Closing the Gap on Transparency and Affordability During COVID-19

Providers have been financially hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and now are struggling to get patients back in the door. Patient financing programs and improved financial communications is key to bridging this gap as one healthcare provider demonstrates.

Two years ago, University of Kansas Health System (UKHS) saw the impact high-deductible plans were having on collections, bad debt, and days in accounts receivable (A/R) for both hospital and professional accounts. It also recognized the need to ramp up financial communications prior to the point of service.

UKHS redesigned its patient payment plan model to include long-term, zero-interest patient financing for patients in need, with discounts for true self-pay patients. The health system also transformed patient financial communications to ensure patients felt better prepared to manage the cost of their care and help remove financial stress from the patient experience.

The results have been outstanding: a notable reduction in bad debt and fewer days in A/R for professional accounts; and financing of $14 million in patient accounts, with a recourse rate of just 8 percent; and increased patient satisfaction.

Learning Objectives:

1. Find out how UKHS transformed the patient financial experience, heightened transparency and affordability, and boosted collections during this session. Attendees will also learn how these changes set UKHS up for financial success during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Gain insight into why 74 percent of Millennials, 68 percent of Generation X patients and 60 percent of Baby Boomers don’t pay their medical bills in full.
   Find strategies for satisfying increased demands for transparency and affordability during a pandemic and beyond.
3. Discover the difference enhanced patient financial communications and affordable payment options can make in bringing patients in the door, improving collections and reducing bad debt.

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Chuck Alsdurf will join us from HFMA National to share the latest healthcare regulatory and legislative issues moving through Congress, Health and Human Services (HHS), CMS and their anticipated impact on healthcare organizations. Ryan Witz will follow with California specific updates including Medi-Cal reform (CalAIM), Medi-Cal managed care procurement, AB 1130: Office of Health Care Affordability.

SPEAKER BIOs:

Chuck Alsdurf, MAcc, MBA, CPA is the Director of Professional Practice & Executive Relationships Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). Chuck is a policy leader focused on the healthcare Senior Financial Executive perspective, identifying key trends, issues, and regulations to develop relevant content, education strategy, and offerings beneficial to our members. He is responsible for closely monitoring finance, accounting and payment policy to ensure the impact on healthcare is analyzed and communicated to the industry as well as regulatory agencies.

Ryan Witz is the Vice President of Health Care Finance Initiatives at California Hospital Association (CHA). He represents members’ financial interests related to Medicare, Medi-Cal, commercial payers and other government entities. He provides support on financial and reimbursement issues affecting California hospitals and health systems and represents CHA with stakeholders where hospital finance and technical knowledge is needed. Ryan is also involved with the development and implementation of the hospital fee and other financing programs.

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Uncompensated Care – Positioning your revenue cycle to drive yield from payer and patient

Most healthcare financial leaders are privy to the challenges uncompensated care poses and how greatly it can impact an institution’s bottom line. While it’s often difficult to avoid completely, there are strategies you can put in place to mitigate losses. In this live webinar, author and TransUnion’s Principal of Healthcare Strategy, Jonathan Wiik will speak to the contributing factors of uncompensated care and provide solutions to help you make a positive impact in 2021.

Learning Objectives:

1. The AHA Uncompensated Care Report — Uphill trends of ‘dollars owed’ analytics
2. Understand the rise in uncompensated care in an era of uncertainty
3. The state of payment from patient and payer today, along with a future outlook.

Join this session to gain an expert perspective and help better position your organization to identify opportunities to offset uncompensated care.

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Click Here for event presentation (PDF).

The course will be taught by two of the nation’s top CHFP coaching experts, Dr. Jeff Helton, FHFMA, and Sam King, FHFMA, FHIMSS. Dr.Helton is a former health system CFO. Sam is a senior healthcare executive with over 30-year experience in healthcare finance and IT. Both served on the HFMA National Board of Examiners(Dr. Helton as Chair and Sam on the Executive Committee).

Module II

Operational Excellence: CHFP aspirants must also complete HFMA’s Operational Excellence exam, which includes exercises and case studies on the application of business acumen in health care.

Click Here to Register.

The course will be taught by two of the nation’s top CHFP coaching experts, Dr. Jeff Helton, FHFMA, and Sam King, FHFMA, FHIMSS. Dr.Helton is a former health system CFO. Sam is a senior healthcare executive with over 30-year experience in healthcare finance and IT. Both served on the HFMA National Board of Examiners(Dr. Helton as Chair and Sam on the Executive Committee).

