Keynote:

Matt Salo was named Executive Director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) in February 2011. The newly formed association represents all 56 of the nation’s state and territorial Medicaid Directors, and provides them with a strong unified voice in national discussions as well as a locus for technical assistance and best practices.

Matt formerly spent 12 years at the National Governors Association, where he worked on the Governors’ health care and human services reform agendas, and spent the 5 years prior to that as a health policy analyst working for the state Medicaid Directors as part of the American Public Human Services Association.

Matt also spent two years as a substitute teacher in the public school system in Alexandria, VA, and holds a BA in Eastern Religious Studies from the University of Virginia.

Agenda:

• 1:00 PM Welcome: Norman J. Beauchamp Jr, MD, MHS, Dean, MSU College of Human Medicine
• 1:15 PM Keynote Address: Mr. Matt Salo, Executive Director, National Association of Medicaid Directors
• "Report from the Laboratories of Democracy”
• 2:30 PM Refreshment Break
• 2:45 PM Michigan Reactor Panel
• Moderator: Dominick Pallone,Executive Director, Michigan Association of Health Plans
• Eric Lupher, President, Citizens Research Council of Michigan
• Chris Priest, Deputy Director, Medical Services, MDHHS
• Senator Mike Shirkey, Chair, Michigan Senate Committee on Health Policy
• Vernon Smith, Senior Advisor, Health Management Associates
• 3:30 PM Audience Question and Answer Session
• 4:00 PM Concluding Remarks: Mr. Dennis Paradis, Executive Director, Michigan Health Policy Forum

Downloads

Download Full Agenda

Vern Smith Presentation

Eric Lupher Presentation

Dominick Pallone

Executive Director

Michigan Association of Health Plans

Dominick Pallone is the Executive Director for the Michigan Association of Health Plans (MAHP), a Lansing based organization that represents 13 health plans in Michigan. Prior to joining MAHP, Dominick was a Partner at Midwest Strategy Group, a multi-client lobby firm where he specialized in health care, state appropriations, Medicaid, higher education, transportation, and state procurement. He has also served as staff within the state House and Senate, most notably as Committee Clerk for the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Joint Capital Outlay Subcommittee. Currently, Dominick volunteers his time by serving on the

Board of the Michigan Transportation Connection and was appointed by Governor Snyder to the Michigan Municipal Services Authority Board.

Dominick earned his Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from Michigan State University, James

Madison College. During his academic years, he served on the NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Council representing Division 1 student-athletes.

Eric W. Lupher

Eric has been President of the Citizens Research Council since September of 2014. He has been with the CRC since 1987, the first two years as a Lent Upson-Loren Miller Fellow, and since then as a Research Associate and, later, as Director of Local Affairs. Eric has researched such issues as state taxes, state revenue sharing, highway funding, unemployment insurance, economic development incentives, and stadium funding. His recent work focused on local government matters, including intergovernmental cooperation, governance issues, and municipal finance. Eric is a past president of the Governmental Research Association and also served as vice-chairman of the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC), an advisory body for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), representing the user community on behalf of the Governmental Research Association.

Eric holds a B.A. in International Relations from James Madison College at Michigan State University and a Masters in Public Administration from Wayne State University.

Chris Priest

Deputy Director, Medical Services, MDHHS, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Chris Priest is deputy director for Medical Services with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). In this role, Priest also serves as Michigan’s Medicaid director overseeing several health care programs, including MIChild and the Healthy Michigan Plan.

Priest comes to MDHHS after working most recently as Governor Rick Snyder’s deputy director of Strategy, where he advised the Governor on various issues, including health care and insurance. Previously, he served as the director of the Bureau of Medicaid Policy and Health System Innovation in the former Michigan Department of Community Health, which was responsible for many aspects of the Medicaid program and several health reform issues, and as the project manager involved with the health insurance exchange in the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Prior to these appointments, Priest served in the State of Michigan’s Washington D.C. office under former Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, served governors from the State of Indiana, worked with private sector clients on health policy, and worked in the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.

Chris holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from George Mason University in Virginia and a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University.

 

Senator Mike Shirkey

COMMITTEES

Shirkey serves as chair of the Senate Health Policy and Michigan Competitiveness committees, and is a member of the Elections and Government Reform and Energy and Technology committees. He also serves as the vice-chair for the Appropriations subcommittee for Community Health.

EDUCATION

Shirkey earned a bachelor’s degree from General Motors Institute (GMI) in 1978, and a master of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1979.

PROFESSIONAL

Mike is the founder and owner of Orbitform, a leading engineering company that manufactures forming, fastening, joining and assembly equipment for a wide range of industries and applications. The company provides world-class prototype engineering services for assembly of parts and specialized forming and fastening. Mike also worked for General Motors in various management and engineering roles for 13 years.

PAST PUBLIC OFFICES AND AFFILIATIONS

Mike served on the Columbia Central School Board in the 1980s and ’90s. Shirkey also is the past board chair of Allegiance Health System.

PERSONAL

Mike is the proud father of three and devoted husband of 42 years to Sue. Mike and Sue also have several grandchildren. He is an active member of the Jackson Free Methodist Church, and leads major construction/expansion projects. Mike also enjoys hunting, fishing, golfing and working out. He is also an avid woodworker in “grandpa’s workshop.”

Vern K. Smith PhD

Senior Advisor - Lansing MI

Vern Smith is a nationally lauded expert in Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP, state budgets and trends in the health care marketplace. He has authored numerous reports on current issues in Medicaid and CHIP, state strategies for containing health care costs and improving quality, and state preparations for the health reform.

Vern has presented before many national and state audiences, including the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments, the National Association of State Budget Officers, the National Association of State Medicaid Directors, the National Health Policy Forum, committees of the U.S. Congress, and Medicaid reform groups in several states.

He has been a guest on National Public Radio and is an often quoted public health policy expert for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek and USA Today.

Vern had a distinguished 30-year public service career, serving as Michigan Medicaid director and as budget director for the human services agency.

Vern holds a PhD in economics from Michigan State University. He serves on the board of trustees of Anderson University, his undergraduate alma mater.