From the SPNAM.org official website: The SPN Annual Meeting started in 1993 in Traverse City, Michigan. A dozen people met in a room with the hope of building a robust network of state think tanks throughout the country. Today, the SPN Annual Meeting brings together over 900 people from around the country, including state and national leaders, influencers, and professionals.

We believe that being good enough is not enough to win in the rapidly evolving political environment. We can’t afford to be outgunned, outmanned and outspent. The future of the country depends on it.

This year, the Annual Meeting is returning to the state where it all started. Freedom fighters will gather in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with an intentional focus on developing the solutions and skills to advance freedom at both the state and national level. Through the lens of our 2015 theme – Experience Freedom – we will consider ways to sharpen our solutions and strategies and help our core audiences envision their need for freedom. We will inspire and challenge ourselves to give Americans opportunities to experience the benefits of freedom to their everyday lives.

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) forum held a 40-minute taped Google hangout with panel participants. There was a lot of heated debate about the free market between Josh Umbehr, AtlasMD and the other panelists. Kristy Hawley, former chapter president of BRI-Georgetown, was the student moderator for the online debate. Ms. Hawley was able to ask a question that alluded to the fact that all of these new alternative payment models are driving consolidation into hospitals, and that it is also difficult for independent physicians to participate in these models because the price to play is too high with the requirements.

BRI is a conference sponsor.

American Medical Students Association (AMSA) presents the 2016 AMSA PremedFest

Join us for a full day of presentations, workshops, debates and lectures with some of the top minds in the healthcare profession, including a Keynote address by Dr. Patch Adams. BRI is an event sponsor, and Dr. Lee Gross, founder of Epiphany Health, President of Docs4PatientCare Foundation, and great friend to BRI will be part of the day's events.

Dr. Lee Gross, founder Epiphany Health

A Debate on Healthcare Reform: from fee-for-service to single payer (4:15pm – 5:15pm)

Is healthcare a fundamental human right? Or is it a commodity to be accessed on the free market? What is the role of the government in healthcare? Get in on the debate! In "Stage of Mind" track.
Featuring: Lee Gross, MD, President and Founder, Epiphany Health, and President, Docs 4 Patient Care Foundation

BRI sponsored a table, making many contacts and gaining an inquiry into a 2nd international chapter in Tel Aviv, Israel.