NEWPORT BEACH, California, September 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

On the 7^th to the 9^th of November 2012, The Fairmont Newport Beach in California, North America, will host the most hotly anticipated event in the pharmaceutical calendar this year - GDS International's second Next Generation Healthcare Payers US summit (NG Healthcare Payers US2).

We know that healthcare is a massive business. But with a staggering 24 per cent of all government spending ($835bn) pumped into Medicare and Medicaid last year, 2012 and 2013 are set to become the most momentous years in healthcare history. Costs are set to rise significantly, and prudent investment will prove key to operational success in 2012 and beyond.  

With this in mind, GDS Internationals' upcoming summit is put in place to proffer a poultice to sooth the most common pain points felt by companies from across the sector. Some of the hot topics scheduled for this year's conversation include: healthcare reform, care management, cloud computing, customer enhancement, Medicare/Medicaid and payments.

As with each and every summit, there will be an influential selection of delegates that not only attend, but shape the program itself. This year's event will be attended by senior heavyweights from across the sector, including Samuel Nussbaum, EVP Clinical Health Policy & CMO for WellPoint; Donald Fischer, CMO for Health Alliance Medical Plan; Allan Korn, SVP Clinical Affairs & Chief Medical Officer for BlueCross BlueShield Association; Mark Caron, CIO for Capital BlueCross; Judy Feldman, SVP & CIO for Independent Health; and Rick Hopfer, CIO for Molina Healthcare. There will also be a range of sponsors in attendance, including PWC, Cisco, Capgemini, DST Health, ikaSystems.

Dennis Winkler, Technical Program Director for Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan, was an attendee at the last event. In his own words: "The one-on-one sessions, where you got to talk specifically about their product and about how things can and cannot fit into your environment - it just seemed to get rid of a lot of noise in the pipeline and really made for a very productive time." In agreement, Colin Hulin, CIO for Peoples Health, said: "It's been a very beneficial experience - I got a lot of great one-on-one interviews with various solution providers."  

Heather Briden, NG Healthcare Payers US Summit Director for GDS International - the global events company behind the summit - says: "We are very excited to kick off the NG Healthcare Payers summit. With 70-plus C-level and VP-level executives from the top health plans in the United States attending, the NG Healthcare Payers summit is an excellent three days of peer led, high level discussions on some of the most pressing issues impacting the healthcare payers sector in the US. We are hugely grateful for the expertise and input from all of our session leaders in putting the program together to help set this summit's focused agenda. As the world's business-to-business summits producer, GDS is organizing 60 events in 2013 from a number of different verticals. Our summit's products are truly global and every single one is run to the same exceptional standards."

For more information, please visit http://www.nghealthcarepayers.com

About GDS International

GDS International is one of the most innovative events and media companies worldwide - and a globally renowned producer of business-to-business summits, conferences, online information and advisory group gatherings. Founded in 1993, GDS International specializes in meeting the B2B marketing needs of our clients. Having a strong presence in mature industrial sectors but a finger on the pulse of emerging markets - as well as up-and-coming B2B business verticals - means we are perfectly placed to capitalize on the exciting developments brought about by the advent of a globalized economy. Our value proposition is simple: we deliver tangible business results from world-class events.

http://www.gdsinternational.com

Contact: Kimberley Hogarth
kimberley.hogarth@gdsinternational.com
+44(0)1179-261-420

SOURCE GDS International