Formed in 1998, the Managed Care Executive Group (MCEG) is a national organization of U.S. senior healthcare executives that provides an open exchange of shared resources discussing issues currently affecting organizations of care. In the fall of 2011, 61 organizations, representing 90 respondents, ranked the top ten strategic issues for 2012. While the issues were ranked based on their priority, this report discusses the top three issues that I believe are the most significant due to the need for competitive and interconnected products, quality support and cost containment. The Managed Care Executive Group (MCEG) The goal of the MCEG is to provide channels for the exchange of information among managed care/health plan information system executives and to provide opportunities for personal networking. MCEG provides a forum to develop policies related to the use of information technology and health care. MCEG provides feedback to provider sponsors and other providers on the trends and types of technology needed to ensure their products and strategies meet the current and future managed care needs of their customers. Additionally, their goal is to “educate executives about clinical and administrative trends in health care, new and emerging technologies, and other relevant information to help achieve the key goals of cost containment, effective service, and health care of high quality”. (Why We Matter, 2011) Administrative Mandates (HIPAA 5010 Compliance, ICDE-10) Administrative Mandates, including HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health), ICD-10, and HIPAA 5010, are all part of Administrative Simplification and the need to optimize systems… mid-paper… essential in ACOs. Retrieved January 16, 2012, from http://www.healthmgttech.com/index.php/solutions/payers/eight-reasons-payer-interoperability-and-data-sharing-are-essential-in-acos.htmlWise, N. , & Taylor, F. (n.d.) Moving forward with reform: The health plan for 2012 and beyond. Retrieved January 16, 2012, from http://www.htms.com/pdfs/MovingForwardWtihReform2012_HTMS_MCEG_Whitepaper.pdfPayer/Provider Inoperability. (2011). Retrieved January 13, 2012, from http://www.mceg.net/top-10/payer/The Managed Care Executive Group. (2011). Retrieved January 13, 2012, from http://www.mceg.net/Top 10 Issues for Health Plans in 2011. (2011, April 5) Healthcare IT News. Retrieved January 13, 2011, from http://www.healthcareitnews.com/print/24881 Why We Matter. (2011). Retrieved January 13, 2012, from http://www.mceg.net/about-us/why-we-matter/