2023 Annual Health Care Conference

Alyssa Keefe, MPP, serves as system senior vice president of public policy and advocacy for CommonSpirit Health. Keefe joined CommmonSpirit in November 2020 and is responsible for leading all public policy efforts for CommonSpirit at both the state and federal level.

Prior to joining CommonSpirit, Keefe was vice president of policy and analysis at the Federation of American Hospitals. In that role, she was responsible for policy development and analysis of federal legislation and regulation impacting the nation’s investor-owned health systems.

Keefe has spent 25 years working with hospitals and health systems, including nearly 10 years providing regulatory and legislative analysis and expertise on numerous Medicare reimbursement and health policy issues impacting providers in her role as vice president of federal regulatory affairs for the California Hospital Association (CHA). In that capacity, she was responsible for cultivating and maintaining relationships between member hospitals and federal agencies including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, FDA, CDC, and HRSA.

Prior to joining CHA, Keefe was the managing director of the Hospital Quality Alliance, a public-private partnership committed to improving quality. Keefe has held senior health policy positions at the American Hospital Association, Catholic Health Association of the United States, and the National Coalition on Health Care.

Anil Shankar, Esq., is a partner and health care lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP, and a member of the Health Care Practice. He provides strategic counsel to health care providers as they navigate complex regulatory and reimbursement matters, with a particular focus on the Medicaid program and issues affecting safety net providers.

Shankar advises hospitals, clinics, health systems, managed care plans, and governmental entities on their participation in Medicaid programs. He has helped develop innovative new programs, including Medicaid supplemental payments, quality networks, state and local provider taxes or assessments, and public-private partnerships.

Shankar is a leading expert in the use of health care funding to address the social determinants of health and helped design and implement California’s Whole Person Care pilots, which operate innovative programs for vulnerable populations.

Shankar advises clients on numerous Medicaid reimbursement and compliance issues, including overpayment investigations and analyses. He has also assisted numerous companies seeking to enter the Medicaid program. Shankar has deep knowledge of Medicaid managed care and has helped plans and providers evaluate regulatory changes and structure alternative payment methodologies to meet their goals. He also heads the firm’s robust 340B Drug Pricing Program Practice.

Shankar has extensive experience advising clients on behavioral health reimbursement, operational, and compliance issues. He counseled hospital and health systems seeking to expand their behavioral health offerings, including strategic counseling to avoid licensing, regulatory, and reimbursement pitfalls. In addition, he helped design systems to protect and share confidential patient information, including behavioral health information.

Shankar has successfully obtained millions of dollars of funding for providers and mental health delivery systems through administrative appeals. He works with local behavioral health directors, providers, and managed delivery systems on issues related to funding, reimbursement, program development, and strategic implementation.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Shankar advised hospitals, health systems, governmental entities, nursing facilities, and other health care companies with regards to their application, receipt, and use of federal relief funds, including the Provider Relief Fund and Coronavirus Relief Fund. He has advised on the development of tracking and documentation systems, counseled providers on over- and underpayments of funds, and drafted policies and procedures for use and reporting of funds.

Brian Conner has practiced public accounting since 1993, providing audit, tax, and consulting services to integrated health systems, hospitals, ancillary providers, mental and convalescent health facilities, and medical groups. Brian has extensive experience providing advice and counsel in areas of audits, financial reporting, and tax-exempt financings. He performs technical reviews for health care clients and has served as an instructor and lecturer for the firm’s Health Care Group.

Conner holds several leadership roles as partner-in-charge of the firm’s Sacramento and Stockton offices, co-leader of the health care consulting group, and a member of the health care industry group’s leadership team. Previously, Conner served as the national practice leader for the Moss Adams Hospital Practice for over a decade.

Conner is the former chair of the Health Care Financial Management’s (HFMA) Principles and Practice Board and is a current member of the AICPA’s Health Care Entities Expert Panel and the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB’s) Not-for-Profit Advisory Council.

Conner also has the privilege of serving as the emcee of the annual health care executive conference for Moss Adams for nearly a decade.

