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Revenue Cycle: The Ultimate Team Sport

Analysis  |  By Amanda Norris  
   February 16, 2023

The HealthLeaders' Revenue Cycle Exchange is underway this week in Carlsbad, California.

Payer compliance and workforce are top of mind for the executives attending this week's HealthLeaders Revenue Cycle Exchange. As regulatory burdens and staffing shortages put strains on their revenue cycles, leaders agree they need to start thinking outside the box and working together.

When it comes to payer compliance, the leaders at the event say there are two major players that cause the most headaches for them: United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

When deciding how to work with these payers, there are a few strategies the leaders shared that work for them.

"Blue Cross always asks us to pull medical records. We don’t have the capacity to do it ourselves, so we requested that they send a representative down to do it themselves. And they did," Jeanne Stokes, CBO Manager at Ironwood Cancer and Research Centers, said.

While working with payers has been the biggest headache discussed so far, Christine Migliaro, vice president, revenue cycle operations at Northwell Health, reminded everyone that between payers, patients, and our own coworkers, "what makes our job complicated is what makes our jobs great.”

On the same note, Migliaro discussed in depth the importance of building a strong revenue cycle team when workforce challenges seem to be at their peak. "Your culture can’t be fake, it needs to be who you are," she says.

Even more important than a positive, honest culture is collaboration across the entire team. "I played many sports growing up, and they all prepared me for my current role because revenue cycle is the ultimate team sport," Migliaro said.

"We have 8,000 end users in our revenue cycle that do not report to us, and everything they do affects me. Partnership is really needed to get something done,” Migliaro said.

Discussion sessions were also held that focused on robust conversations about the No Surprises Act, including price transparency and good-faith estimates, and improving the patient financial experience.

Stay-tuned for more coverage of this event which will include “ideas presentations” from prominent leaders such as Michael Gottesman, assistant VP of revenue cycle at Northwell Health, and Allyson Keller, executive director at Piedmont Healthcare.

The HealthLeaders Exchange is an executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights. Please join the community at our LinkedIn page.

Join us for the next HealthLeaders Revenue Cycle Exchange! To inquire about attending a HealthLeaders Exchange event, email us at exchange@healthleadersmedia.com.

“What makes our job complicated is what makes our jobs great.”

Amanda Norris is the Director of Content for HealthLeaders.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

The revenue cycle event is underway and features in depth conversations on payer compliance and workforce challenges.

When working with payers, there are a few strategies that the revenue cycle leaders said work for them.

Building a strong revenue cycle team is key as workforce challenges seem to be at their peak for some.


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