Location: InterContinental Kansas City at the Plaza, Kansas City, MO
Dates: August 24–27, 2025
The 2025 eSolutions Xchange Conference in Kansas City brought together approximately 100 technical and business leaders from Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) health plans and the vendor community to explore strategies for advancing electronic information exchange in healthcare. Verato returned as a sponsor, supporting discussions that emphasized interoperability, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) policy updates, FHIR/API adoption, and clinical data exchange.
A community focused on interoperability
The conference agenda was designed to highlight both the progress and the persistent challenges in interoperability. Attendees shared perspectives on CMS updates, emerging technology standards, and strategies for improving payer–provider collaboration. Beyond the formal sessions, networking opportunities encouraged candid exchanges about the realities of adoption, underscoring the collaborative spirit of the Blues community.
Spotlight on patient matching, indexing, and attribution
A recurring theme throughout the event was the pressing need for accurate patient matching, indexing, and attribution. Industry leaders noted that without a strong identity foundation, achieving the level of real-time interoperability demanded by CMS is nearly impossible.
The issue is far from trivial. Research shows the average duplicate record rate within healthcare organizations is 18%, with payer databases facing similar challenges. For BCBS plans, these inaccuracies contribute to inefficiencies, provider abrasion, and diminished member experiences. The message was clear: health plans require the ability to respond instantly to queries—whether for eligibility checks, clinical data sharing, or attribution—to support effective care delivery and maintain member trust.
Verato’s perspective: Identity First
These insights strongly align with Verato’s Identity First approach. By resolving patient and member identities with unmatched accuracy, Verato enables health plans to connect every data point to the correct individual in real time. This capability not only supports compliance with CMS directives but also reduces provider burden, strengthens payer–provider collaboration, and advances whole-person care.
Additional perspective on CMS’s direction can be found in Verato’s blog: Why CMS Is Putting Identity First.
Looking ahead
Organizers have already announced that the 2026 eSolutions Xchange Conference will be hosted by Verato’s customer BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee in Chattanooga. Verato looks forward to participating in these ongoing conversations, contributing expertise on data integrity, and helping the Blues community drive forward with more accurate, connected, and member-centered solutions.
