8:00AM – 11:00AM
Exhibition Set-up (In Exhibit Hall)
11:00AM – 11:45AM
Registration, Refreshments And Networking (in Exhibit Hall)
11:45AM
Welcome to DC: Introductions
Speaker:
Juliana Araujo, President, iiBIG, Inc. – Alexandria, VA
12:00PM
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:
Insights from CMS:
An Update on Current Priorities and Key Initiatives
Deputy Administrator & COO,
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS),
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services – Washington, DC
12:45PM
STATE of the HEALTHCARE INVESTMENT and M&A INDUSTRY:
Navigating the Challenges of Healthcare Investing in a New Era
- “State of the Industry” from the proverbial ’30-thousand feet.’ Hear from Front-line Healthcare Leaders and Legal and regulatory insiders and others..
- What is the latest from Washington and how are providers navigating the new disruptions in Healthcare?
- What is the growth outlook for private for-profit hospitals?
- Will the BBB result in closures or consolidation among rural healthcare providers?
- What is the outlook for middle-market M&A and Joint Venture activity in 2026 and beyond
Moderator:
Nivedita B. Patel, Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC – Washington, DC
Panelists:
Robert King, Healthcare Reporter, POLITICO – Washington, DC
Charlene MacDonald, EVP Public Affairs, Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) – Washington, DC
Toniann Richard, CEO, HCC Network – Lexington, MO
- Others TBA
1:45PM
AFTERNOON NETWORKING BREAK
2:00PM
Regulatory, Legislative & Legal Roundtable
The latest from the Administration, Capitol Hill and the Courts on changes affecting healthcare deal-making. Will States play a larger regulatory role going forward?
- How will changes in regulatory and reimbursement frameworks administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) affect dealmaking opportunities for Urban and Rural hospitals, physician practices, senior living organizations and other providers?
- How will State-level regulations change if Medicaid reimbursement is converted to block-grants and/or if States are required to pay a larger share of Medicaid costs?
- How will healthcare provider business models be affected by regulatory and policy disruptions?
- Will regulatory and legislative disruptions serve as a catalyst for the creation of new entrepreneurial healthcare organizations?
Panelists:
Natasha Murphy, Director of Health Policy, Center for American Progress (CAP) – Washington, DC
Panelists:
Loren Adler, Associate Director, Center on Health Policy, The Brookings Institution – Washington, DC
Carrie Cochran-McClain, Chief Policy Officer, National Rural Health Association (NRHA) – Washington, DC
David Lee, Principal, Leavitt Partners – Washington, DC
Charlene MacDonald, EVP Public Affairs, Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) – Washington, DC
2:55PM
Financial & Strategic Investor Roundtable: Healthcare Investment Opportunities for Strategic & Financial Investors (Hospitals, Private equity, VCs and, etc.)
- How are financial and strategic acquirers sizing up deal-flow opportunities in the next 12- to 24-months?
- What are the key market factors facing financial and strategic healthcare investors in 2025 and 2026?
- Which sectors will dominate transaction deal-flow in 2026 and beyond?
Moderator:
Ari Markenson, Partner, Venable LLP – New York, NY
Panelists:
Evan Atkinson, Senior Attorney, Dykema LLP – Austin, TX
Jeff Nahley, Managing Director, Rockefeller Capital Management – New York, NY/Nashville, TN
Cathryn Paine, Partner, Anzu Partners LLC – Washington, DC
Toniann Richard, CEO, HCC Network – Lexington, MO
-
Others TBA
3:55PM
Healthcare Partnerships & Joint Ventures Roundtable:
To buy outright or to enter Joint Venture Partnerships? That is the Question.
- When does it make more sense to enter joint ventures and partnerships than to engage in outright mergers or acquisitions?
- How are these transactions and business models being structured?
- What role do philanthropic organizations play in facilitating partnerships and joint venture opportunities in the healthcare space in general in rural healthcare in particular?
- What are the primary factors affecting the decisions to merge vs. to enter into partnerships and joint ventures?
