Call for Speakers: 2026 MGMA Annual Conference 

Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), the leading association for medical practice leaders, is marking 100 years of empowering healthcare professionals to drive innovation and positive change in 2026. With more than 60,000 members representing over 15,000 organizations of all specialties and sizes, MGMA influences nearly half of the healthcare delivery in the United States. 

To highlight our centennial year, we are inviting industry experts, innovators and our members to help us celebrate a century of medical practice excellence — and help lead the next 100 years — at the 2026 MGMA Annual Conference, Sept. 27-30, 2026, in San Antonio, Texas.

Proposals must be submitted by January 29. 

Ideal Contributors 

We’re seeking practice leaders, executives and solution partners with firsthand stories of innovation, measurable growth or lessons learned from navigating real challenges in healthcare today. Ideal speakers for Annual Conference: 

• Bring practical insights that directly help other leaders solve problems 
• Craft interactive sessions to engage audiences via discussion and peer-to-peer learning 
• Help shape a space for shared problem-solving and meaningful connection. 

Topics and Expertise Sought for the 2026 Annual Conference 

Sessions should help medical group leaders tackle the business and leadership challenges they face every day. Proposals should offer practical tools and examples that apply to specific ownership models (private, system–/hospital–owned, academic, and PE-backed). 

• Operations, Workflow & Patient Access: Redesigning workflows, standardizing processes, improving scheduling and templates, optimizing patient access and capacity, and aligning daily operations with strategic priorities. 
• Financial Management & Cost Containment: Budgeting and forecasting, cost reduction without harming access or quality, service line performance, margin management, productivity models, and using benchmarks to guide decisions. 
• Revenue Cycle & Payer Strategy: Reducing denials and payment delays, improving front- and back-end revenue cycle performance, negotiating payer contracts, managing prior authorization and underpayments, and telling the financial “story” with dashboards and KPIs. 
• Workforce, Staffing & Retention: Strategies for recruiting and retaining clinical and nonclinical staff, optimizing care team roles and workloads, reducing turnover, building pipelines, and addressing burnout and morale. 
• Leadership, Culture & Well-Being: Leading and coaching teams, managing conflict and difficult conversations, building healthy cultures, supporting leader well-being and work–life balance, and developing emerging leaders. 
• Data, Analytics, AI & EHR Optimization: Collecting and reporting data, building actionable dashboards, leveraging analytics for decision-making, adopting AI and automation tools, and optimizing EHRs and other core systems to support clinicians and staff. 
• Patient Experience, Engagement & Growth: Improving communication and service recovery, digital front door strategies, patient portals and self-service tools, measuring experience, and connecting experience work to growth and loyalty. 
• Governance, Risk, Compliance & Cybersecurity: Practical approaches to regulatory and compliance updates, board and physician governance, enterprise risk management, business continuity, and protecting patient data and systems from cybersecurity threats. 
• Strategy, Change Management & Cross-Functional Collaboration: Strategic planning, market positioning and growth, service line or site-of-care expansion, executing change across departments or service lines, and collaborating with payer, hospital and community partners. 
• Value-Based Care, Population Health & Health Equity: Preparing for and managing value-based contracts and alternative payment models, care management and risk stratification, closing care gaps, and advancing health equity in ambulatory settings. 

Benefits for Speakers 

• Receive complimentary registration to the conference if selected to present. 
• Gain visibility as a trusted expert in your areas of expertise. 
• Spend time with an audience of engaged practice leaders who are there to share and find solutions to similar challenges. 

Tips for a Strong Proposal 

• Start with the takeaway: What will attendees be able to do differently after your session?  
• Use specific, plain language: Avoid buzzwords; focus on clarity and value.  
• Be audience-first: Frame the session around their challenges, not your biography or journey.  
• Highlight real-world application: Case studies, measurable results and proven strategies resonate most.  
• Aim for interaction: Design sessions that prompt discussion, reflection, or peer exchange.  
• Keep it tight:  
• Title: Under 15 words  
• Abstract: Under 250 words (100 to 160 is ideal)  
• Learning objectives: 3 bullet points using appropriate verbs reflecting the knowledge abilities gained (e.g., analyze, apply, evaluate)  

 Want to Contribute Elsewhere? 

• Existing MGMA members have multiple opportunities to help MGMA fulfill its mission of transforming the healthcare industry throughout the year and earn volunteer hours in the process. Check our Volunteer Opportunities page. 
• Have an idea for an article, webinar, podcast, training module, or other content? Learn more on the Contribute to MGMA page. 
• Are you an industry solution partner or vendor looking to position your organization and products in front of MGMA’s audience? Discover how to reach a national audience of practice leaders with the MGMA Media Kit. 

Diversity Statement: The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) values and respects diversity among its membership. This Association is committed to maintaining a climate in which differing ideas, abilities, backgrounds and needs are fostered with an opportunity for members from divergent experiences to participate and contribute. This open environment assists MGMA in accomplishing its mission by ensuring a wide range of viewpoints and knowledge areas are actively present in our Association and strengthens networking and learning among colleagues. We welcome our members, speakers, sponsors, and attendees to encompass a full range reflecting variations in race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, geographic location and professional level.