Module I

Business of Health Care: Participation and successful end-of-course assessment of the HFMABusiness of Health Care® online program offering participants an overview of healthcare finance, risk mitigation, evolving payment models, healthcare accounting and cost analysis, strategic finance, and managing financial resources.

Click Here to Register.

Patients are your new registrar. Are you ready? Join a panel of hospital and healthcare leaders for insights on why delivering a virtual patient
experience is not only a win for patients and hospitals but is critical to optimizing the revenue cycle. Our experts will examine how COVID-19
accelerated patient demand for digital access to healthcare and how that engagement makes patients your new registrars.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify which tools provide a simple, secure digital experience and enable healthcare consumers to safely engage with their care while
   increasing net patient revenue
2. Implement a best-practices process to onboard patients as your new registrars and equip them with virtual patient access tools to optimize
   your revenue cycle, prevent denials, and obtain maximum payment
3. Service the patient consumer by moving to online patient self-registration, out-of-pocket cost estimation and digital communications to
   improve patient loyalty, promote your brand, and attract and retain patients

Click Here to Learn More.

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This presentation will discuss:

• Why are complex accident claims so different
• Registration challenges and the questions we should be asking
• Why should hospitals focus on accident claims
• Complex claim specific KPIs

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Excel users have prepared reports the same way for decades … formulas and PivotTables. Typically, we export data from an accounting system, copy and paste it into an Excel workbook, clean and prepare it for use, and then use PivotTables and/or functions such as VLOOKUP and SUMIFS. But, that workflow is manual and slow. In this session, we’ll use Power Query and Power Pivot to improve our workflow. Specifically, we’ll use Power Query to get and shape external data. We’ll send the query results into the data model. We’ll use Power Pivot to organize tables and create measures and then use them as the source for PivotTable reports. If you frequently build formula-based or PivotTable reports, join this session to learn how Power Query and Power Pivot can help. Learning objectives: (1) identify which tool in Excel helps to import and transform data; (2) state the process for relating tables in Power Pivot; and (3) recall a benefit of using Power Query and Power Pivot when building PivotTables.

Click Here to Learn More and Register.

Do you love PivotTables? Of course, we all do! Traditional PivotTables are incredible … but, they do have limitations. If you have ever encountered one of these limitations, you’ll be excited to learn that by using Power Pivot, you’ll be able to bypass many of the restrictions that exist with traditional PivotTables. Power Pivot provides a new data source for PivotTables, and essentially combines the flexibility of formula-based reports with the PivotTable engine. Microsoft provides Power Pivot free for most editions of Excel for Windows 2010 and forward (currently, it is unavailable in Excel for Mac). In this session, we’ll explore Power Pivot and the data model, build PivotTables from multiple tables, create calculated columns, and write measures. If you frequently build PivotTables and would like to do more with them, you’ll want to understand how Power Pivot can enhance your reports and workflow. Learning objectives: (1) recall the steps to access the Power Pivot window; (2) identify the process to create table relationships; and (3) state the procedure for building named sets.

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In this session, we’ll explore the fundamentals of creating PivotTable reports. We’ll examine the report layout areas and how to update source data. We’ll also examine report layout options so that you can obtain just the right formatting and structure for your report. We’ll talk about how to group your report into monthly columns and how to filter PivotTables as well. By the end of the session, you’ll understand how to create basic PivotTable reports.

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Is CMS’ Pricing Transparency Rule keeping you up at night? If your answer is yes, you’re not alone. The rule is top of mind for hospital leaders across the country as it leads to significant repercussions throughout the health care system. Preparation can be laborious and requiring staff wear many hats, but even at this late stage, it is still doable.

Meeting the January deadline and sustaining compliance will be no small feat for hospitals. CMS estimates each hospital will spend an average of 150 hours and nearly $12k to review and post its standard charges for 2021.

In this conference session, PatientMatters and Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital (MSLC) will join together to provide an overview of the ruling and requirements along with the strategies implemented and lessons learned as the hospital continues to prepare to meet the price transparency January deadline.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify factors considered in MSLC’s internal discussions regarding the CMS Pricing Transparency Final Rule and how to meet its regulations.
2. Illustrate how MSLC will communicate/educate its patient community and staff on the steps it will take to meet the CMS price transparency rule regulations.
3. Lessons learned as preparation for the pricing transparency deadline continues.

