she has led numerous engagements with state Medicaid plans, county governments, private insurers, and health plans, service provider organizations, technology vendors, neurotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations, and investment banking firms – with a focus on the implications of financing changes on delivery system design.
Prior to founding OPEN MINDS, Ms. Oss served as an executive with a nationally managed behavioral health organization, responsible for market development, actuarial analysis, and capitation-based rate setting. She also held a position as vice president of the U.S. risk management and underwriting division of an international insurance company.
Ms. Oss has been the keynote speaker at the conferences of dozens of national associations and has been published in a wide range of professional journals and trade publications. She has provided Congressional and state legislative testimony on issues as diverse as the financial impact of parity and payer medication access policies.
Ms. Oss has led a range of industry research and consultation initiatives, serving as principal investigator on research projects that include the examination of national managed care enrollment and service patterns, development of provider rate structures for government entities, creation of return-on-investment models for technology investments; design of performance-based compensation models within public and private health plans; and analysis of the economic impact of changes in benefit design, adoption of evidence-based practices, and new technologies.