Chris Pritchard, CPA, MHA, is a partner and the national leader of Moss Adams Health Care Industry Group. He has practiced public accounting since 1991, serving integrated health systems, federally qualified health centers, managed care organizations, ambulatory surgery centers, Knox-Keene licensed health plans, rural and regionally integrated hospitals, rural and community-based primary care facilities, outpatient care facilities, outpatient surgery centers, large medical groups, independent physician associations, and third-party payers.

In addition to his experience auditing and supervising audit engagements of health care entities, Pritchard manages consulting engagements, including internal audits. He assists organizations with strategic management decision engagements, cash flow projections, budgeting projects, and other operational engagements.

Pritchard was an active member of the AICPA’s national Health Care Expert Panel, where he provided technical guidance on various publications. He’s published national articles and speaks frequently on health care financial reporting and other current topics.

Dana Jacoby is a national thought leader across various medical specialties participating billions of dollars in healthcare medical mergers and private equity transactions. Dana’s experience includes General Electric Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, and Allergan where she launched Botox in Asia. Ms. Jacoby advises medical practices, hospitals and healthcare systems on strategic planning, alternative payment models, financial management, operational efficiencies, service line development, and process improvement. Determined to change healthcare, Dana’s results are measured in lives saved through advancing product market development, medical practice management, provider compensation strategies, efficiency metrics, and process improvement.

Dana is committed to philanthropy through the international healthcare organization Project C.U.R.E. Recently Dana joined TIGER21 colleagues to deliver COVID relief to Central America. She personally travels to recipient hospitals and oversee the donation of medical supplies and equipment in the developing world.

Ms. Jacoby graduated from Louisiana State University, holds a Master of Management from Tulane University, a Master of Health Systems from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She is a Wharton Fellow and the author of several books, numerous articles and white papers. She is a recognized keynote speaker, panelist and moderator.

Dr. Kelly O. Elmore, MD, MBA is a board-certified obstetrician gynecologist who navigated her MBA in 2013, while building a full-time practice and KOE Medical Consulting Incorporated.

Since 2016, Dr. Elmore has been a dynamic leader in the C-suite. She managed a $1 billion dollar budget and created a multicultural marketing and branding team. The team garnered 11,000 new followers on Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram, which saved $645,000 in health care costs.

As an angel investor, Dr. Elmore has assisted minority-owned businesses in turning the corner to profit in the fashion, vending, and early childhood education industries. A 23-year veteran of the United States Navy, Dr. Elmore has set her sights on guiding women into the C-suite while bringing forth and executing health technology innovations from the most hidden, diverse, and creative minds.

Dr. Elmore works avidly with local, national, and international organizations to make health and well-being the primary topic of discussion.

Mirene Winsberg, MD, is a Stanford-trained psychiatrist with over 25 years of clinical experience. Dr. Winsberg has profound expertise in the application of digital tools and therapeutics that impact behavioral health. Dr. Winsberg leads and oversees Brightside Health’s psychiatry and therapy clinical programs, with a focus on optimizing engagement and outcomes in individuals with mental health conditions across the range of severity. Prior to Brightside, Dr. Winsberg applied her clinical skills in leadership roles at Ginger and Lyra, as well as serving as the on-site psychiatrist at the Facebook wellness center. Dr. Winsberg also holds a B.A. in Neuroscience from Harvard College and is on the leadership council of Brainstorm, the Stanford Laboratory for Brain Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Eric Klein, Esq., is the team leader of Sheppard Mullin’s 200+ attorney national Health Care Practice, which was recently named Law360’s Health Law Practice Group of the year for the third time in seven years.

Klein has over 35 years of practical legal and business experience, and his multisector practice focuses on health care transactions and regulation and current industry trends of population health management, global risk-bearing entities, consolidation, convergence, payor and provider alignment, the transformation to value and risk-based reimbursement systems, and private equity.