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Do you ever import data into Excel, and then spend a bunch of time manually preparing it for use? Perhaps you delete extra columns or rows. Maybe you need to split a single column into multiple columns, or, combine multiple columns into a single column. The good news is that many of these transformations can be fully automated with Excel! Power Query is an incredibly powerful tool that, at a high level, helps us retrieve data from a variety of sources and prepare it for use. In this session, we’ll use Power Query to help with several common tasks, including flattening data, splitting and combining columns, formatting data, unpivoting summarized data, and combining several csv exports. If you frequently export/import data from one system to another, you will want to understand how to use Power Query to streamline your work. Learning objectives: (1) recall the steps to create a new query; (2) identify commands that transform data; and (3) state the process to return the transformed data to Excel.

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While the iconic VLOOKUP function is probably the most popular lookup function, there are times when other options may be a better fit. Depending on the type of workbook, INDEX/MATCH or SUMIFS may offer some benefits. And, depending on the version of Excel you are using, XLOOKUP may be a wonderful option. Join us to learn the pros and cons of the key lookup functions and when to use each.

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Week 5: Non-Compliance Costs More Than You Expect – Four Critical Tasks to Meet CMS Requirements

Today’s healthcare consumer presents new challenges for providers as patients continue to face increased responsibility in healthcare costs. This is forcing them to shop a service, which creates a need for meaningful and readily accessible price transparency. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Requirements set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2021, are presenting logistical challenges for providers. Navigating these regulations is a growing concern as the deadline fast approaches. This presentation focuses on interpreting the requirements, outlining the consequences of non-compliance and explaining the 4 critical tasks for compliance. We’ll also talk with providers about their journey to price transparency.

Session: Dec. 14, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m., CT
Workshop: Dec. 18, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., CT

Click Here to learn more.

Week 5: Non-Compliance Costs More Than You Expect – Four Critical Tasks to Meet CMS Requirements

Today’s healthcare consumer presents new challenges for providers as patients continue to face increased responsibility in healthcare costs. This is forcing them to shop a service, which creates a need for meaningful and readily accessible price transparency. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Requirements set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2021, are presenting logistical challenges for providers. Navigating these regulations is a growing concern as the deadline fast approaches. This presentation focuses on interpreting the requirements, outlining the consequences of non-compliance and explaining the 4 critical tasks for compliance. We’ll also talk with providers about their journey to price transparency.

Session: Dec. 14, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m., CT
Workshop: Dec. 18, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., CT

Click Here to learn more.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is a partner meant to work hand in hand when Veterans seek care outside the Veteran Administration. However, as commercial insurance carriers moved into the 21st Century, the VA did not keep up. Now, in 2020, the VA is attempting to catch up 40 years in single leap, which has led to significant changes and struggles.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand Optum’s role in the VA authorization process and create workflows to ensure submission of VA claims to the appropriate payer
2. Successfully capture reimbursement for services rendered to veterans
3. Learn the impact of COVID-19 and how to respond

Click Here to learn more.

Week 4: How to Turn a CMS Mandate into a Competitive Advantage for 2021

It’s no secret that price transparency is at the top of every hospital leader’s minds as we transition into the new year. And CMS has made it clear: compliance date is January 1, 2021; penalties begin July 1, 2021. With many uncertainties and predictions in the market, hospital leaders are forced to act quickly on this legislation by turning to their key vendor partners for support. What should providers be thinking about as we move towards a new year? In this session, we’ll share key strategies for how hospital leaders can leverage this mandate as a critical first step in their digital transformation. You’ll learn strategies for differentiating your organization from the competition – to ensure that price transparency doesn’t lead to a margin-eroding race to the bottom for service prices. And we’ll examine how other providers have begun leveraging ecommerce tools to help them convert a price-shopping consumer to a loyal patient. As the deadline looms for hospitals to make pricing for common services transparent and “shoppable,” we’ll review how this can be integrated within your overall revenue cycle strategy for 2021.

Session: Dec. 7, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m., CT
Workshop: Dec. 11, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., CT

Click Here to learn more.

