NAVCP's Julian Roberts (L) with Davis Vision's Joe Wende, OD, conference chair (R). |
The meeting – the first since the NAVCP became an affiliate of the National Association of Specialty Health Organizations (NASHO) March 1 – drew about 100 attendees from various segments of the eyecare business.
Opening the meeting, Joe Wende, OD, of Davis Vision, the NAVCP's first vice president and conference chair, and Julian Roberts, executive director of both the NAVCP and NASHO, outlined the group's recent actions and objectives. Wende noted that three new members – ProFit Optix, General Vision Services, and, earlier this month, VSP Vision Care – have recently joined the NAVCP, bringing its total to 17 primary and 17 allied members. He said the organization's actions during the the past year include weighing in on health-care reform with state and Federal governments, expanding its presence at key industry events, and studying the NAVCP's orgtanizational structure with an eye toward increasing its legislative activities and developing a strategic plan for the next three years.
Roberts noted that under the terms of the NAVCP/NASHO alliance, the NAVCP now has four seats on the NASHO board and one of its parent, the American Association of Preferred Providers Organizations. In the future, the annual NAVCP conference will be held in conjunction with NASHO's annual meeting.
Roberts said that in the year ahead, the NAVCP will develop a management recruitment campaign and hold quarterly member-orientation seminars. The group also plans a membership-wide conference call on June 2 to encourage current members to recruit others. In addition, the organization hopes to increase revenues by offering sponsorship opportunities to industry companies, including sponsorship of a new NAVCP webinar series planned forthe third and fourth quarters of this year. Other goals for the coming year include developing a stronger legislative and regulatory presence through policy alliances and raising the NAVCP's profile on the state and Federal levels; raising the profile of vision plans in general through various outreach efforts; and planning for future growth of the organization by developing a 2012 business plan with five-year projections and goals.
During the meeting, the current officers and directors were re-elected unanimously. In addition to Wende, Richard Sanchez of Advantica remains NAVCP president, Aspasia Shappet of MESVision is secretary/treasurer, Erich Steinberg of AlwaysCare Benefits is VP-legislative affairs, Kimberly Hess of Superior Vision Services is VP-marketing, La Jeanne Niles of Carl Zeiss Vision is VP-membership and David Lavely, OD, of OptiCare Managed Vision is VP-industry relations. Troy Hall of EyeMed Vision Care and Don Yee of United Healthcare Visionwere also re-elected as directors at large.