Known in the business community for his creative solutions and deal-making ability, Klein uses deep industry knowledge, entrepreneurial solutions, sophisticated negotiation skills, and effective legal process to meet the complex business and legal needs of both established and emerging companies.

Klein represents physician groups, hospitals, health plans, ancillary service providers, and private equity and strategic investors. He works with publicly traded and privately held companies across the country and advises both for-profit and not-for-profit clients on mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, operational and contracting matters, strategic planning, HMO licensing and compliance, regulatory matters and information technology transactions. Klein was listed as a 2021 BTI M&A Client Service All-Star, named The Deal’s Healthcare, Pharma & Biotech Dealmaker of the Year in 2020, and twice named Healthcare Law National MVP by Law360.

Eric Lucas is a managing director for Moss Adams Provider Reimbursement Health Care Consulting Services and has worked in the health care finance industry since 1996. He serves health care organizations with government reimbursement matters.

Lucas’s areas of expertise include regulatory compliance, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, accounts receivable valuation and analysis, government financial reporting, and revenue cycle management.

Lucas has participated in multiple industry payment workgroups, has significant experience with advocacy groups related to major reimbursement matters, has represented hospitals in media discussions, and was a pioneer member in the California Medi-Cal Provider Fee development team and continues to maintain a role in its success.

Before joining Moss Adams, Lucas spent more than 20 years on the provider side, and most recently, was the system vice president of reimbursement and government programs at CommonSpirit Health, a 142-hospital health system with sites in over 16 states.

During his tenure, he built a centralized reimbursement department and standardized processes, managed government reimbursement and revenue analysis activities, collaborated with internal and external leaders to participate in various reimbursement program opportunities, and was a key member in the development and implementation of government payment methodologies and programs.

Jesse Tamplen is the vice president of behavioral health at John Muir Health, a not-for-profit San Francisco Bay Area health system with three acute care hospitals with significant primary and specialty care ambulatory practices. Tamplen’s health care experience spans over 20 years as a clinician and executive in academic medicine, for-profit, and not-for-profit health care systems. He has led quality and financial turnarounds of emergency, hospital, and ambulatory services. Tamplen presents nationally on continuous improvement, culture change, leadership, and health care operations. He strives to inspire teams and medical staff to embrace innovation by fostering accountability, cultural humility, psychological safety, and collaboration.

Before joining John Muir Health, Tamplen served nine years at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Health and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals. He was vice president of ancillary and support services, executive director of operational excellence, administrative director of lean and continuous improvement, service line director of children's mental health, and multispecialty practice administrator. He led critical enterprise initiatives in these roles, improving engagement, access, quality, and financial performance. He has also served in key leadership positions in behavioral health at Sutter Health and the Telecare Corporation, which is a national behavioral health company.

Tamplen is a licensed clinical social worker. He’s board-certified in health care management by the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a past board member of the California Association of Healthcare Leaders. In 2023, Tamplen was appointed to the American Hospital Association (AHA) Committee on Behavioral Health to advise AHA on advocacy positions, public policy issues, and behavioral health strategies. He has also published work in cancer research.

Tamplen has been awarded the American College of Healthcare Executives, California’s Regents Award in leadership, Alameda County’s Mental Health Award, University of California, Berkeley Paola Timiras Award for Research in Aging, and was a Harford Foundation gerontology Social Work Fellow.

John Carroll is a partner in the Antitrust & Competition Practice Group with Sheppard Mullin. Based in the Washington, D.C. office, Carroll’s practice focuses on civil and criminal antitrust matters, including M&A, strategic counseling and compliance, and global cartel investigations, where he represents clients before the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and international and state antitrust enforcement authorities.

Prior to private practice, Caroll was in the Mergers I Division of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition for several years. While with the FTC, he investigated, challenged, and negotiated settlements in a number of potentially anti-competitive business combinations in the aerospace, technology, consumer products, defense, health care, and pharmaceutical industries and received an Award for Meritorious Service for work on merger litigation.

Carroll frequently speaks and writes on antitrust issues and has held leadership positions in the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law and the American Health Lawyers Association Antitrust Practice Group.

