Curated meetings based on your RCM/PI painpoints and investments -30 minutes each -3 meetings per registered individual -All those not scheduled to take meetings will be encouraged to take part in interactive sessions, competitions and activities in the exhibition room.
This session will explore the financial impact of federal legislation updates, such as upcoming price transparency rules, on both payment integrity and revenue cycle management programs. We’ll examine how these changes are expected to drive new cost pressures, reshape audit and payment practices, and create fresh challenges for both payers and providers. The discussion will also focus on collaborative strategies - how both sides can work together to ensure compliance, mitigate financial risk, and proactively adapt their programs to achieve better outcomes in a shifting regulatory landscape.
Crystal Son is an Executive Director of Enterprise Data Analytics Solutions at Healthcare Service Corporation (HCSC), the largest customer-owned health insurer in the United States. HCSC provides access to care nationwide through Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas as well as through its broad portfolio of companies. Crystal has 20 years of experience in deriving intelligence from data and mobilizing teams to action.
At HCSC, she leads the Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships team, which leads key programs such as Payment Integrity, Responsible AI and AI Literacy and Workforce Readiness. She is passionate about real-world applications of data-driven insights, storytelling through data, and building high-performance teams.
Prior to joining HCSC in October 2022, Crystal held several roles at previous organizations, including delivery of data science advisory services, management of healthcare and government customer portfolios, and the development and launch of several new products. She began her career in data as an epidemiologist, first for the City of New York, then with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center but has called downtown Chicago home for the last 11 years.
Novelette Wallace is a distinguished Payment Integrity Leader with a rich background spanning over 30 years in the healthcare industry. Her extensive experience includes leadership roles within payment integrity, where she has played pivotal roles in both payment integrity vendor organizations and health plans. Throughout her career, Novelette has demonstrated a remarkable ability to build and lead Payment Integrity departments from their inception. Her expertise has been instrumental in establishing robust processes and strategies to identify and recover inaccuracies in claims, contributing significantly to cost of care savings for health plans year after year.
Novelette has held key leadership positions with industry-leading organizations, including Performant Corp, United Healthcare, and Aetna (previously Coventry). In each role, she has consistently delivered results by optimizing payment integrity processes and driving operational excellence. Currently serving as the Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Payment Integrity for Johns Hopkins Health Plans, Novelette continues to bring her wealth of knowledge and leadership acumen to the forefront. Her dedication to achieving and surpassing cost of care savings goals exemplifies her commitment to advancing the financial health and efficiency of healthcare organizations.
With a proven track record of success and a comprehensive understanding of payment integrity within the healthcare landscape, Novelette Wallace stands as a respected leader in the industry, contributing significantly to the success of the organizations she serve
Advanced Medical Strategies (AMS) is the premier provider of payment integrity, risk management, and business intelligence solutions to identify and address excessive claims, prevent and recoup overpayments, and effectively manage the risks associated with high-cost claimants and group health underwriting.
Priya Kesavan is an AI Strategy Principal at Microsoft. In her current role, she leads the development of long-term strategies and roadmaps for Microsoft's in-house AI hardware systems. In the past, Priya held several leadership positions in product management for SoC and systems development at Intel and Cisco. Driven by a passion for harnessing AI to address complex real-world challenges and improve user experiences, she is a strong advocate for "AI for good." Priya is also committed to empowering women in technology and AI, spearheading initiatives to foster their growth and advancement. She holds a degree in Computer Engineering from Madras University.
Ashwin Gumaste is an AI Architect at Microsoft. He specializes in building AI systems, scaling networks, and model estimation. Before joining Microsoft, Ashwin held key roles at Infinera, Cisco, and Fujitsu, as well as academic positions at IIT Bombay and MIT. Earlier in his career at IIT Bombay, he designed, developed, and successfully commercialized carrier Ethernet switch routers, earning India's highest science and technology honor, the Bhatnagar Prize. A distinguished fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences in India, Ashwin has made significant contributions to AI and network engineering. He has authored three books, published 215 peer-reviewed papers, and holds 28 granted patents.
Apala Guha is Principal AI Architect at Microsoft. In her current role, she studies AI model architectures and analyzes their behavior and performance on GPUs. With these insights, she co-designs SoCs, systems and compilers for Azure AI. In the past, she was part of AI hardware development at Tenstorrent and Lightmatter. She has a PhD in Computer Engineering from University of Virginia and has held several academic research positions on accelerator compilers.
