March 25, 2014

Dr. Dean Ornish to Keynote Midwest Business Group on Health 34^th Conference

Boeing, General Electric, Safeway, and Target among employers also featured at health benefits event

CHICAGO – Leading employers and health care experts will offer the latest insights on health benefits and health care in the changing reform environment at the Midwest Business Group on Health’s 34^th Annual Conference:  Health Benefits - Boldly Going Where No One Has Gone Before, being held April 30-May 1 at the Mid-America Club in Chicago. The non-profit organization is one of the nation’s leading business groups of private and public employers.

Key topics include the employers’ role as an influencer in health care, evidence-based models for payment reform, employer decisions on private exchanges, defined contributions strategies in the consumer-directed environment, successful population health models and measuring health engagement.  The nationally-relevant and purchaser-focused health benefits conference features leading employers and industry experts providing objective, timely and practical information on the latest research, trends and best practices.

Keynote speakers include:

• Dean Ornish, M.D., Founder & President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute
• Cheryl DeMars, President & CEO, The Alliance
• Tom Emerick, President, Emerick Consulting and former HR/Benefits for Walmart, Burger King & British Petroleum
• Robert S. Galvin, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Equity Healthcare, Operating Partner, The Blackstone Group
• Brian Klepper, CEO, National Business Coalition on Health
• Wendy Lynch, PhD, Director, Altarum Center for Consumer Choice in Health Care
• Soeren Mattke, M.D., Sr. Scientist & Managing Director, RAND Corp.

Employer speakers include:

• Cindy Bik, Associate VP-HR Benefit Operations, Rush
• Kent Bradley, M.D., Sr. VP-Chief Medical Officer, Safeway
• Michael F. Brennan, Manager, Well Being Policy & Strategy, Boeing
• Jill Chapman, Sr. Director, Benefits, OfficeMax
• Kim Dwyer, VP, Benefit Services, Advocate Health Care
• Anna Fallieras, Program Leader, Health Care Initiatives, General Electric
• Marcus Gagnon, Wellness Coordinator, Trek Bicycle Corp.
• Matt LaRocco, VP Admin. Services, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
• Amy Katzoff, Director Health and Wellness Benefits, Dover Corp.
• Cara McNulty, Sr. Group Manager of Clinical Strategy & Prevention, Target Corp.
• Sandra Morris, Sr. Manager of U.S Benefits Design, Proctor & Gamble
• Richard Rons, Manager of Employee Benefits, Argonne National Labs
• Nate Solomon, Director of Benefits, Wolters Kluwer
• Kim Stroud, Benefits Manager, Manatee County Government
• Tom Sondergeld, Director of Health & Benefits Well-Being, Human Resources, Walgreens

Additional details and registration information can be found at the new MBGH Annual Conference website.

About the Midwest Business Group on Health

With more than 120 member organizations, the Midwest Business Group on Health is one of the nation’s leading non-profit business groups of large, self-insured public and private employers serving as a catalyst for community initiatives to improve the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of the health care delivery system. MBGH is an essential resource to support employers in effectively managing their health benefits through high-quality education, research, networking and benchmarking. MBGH is a founding member of the National Business Coalition on Health.