Jon Eide is the managing partner and COO at Echo Health Ventures. Eide leads operations and helps guide strategy to drive the execution and management of Echo’s strategic investments in innovative companies that are transforming the health care industry. Eide brings more than 20 years of deep investment transaction practice, as well as finance and accounting experience to his role as COO, including previously working on several Echo Health Ventures investment transactions as external counsel.

Prior to joining Echo, Eide was a partner in the corporate department of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his practice included advising financial and strategic investors with respect to investments and joint ventures with companies in the health care, e-commerce, manufacturing, and software industries. Before attending law school, Eide was vice president, finance in the Corporate and Investment Banking division at Wachovia, a Wells Fargo company, and started his career in audit and assurance roles at Deloitte & Touche and Arthur Andersen.

Karl Rebay is a partner and leads Moss Adams Strategy & Integration Health Care Consulting Services. He has over 25 years of experience in the health care industry. He provides high-impact health care advisory services to help the firm’s industry clients navigate and succeed in the rapidly evolving national health care landscape. His clients include health systems, hospitals, health plans, long-term care organizations, and independent physician associations, among others.

Rebay is primarily responsible for the development and delivery of a broad range of strategy services in the areas of growth, planning, financial performance, provider operations, and achieving maximum effectiveness and efficiency in health care environments. His specific expertise includes full-spectrum financial and operational consulting, market strategy and intelligence, project and strategy feasibility, capitation and value models, negotiation and analysis of managed care contracts, and physician compensation consulting.

Prior to joining Moss Adams in 2011, Rebay held senior leadership positions within the health care industry—including serving as the chief financial officer of one of the largest associations of physicians in private practice and serving as the director of finance for a publicly traded health system. Rebay has also served as senior administrative director of a large academic medical center.

Rebay is a frequent speaker at health care industry conferences and provides and facilitates regular training, both within the firm and to clients.

Lawrence W. Vernaglia is a partner and health care lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. He’s the department chair for the firm’s Industry Teams Department, responsible for overall strategy and leadership across all industry teams.

Prior to that, Vernaglia served for eight years as chair of the firm’s Health Care Industry Team. He represents hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers, and a variety of other health care providers.

Vernaglia's practice involves regulatory and transactional matters, including Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement compliance advice and appeals; M&A financing; state regulatory issues including licensing, change of ownership, and CoN/DoN; survey appeals; fraud and abuse Stark Law analyses; managed care contracting; and general corporate and business planning in health care.

Vernaglia serves as outside policy counsel for the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. He runs strategic planning programs for senior management and governing boards.

Michael Hunn is the CEO of CalOptima Health. He oversees its mission as the county organized health system for Orange County, California, serving more than 900,000 members, with a network of more than 10,000 providers. He works with the board of directors, board committees, members, and key community stakeholders to set and implement the mission, vision, and strategic priorities for the agency.

In addition, Hunn engages with the Orange County Health Care Agency, Orange County Social Services Agency, Orange County Board of Supervisors, state and federal elected officials, as well as state and federal regulators to administer the Medicaid CalAIM and Medicare programs through CalOptima Health.

Hunn has more than 30 years of executive leadership experience in president or CEO roles for large hospitals and health systems in Southern California.

Richard has worked in health care financial management since 1996. He leads the revenue cycle consulting team, which helps providers improve revenue management functions while navigating technology and regulatory changes.

Most recently, Richard was the vice president of reimbursement for Providence, a health system with 51 hospitals and $26 billion in revenue. His previous experience also includes working in the Consulting Practice of a Big Four firm and in revenue and population health functions for MassGeneral Brigham.

Richard has worked with most of the largest integrated health systems in the US as well as standalone hospitals, physician practices, and sub-acute providers. He focuses on identifying achievable value and has helped providers realize over $2 billion in additional revenue over his career.

