Panel 1 – Think Again: What We Get Wrong About Health Care Payment and Why It Matters

Aisha T. Pittman, MPH, is Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), where she leads the organization’s advocacy and thought leadership efforts, advancing policies that accelerate the adoption of value-based care and highlighting the importance of provider-led transformation. She brings more than 20 years of health care experience, with expertise in payment policy, alternative payment models, and quality improvement. Her insights are regularly sought by Congress and national media, and she has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” and as a Leading Woman in Healthcare. Ms. Pittman holds a Master of Public Health, a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, from The George Washington University.

Richard Gundling, FHFMA, CMA, is Senior Vice President for the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). Mr. Gundling is responsible for the technical and content direction for HFMA, managing of its thought leadership efforts, and leadership of its Washington, D.C. activities. He also serves as staff liaison to the Principles and Practices Board of the HFMA. Mr. Gundling has written an extensive number of published articles on broad topics within healthcare finance and the healthcare industry. HFMA is a professional association with over 40,000 members engaged in the financial management of the healthcare sector. HFMA’s thought leadership has covered payment reform, value creation, revenue cycle management, accounting and financial reporting, capital access, and many other areas that drive healthcare organizational high performance. Results of those initiatives have been used by hospitals, rating agencies, regulatory agencies, congressional committees, accounting standard setting bodies, state hospital organizations, and other government and industry leaders.

STEPHEN T. PARENTE, Ph.D., MPH, MS is a Professor in the Department of Finance and the Minnesota Insurance Industry Chair of Health Finance in Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and Associate Dean of the Global Institute. He is the President of the American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon). From 2014-2017, he served as Associate Dean of MBA and MS programs. Dr. Parente is the longest-serving Director of the Medical Industry Leadership Institute (2006-2017). As a Professor in the Finance Department, he specializes in health economics, information technology, and health insurance. Dr. Parente has been the principal investigator on large funded studies regarding medical price transparency, consumer-directed health plans, health information technology, and health policy micro-simulation. In Washington, DC, he served as Chief Economist for Health Policy and Senior Economist on the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President at the White House in Washington, DC, from 2019 to 2021. Previously, he was Senior Adviser to the Secretary for Health Economics in the Department of Health and Human Services, Vice-Chair of Academy Health, and the Governing Chair of the Health Care Cost Institute from 2013 to 2017. He is the Founding Director of the Medical Valuation Laboratory, a nine-college interdisciplinary effort to accelerate medical innovation from scientists, clinicians, and entrepreneurs. Dr. Parente was a health policy advisor for the McCain 2008 Presidential Campaign and served as a Legislative Fellow in the office of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D‑WV) in 1992/93. He has a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University.