NADP Consortium Update: Lessons Learned
Tuesday, September 24
4:00 PM - 4:45 PM (CT)
This session will reunite the Consortium facilitators and a few participants in a frank discussion about of what went well and lessons learned. In spring 2024, NADP will pilot test its first Consortium, in which 22 NADP member companies opted into two months of hands-on sessions to deepen their competencies to operate successfully in states that have MLR reporting or other requirements. Topics for future consortia would be discussed and the audience would be polled for its preferences. the session has two purposes:
- Recapitulate the MLR Consortium activity at a high level for people who did not participate. This will not include revealing the proprietary content, but could easily be a summary slide of each consortium session that provides good overview information without revealing proprietary information.
- Solicit and offer thoughts on the topic for the next consortium… We would survey members beforehand and on future topics, present the survey results at the CONVERGE session, and then discuss the preferred topic of the next consortium.
Mike Adelberg
Executive Director
National Association of Dental Plans
In November 2022, Michael (Mike) Adelberg joined NADP as Executive Director. Adelberg comes to NADP after leading Faegre Drinker Consulting’s healthcare provider and plans practice in Washington, DC, where his practice was largely focused on insurance benefits, including dental benefits. Before joining Faegre Drinker Consulting, Mike held several senior positions within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Adelberg was responsible for establishing the Affordable Care Act policy for pediatric dental coverage and stand-alone dental plans. Before that, he oversaw Medicare Advantage plan contracting and market conduct, including supplemental dental benefits.
Adelberg holds a master’s degrees in Public Policy and Administration from Northern Illinois University, and History from Rutgers University. He’s authored or co-authored studies in leading journals such as Health Affairs, the American Journal of Managed Care, and Health Services Research, led or co-led four foundation projects, and has been quoted in leading media including the New York Times, Washington Post, and NPR.org.
Joanne Fontana, FSA, MAAA
Principal and Consulting Actuary
Milliman
Joanne Fontana is a principal and consulting actuary in the Health Practice of Milliman’s Hartford office. She has been with the firm since 2006. During that time, she has consulted for insurance companies, including several major dental carriers, employers, government entities, and other organizations. Joanne’s focus has been mainly on managed care and dental, with experience in premium rate development, provider contract analysis, valuation of post-retirement health benefits and health care reform. Over the past several years, she has worked closely with the National Association of Dental Plans, the California Association of Dental Plans, the American Dental Association, and other dental clients to assess the impact of health care reform on the dental industry. She manages Milliman’s Dental Actuarial Analytics PPO Network Study. This product uses a vast contributor database of dental claims to provide competitive insights on dental network discounts and utilization to study participants. She has worked with carriers and employer groups on dental insurance procurement and Medicaid dental procurements with state entities and bidders. She has done core actuarial dental pricing and underwriting work for many dental carriers. Joanne is considered an industry expert in dental products and pricing; she has presented on dental-related issues at multiple industry forums and authored many topical articles. Before joining Milliman, Joanne spent more than 10 years as an actuary with Cigna, where she held various healthcare financial leadership roles, including Chief Actuary of CIGNA’s dental insurance business.
Bernard LaPine
Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs
Highmark
Bernard J. LaPine is the Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs for Highmark Inc. Since joining Highmark in 2014, Bernard has been instrumental in the legislative affairs activities for Highmark’s dental subsidiary, United Concordia Dental, and its stop loss subsidiary, HM Insurance Group. He also plays a key role in managing Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and commercial compliance programs for United Concordia Dental. These responsibilities highlight his significant contributions to the company.
Bernard's career in the health insurance industry spans over 25 years, during which he has held various regulatory, compliance, and legislative roles. His experience includes providing support for full-service commercial, Medicare and Medicaid plans with operations in multiple states, such as Aetna, Coventry Health Care, and Mid-Atlantic Medical Services. This extensive experience underscores his deep understanding and expertise in the field.
In addition to serving on the CADP Board of Directors and CADP Legislative and Regulatory Committee, Bernard currently serves on the NADP PAC Committee, the NADP Government Funded Workgroup, and Vice Chair of the NADP Government Relations Workgroup. He also participates in several other insurance-related associations, including the Alliance of Maryland Dental Plans, the Self-insurance Institute of America, and America’s Health Insurance Plans. Bernard graduated from Gettysburg College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and received his Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University Thomas Cooley Law School. He is a licensed attorney and a State Bar of Pennsylvania member.
Lauren Oakley
Associate Director of Communications and Technology
National Association of Dental Plans
Lauren Oakley has been with NADP since January 2014, bringing extensive experience in the dental industry since 2009. She leads NADP’s technology services, managing the organization's technology infrastructure, including websites, content management systems, communication tools, and data management systems. Lauren also oversees multimedia, digital, communications, and marketing activities and serves as the staff lead for the NADP consortium program. Before joining NADP, Lauren worked at the Texas Dental Association (TDA) as the Publications Coordinator and at the Texas Academy of General Dentistry (TAGD) as the Communications Coordinator. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science in Information and Communications Technology, with a focus on website design, development, and project management, from the University of Denver.
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