15TH ANNUAL MMBA EXPO RECAP

With the ever-changing community landscape due to Covid, in-person meetings for educational and networking opportunities are few and far between these days. The Michigan Medical Billers Association was proud to present to their members a very well-rounded in-person expo in Bay City September 26^th and 27^th.

For those members who unfortunately couldn’t attend, here is a short recap on all the festivities you missed. The 15^th annual expo events began with a small VIP gathering on Monday night, where members and vendors had a chance to interact, enjoy cocktails and desserts, and participate in games to win gift cards and a one year free membership to the MMBA. The room’s excitement and atmosphere garnered the attention of people from other hotel events who tried to even “crash” the party!

The excitement carried over into the next day, where the lively (and highly caffeinated) Randy Dean began the sessions with his keynote presentation “Finding an Extra Hour Every Day:  Time Management Tips for Busy People”. If the delicious breakfast buffet and strong, hot coffee didn’t wake you up and get you ready for the day of learning, Randy Dean certainly did! His infectious enthusiasm for taking back some time in the day for yourself was a great kick-off.

This year, the MMBA put together such a wide assortment of topics from last year’s evaluation results such as sessions on the Revenue Cycle, Dermatology Services, Pain Management Concerns, Telehealth Guidelines, Mental Health Billing and the emergence of Availity in place of web-DENIS to name a few. Unfortunately, accommodations had to be made for a few speakers who could not be with us at the last moment due to family health issues, but through the technology of ZOOM and the professionalism of the MMBA’s Director of Special Events Jill Young, every session that was scheduled took place seamlessly.

During the lunch break where everybody dined on Chicken Alfredo, Lasagna, salads and desserts, many visited the variety of vendors that were able to join us. We had people from Merchants & Medical Credit Corporation, Opulenza Designs, The Computer Guys and many more.

The vendors had fantastic tabletop giveaways in the form of battery packs, portfolios, tote bags, etc. and on top of their table giveaways, they also donated to the end of the day giveaways. Giveaways this year included a wine basket, aromatherapy basket, Scentsy baskets, Pamperchef items, a Margarita set, a couple iPod 3^rd Generation, many wonderful gift cards and much more! There were around 50 donations that our lucky attendees had the opportunity to win.

To say that the 15^th annual MMBA expo experience was full of knowledge and fun is a definite understatement and topping it next year seems like a daunting task, but one I know the MMBA expo staff will undoubtedly pull off in new and exciting ways.

If you were unable to attend, but have suggestions on topics you’d like us to provide either in a chapter webinar presentation or for next year’s expo, please contact us at info@MMBAonline.org.

 

Michelle Pierson, CMRS, CMCS      

Michelle has worked for Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon D Gary Wolford DDS since 1996. She started in the office as his receptionist and through the years has worked to become the surgical scheduler, referral specialist and insurance credentialing liaison. In 2014, she became the office insurance biller/coder and one year later the office manager as well. Michelle has been a part of the Michigan Medical Billers Association for over 8 years! In 2017, she completed the CMRS course and during the 2020 COVID shutdown completed the CMCS course. Michelle looks forward to serving the members of MMBA as the East Michigan Chair!