NASHVILLE, Tenn.—For its third annual joint event, the National Association of Vision Care Plans (NAVCP) and the National Association of Specialty Health Organizations hosted nearly 200 managed care executives along with optical industry leaders for the 2014 Specialty Health Summit here in “Music City.”

The event featured sessions on the evolving impact of the Affordable Care Act and the emerging insurance exchange marketplaces, both public and private. A specifically vision-related track focused on trends in eyecare.

National Vision’s Bob Stein and MESVision’s Ric Piecuch described the goals of a new initiative in which the NAVCP Technology Committee is updating transaction standards originally created in 1979.

Disruptive technologies presented related to refractions included Opternative’s online refraction technology and Digital Vision System’s Vision Optimizer self-contained refraction and measurement system.

The Specialty Health Summit was supported by platinum sponsors VSP Global and Zeiss Vision; preferred sponsors Essilor, PFO Global, Transitions Optical and Palladian Health; supporting sponsors Beltone, HealthScape Advisors, QualSight Lasik, and Wonderbox Technologies.

Next year’s Specialty Health Summit is set for May 4 to 6 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas.

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(L to R) Among the NASHO/NAVCP leaders at the Specialty Health Summit were NASHO/NAVCP executive director Julian Roberts with NAVCP chair Aspasia Shappet and NASHO chair Andrew Alcorn.

The event launched with “Southern Nights: An Evening with Nashville’s Rising Stars,” an opening reception featuring country music singer/songwriters entertaining attendees in an intimate setting.

U.S. Congressman Diane Black (R) of the Sixth District of Tennessee told the audience about bills to improve the AOA.

Lovejoy Eyecare Consulting’s Wally Lovejoy (l) met with Vision Source’s president/CEO Jim Greenwood.

VSP Vision Care’s president Jim McGrann (l) and National Vision’s CEO Reade Fahs.

Carol Misso, Superior Vision’s VP of marketing, with Al Bernstein, president/CEO of Nationwide Optical Group, recently acquired by Refac Optical Group.

(L to R) United Healthcare’s Linda Chous, OD, and Philip Kaufman with the American Optometric Center Third Party Center’s Lendy Pridgen.

Opternative’s CEO/co-founder Aaron Dallek presented an online refraction technique.