Scharrell Jackson is an accomplished international keynote speaker and leadership coach. Leveraging over 25 years of executive experience, she elevates leaders to their highest level of success. She’s best known for her unconventional and custom approach that ignites the fire in leaders, converting ambiguity into clarity, insecurity into confidence, and fear into courage, yielding high-performance leaders through incredible breakthroughs.

Jackson has served as a chief operations officer, chief financial officer, and chief administrative officer across a wide range of industries, including fintech, manufacturing and distribution, not-for-profits, professional services, real estate, construction, technology, and wealth management. She drives strategy, profit improvement, mergers and acquisitions, operational efficiency, and human capital development—with diversity of thought and inclusion top of mind.

Jackson’s innovative model results in scalable and sustainable business success, leadership development, and cultural transformation. Her intimate approach through vulnerability and poise translates into atypical windfalls, growing organizations year over year at a rate of 25 %, top-line revenue from 3.5 to 400 million, retaining staff at a rate of 95%, headcount growth on average 5-times, operational expense reduction over 25%, and implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.

Jackson's ability to lead with diversity of thought while navigating the waters in industries lacking diversity, inclusion, and belonging sets her apart. She has a unique approach that motivates, inspires, and captivates because of her offering prophetic insights, business acumen, connections with learning, and tangible tools.

Jackson has a proven track record of transforming employees into leaders with a voice and a seat at the table, while guiding individuals and organizations to outcomes that outpace the competition and create an ongoing legacy of high-performing leaders. Jackson's engaging and thought-provoking presentations leave audiences with actionable insights and practical tools they can implement to elevate their leadership to new heights.

Stacy Stelzriede is a partner and national practice leader for the Moss Adams Hospitals and Health Systems Practice. She has worked in the health care industry since 1990. She provides audit and consulting services to not-for-profit and for-profit health care organizations, including hospitals, long-term care organizations, medical groups, and health plans with revenues ranging from $20 million to over $1 billion.

Stelzriede has vast experience in internal control risk management, revenue cycle, regulatory compliance, tax-exempt bond offerings and debt covenant filings, and providing client education training related to technical accounting issues and board governance.

Additionally, Stelzriede is experienced in conducting audits in accordance with Government Auditing Standards, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.

William Barcellona serves as the executive vice president of government affairs for America’s Physician Groups, a national professional association of over 300 medical groups and independent practice associations across the United States. Physician group members share a common goal to provide accountable, value-based health care services.

Barcellona develops and advocates state and federal policy for the organization, manages litigation and appellate cases, and manages legislative and regulatory issues. He’s been with the association since 2005.

Barcellona is a former deputy director for plan-provider relations at the Department of Managed Health Care in Sacramento. He oversaw health plan operational issues and handled policy matters for the DMHC.

Barcellona has also practiced law since 1985 in California and, prior to his service at the DMHC, spent 16 years at two major law firms in Newport Beach and Sacramento, primarily as a civil litigator. He was first rated AV, the highest ranking for an attorney for legal expertise and ethical practice, while a partner at Greve, Clifford, Wengel and Paras, LLP in 2000.

Barcellona’s current legal experience includes general health law matters with an emphasis in Knox Keene Act and managed care issues. He enjoys teaching and lecturing across the country on health care management, operations, and policy matters, and has served as an adjunct faculty member at the USC Price School since 2006, teaching health administration policy and management courses in the MHA, MPA, and MMM programs.

Barcellona serves on the University of Southern California (USC) Price School Health Advisory Board and has taught graduate courses in the program since 2006 as an adjunct associate professor. He was previously awarded the 2009 Alumnus of the Year award by the USC Health Services Administration Alumni Association. He currently serves on stakeholder advisory groups concerning Medicaid coverage expansion and managed care services under the Department of Health Care Services. He also served in the newly created California Provider Directory Collaborative.

Barcellona has been active in the community, serving as a planning commissioner and redevelopment agency commissioner for the City of Folsom; chairing bond measure campaigns to build new schools; serving as an officer of the Folsom Economic Development Corporation; and a director of the Folsom Chamber of Commerce.