Disrupting Healthcare Costs: Empowering Rhode Island Businesses
Are skyrocketing hospital costs impacting employees, slowing business growth and hitting your bottom line? Join us for a transformative discussion designed to empower employers with actionable strategies to tackle one of the biggest challenges in healthcare today: hospital pricing.

This summit will dive deep into the AHEAD (Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development) Program, a groundbreaking initiative, in which RI has been selected to participate, that is designed to control rising healthcare costs, promote fair hospital pricing, and improve health equity. Discover how your business can support RI’s participation in AHEAD which will benefit your employees and your business.

Click HERE to register!

Why Attend?

Learn how hospital expenses directly impact your business and community:

  1. Understand the Premium Connection
    Discover how rising hospital costs inflate your insurance premiums, creating financial pressure for employers and employees alike.
  2. See the Economic Ripple Effect
    Uncover how healthcare expenses hinder job growth, workforce retention, and overall economic competitiveness in Rhode Island.
  3. Drive Change in Your Community
    Explore the broader effects of hospital pricing on employee well-being and access to quality care.

Your Role in the Solution

This event is your chance to:

  • Understand the AHEAD Program
    Learn how this innovative model unites payers to promote hospital fair pricing, ensuring employers get a better return on their healthcare investments.
  • Champion Practical Strategies
    Walk away with proven tools and tactics to advocate for sustainable healthcare reforms that prioritize value over volume, benefiting both your business and your workforce.

Who Should Attend?

This summit is tailored for employers, policymakers, and community leaders who want to:

  • Cut unnecessary healthcare costs.
  • Support a healthier, more productive workforce.
  • Foster a thriving Rhode Island economy.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this critical conversation. Join us in working toward disruptive healthcare reform that aligns with the needs of businesses, communities, and the future of healthcare.

This event is co-sponsored by RIBGH, the RI AFL-CIO and RI Manufacturers Association (RIMA).

Price: Free 

Please note: This event begins at 7:30 a.m. Breakfast will be served. 

Click HERE to register!

 

EVENT SPEAKERS

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Zack Cooper, Associate Professor of Public Health and Economics at Yale University

Professor Cooper is a Yale health economist whose work is focused on producing data-driven scholarship that can inform public policy. In his academic work, he has analyzed the impact of competition in hospital and insurance markets, studied the influence of price transparency on consumer behavior, and explored the causes of surprise out-of-network bills. Prof. Cooper has published his research in leading economics and medical journals including the Quarterly Journal of Economics and the New England Journal of Medicine. Cooper received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics.

PANELISTS

Rep. K. Joseph Shekarchi, D - District 23, Speaker of the House, Rhode Island

Speaker Shekarchi was first elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in January 2021; he was re-elected as Speaker in January 2023. From November 2016 through 2020, he served as House Majority Leader; previously, he was Chairman of the House Labor Committee. Speaker Shekarchi is a graduate of Mount St. Charles Academy, Class of 1980, and graduated from Suffolk University in 1984. He returned to Suffolk to earn his law degree in 1990. In addition to his duties as a legislator, Speaker Shekarchi is a successful attorney in private practice for over 30 years. He has been the legal counsel to the Warwick Housing Authority for over 25 years and is a former Warwick solicitor.

Cory King, Rhode Island Health Insurance Commissioner

Health Insurance Commissioner Cory King was confirmed by the Rhode Island Senate on April 2, 2024. He previously served as the Acting Health Insurance Commissioner and Chief of Staff. During his time at OHIC, Commissioner King has led the development of Rhode Island's cost growth benchmark program, called the Health Spending Accountability and Transparency Program, implemented the OHIC Data Hub, and led the first comprehensive analysis of publicly funded social and human service provider reimbursement rates. Commissioner King is a graduate of Tulane University and Brown University.

Shawn Gremminger, President & CEO, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions

Mr. Gremminger was most recently senior vice president at Reservoir Communications Group and was previously director of health policy for the Purchaser Business Group on Health, a member of the National Alliance, where he ran efforts to improve quality and affordability for consumers and healthcare purchasers through federal policy. Mr. Gremminger has held senior leadership roles at Families USA, and America’s Essential Hospitals. Shawn began his career as a lobbyist for the Children’s Hospital Association. He achieved a Master of Public Policy from George Washington University in Washington and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA.

James Gelfand, President and CEO, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC)

Mr. Gelfand previously served as ERIC's senior and then executive vice president for eight years. He was promoted to the position of president in June 2022. He oversees all aspects of the association’s activities, which focus on programs that shape federal and state health and retirement benefit policies, and that impact ERIC member companies’ ability to operate under federal ERISA protection from a patchwork of conflicting state and local laws. Mr. Gelfand earned his J.D. at George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, and his undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Legal Studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He lives in Alexandria, VA with his wife and son.

Patrick Crowley, President, RI AFL-CIO

Mr. Crowley currently is the elected president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, representing 80,000 working women and men across Rhode Island. He holds master’s degrees in labor studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and in History from the University of Rhode Island. He also serves on the boards of several organizations, the Institute for Labor Studies and Research, the United Way of Rhode Island’s Community Advisory Board, the Rhode Island Center for Justice, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) and the Museum of Work and Culture Foundation.

Scott Boyd, VP, Human Resources, Amica Mutual Insurance Company

Scott Boyd has worked at Amica Mutual Insurance for over 27 years. He has served in several HR roles over the years. His current role is Vice President in HR where he oversees Compensation, Benefits and HR technology. Scott has served on the RIBGH Board of Directors for over 10 years. 

Click HERE to register!