Cheryl DeMars, president and CEO of The Alliance, a Madison-based organization that helps self-funded employers control their health care costs, will be a featured panelist at In Business magazine’s first annual Health Care Summit.
During the morning program, she will be joined by industry experts who will share insight into cost management strategies for businesses. The summit will be held on Tuesday, May 14, from 8–11:30 a.m. at the Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club.
DeMars has been with The Alliance for 32 years, the last 18 as its top executive. She takes part in national and regional initiatives that support the goals of controlling costs, improving quality, and engaging consumers in their health care. She also serves on the boards of the Wisconsin Health Information Organization and the Wisconsin Collaborative for Health Care Quality.
During her tenure with The Alliance, DeMars has learned that by joining together and speaking with one voice, the business community can have a positive impact on policy issues that impact the local health care market. “Health care is becoming increasingly unaffordable both for employees and employers,” she notes, “but there are promising strategies employers can take to control costs without reducing benefits or shifting the financial burden to their employees.”
DeMars will outline those strategies as she joins Dr. Frank Byrne, president emeritus of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital, who will moderate the Health Care Summit. Another panel, titled “The Health Care Forecast: What to Expect in 2025 and Beyond,” will explore industry and market trends.
Other committed Health Care Summit panelists are: Michael Barbouche, founder and CEO of Forward Health Group Inc.; Dr. Nicole Hemkes, owner and medical director of Advocate MD; Phil Lindemann, vice president of data and analytics informatics for the electronic medical records company Epic; and Brian Meyer, director of analytics and underwriting for M3 Insurance.
The summit is sponsored by UnityPoint Health–Meriter Hospital, an integrated community health system in Madison, and Quartz Health Solutions Inc. in Fitchburg, which offers group and individual health insurance plans.
For more information or to register, click here.