Moderator:
Glenn Prives, Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC – Iselin, NJ
Panelists:
Kathy Gaughran, Senior Marketing Strategist, Healthcare Success – Irvine, CA
Brad Mostowy, Director, Northborne Partners – Atlanta, GA
Ron Reed, Managing Director, Cascade Partners – Detroit, MI
Dr. Nell Smircina, Managing Director, Search Fund 83, Novastone Capital Advisors – Alexandria, VA
5:00PM
Evening Networking Reception
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2025
8:30AM
Registration Open for Day Two, Continental Breakfast and Networking
9:30AM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
A Free-Market Perspective:
How Private Healthcare Investing and M&A Activity will be Affected by
The Big Beautiful Bill & other Healthcare Policy Disruptions
Michael F. Cannon,
Director of Health Policy Studies
The Cato Institute – Washington, DC
10:15AM
MORNING NETWORKING BREAK
10:30AM
Transaction Services Roundtable:
Dos & Don’ts Before, During & After the Healthcare Deal
- An examination of best practices in enhancing seller valuations, regulatory compliance, due diligence and more.
- The “dos and don’ts” before, during and after the healthcare
- What are some of the unique issues that arise during a distressed transaction?
- Will 2026 be a Sellers’ or Buyers’ Market?
Moderator:
Kevin Maahs, Managing Director, Vertess Healthcare Advisors – Pittsburgh, PA
Panelists:
Adam Davis, Executive Director, Juniper Advisory – Chicago, IL
Anjana Patel, Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC – Iselin, NJ
Derrick Walter, Director, Berkeley Research Group (BRG) – Washington, DC
11:30AM
Non-Hospital Rollups – Multi-Physician & Specialty Providers Roundtable
- Will deal-flow in the multi-physician practices sector continue to surge in 2026 and beyond?
- How are Savvy Practices adopting AI and other IT strategies to add value to their organizations BEFORE the Sale?
- Which specialty practices, (Behavioral, Dental, Ortho, Vision, etc.) are investors favoring and why?
- How will valuations be affected by changes to CMS provider reimbursement policies?
Moderator:
Ron Reed, Managing Director, Cascade Partners – Detroit, MI
Panelists:
Jesse Bethke Gomez, CEO, Metropolitan Center for Independent Living – Saint Paul, MN
Chris Dooney, VP Finance & Development, BrentCare Behavioral Health – Brentwood, TN
Blake Peart, Managing Director, Vertess Healthcare Advisors – Fort Worth, TX
Dr. Nell Smircina, Managing Director, Search Fund 83, Novastone Capital Advisors – Alexandria, VA
12:30PM
LUNCHEON
For All Conference Attendees
1:45PM
Healthcare Lenders Roundtable
- Traditional & alternative debt originators on the best strategies for sourcing the capital for completing deals.
- What are the key considerations when marshalling leverage in today’s healthcare environment?
- Healthcare deal-making landscape in the next 12- to 18 months from the POV of Healthcare Lenders.
Moderator:
Reed Van Gorden, Managing Director, Deerpath Capital – Chicago, IL
Panelists:
Erin Andrew, Senior Managing Director, 
Tal Lefler, Managing Director, CapitalOne Healthcare Lending – Nashville, TN
Derek Zeller, Director, Healthcare Lending, BMO Harris Bank – Arlington, VA
2:45PM
CONFERENCE CONCLUDES
iiBIG Thanks to ALL of our clients for over SEVENTEEN Years of Healthcare Deal-Making Leadership!
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS
Continuing Education Credits (e.g. CLE, CPE, CME, etc.) may be available for attending this iiBIG conference. Following the conference, attendees may request to be provided with a “Certificate of Completion” and a copy of the conference agenda, showing topics, length of sessions, and name(s) and professional affiliation(s) of presenter(s) for each session. Attendees wishing to apply for continuing education credits for attending this conference may submit this documentation to the relevant organization in his/her state when applying for such credits. In accordance with general standards, one continuing education credit is generally granted per each session based on a 50-minute hour.