Change is the only constant in today's insurance market

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Dina Overland


If I could summarize the theme of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Institute 2012 held next week in Salt Lake City, I could do it with one word--change.

There's no doubt about it; the insurance industry is changing and with this year's lineup of speakers and topics, AHIP has proven that it has its proverbial finger on the pulse of the industry. 

Just about every general session, concurrent session and preconference will address how the industry is changing, whether it's the looming U.S. Supreme Court decision, health insurance exchanges, new payment models, shifting focus toward individuals or improving wellness incentives.

And AHIP has lined up an impressive list of speakers who will take to the podium and tackle many of these knotty issues, hopefully imparting some wise advice, to boot. Many of these speakers are leaders of the health insurance industry, including WellPoint's Sam Nussbaum and Health Net's Jay Gellert, but many more come from other sides of healthcare. Providing different perspectives on common problems will be, for example, Group Health Cooperative CEO Scott Armstrong, Intel-GE Care Innovations CEO Louis Burns,  Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky, Oracle Corporation Chairman Jeffrey Henley and HealthCare Partners CEO Robert Margolis.

I look forward to hearing their viewpoints, opinions and suggestions for how payers can improve their businesses as they turn toward a more consumer-focused market in a post-reform environment.

As always, we look forward to meeting FierceHealthPayer readers in person and talking about your interests, ideas and challenges in your organizations. Look for me and our Fierce publisher, Wendy Johnson, throughout the conference sessions. And be sure to find our booth in the exhibit hall. We hope you'll introduce yourselves and say hello! -Dina (@HealthPayer)