Week 4: How to Turn a CMS Mandate into a Competitive Advantage for 2021

It’s no secret that price transparency is at the top of every hospital leader’s minds as we transition into the new year. And CMS has made it clear: compliance date is January 1, 2021; penalties begin July 1, 2021. With many uncertainties and predictions in the market, hospital leaders are forced to act quickly on this legislation by turning to their key vendor partners for support. What should providers be thinking about as we move towards a new year? In this session, we’ll share key strategies for how hospital leaders can leverage this mandate as a critical first step in their digital transformation. You’ll learn strategies for differentiating your organization from the competition – to ensure that price transparency doesn’t lead to a margin-eroding race to the bottom for service prices. And we’ll examine how other providers have begun leveraging ecommerce tools to help them convert a price-shopping consumer to a loyal patient. As the deadline looms for hospitals to make pricing for common services transparent and “shoppable,” we’ll review how this can be integrated within your overall revenue cycle strategy for 2021.

Session: Dec. 7, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m., CT
Workshop: Dec. 11, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., CT

Click Here to learn more.

Week 3: Effectively Communicating Transparency Efforts: Creating a Transparency Action Plan

The Final Rule deadline is rapidly nearing, driving organizations to evaluate how price transparency fits into their patient engagement strategy. With the right approach, organizations can go beyond compliance to make price transparency a competitive advantage. Learn best practices gleaned from leading health systems and hospitals on the steps your organization can take to increase collections and patient satisfaction in 2021 and beyond.

Session: Nov. 30, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m., CT
Workshop: Dec. 4, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., CT

Click Here to learn more.

Week 3: Effectively Communicating Transparency Efforts: Creating a Transparency Action Plan

The Final Rule deadline is rapidly nearing, driving organizations to evaluate how price transparency fits into their patient engagement strategy. With the right approach, organizations can go beyond compliance to make price transparency a competitive advantage. Learn best practices gleaned from leading health systems and hospitals on the steps your organization can take to increase collections and patient satisfaction in 2021 and beyond.

Session: Nov. 30, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m., CT
Workshop: Dec. 4, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., CT

Click Here to learn more.

Proactive Price Transparency: A Consumerism-Based Approach that Increases Revenue and Wins Patients

Forward-thinking hospitals are taking proactive measures to embrace price transparency by responding to patient demand for a digital experience and safety as accelerated by COVID-19. These market leaders are positioned to improve revenue capture, and increase patient volume, loyalty and satisfaction, by going beyond price transparency regulations to offer an enhanced digital patient experience.

Yet an analysis by Guidehouse Center for Health Insights reveals just 12% of 151 organizations surveyed are prepared for the January 2021 deadline. Many are hesitant to disclose their negotiated payer rates, while others lack the infrastructure.

Learn why providing patients with out-of-pocket cost estimates before the point of service not only helps to meet price transparency rules, it helps ease patient financial anxiety. We’ll uncover how delivering meaningful price transparency is a strategy for long-term revenue cycle performance success that is mutually beneficial for hospitals and patients.

Session: Nov. 16, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m., CT
Workshop: Nov. 20, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., CT

Click Here to learn more.

Availity RCM Presents

Break the Cycle: How to put an end to recurring denials

Appealing denied claims help you collect what you’re owed by the payer, but it doesn’t address the root cause. To truly manage denials, you also need to analyze denial patterns and prevent recurring data errors in future claims. In this webinar, you’ll learn how to build and maintain a proactive process in your practice and help you fine-tune your claim-management system to break the cycle of recurring denials. Webinar topics will include:

• Consultative and do-it-yourself models for denial prevention
• Provider experiences with denial prevention through Availity RCM
• How denial prevention can impact your revenue

Click Here to Register.

Proactive Price Transparency: A Consumerism-Based Approach that Increases Revenue and Wins Patients

Forward-thinking hospitals are taking proactive measures to embrace price transparency by responding to patient demand for a digital experience and safety as accelerated by COVID-19. These market leaders are positioned to improve revenue capture, and increase patient volume, loyalty and satisfaction, by going beyond price transparency regulations to offer an enhanced digital patient experience.

Yet an analysis by Guidehouse Center for Health Insights reveals just 12% of 151 organizations surveyed are prepared for the January 2021 deadline. Many are hesitant to disclose their negotiated payer rates, while others lack the infrastructure.

Learn why providing patients with out-of-pocket cost estimates before the point of service not only helps to meet price transparency rules, it helps ease patient financial anxiety. We’ll uncover how delivering meaningful price transparency is a strategy for long-term revenue cycle performance success that is mutually beneficial for hospitals and patients.

Session: Nov. 16, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m., CT
Workshop: Nov. 20, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., CT

Click Here to learn more.

Revenue cycle leaders have needed to quickly adapt to significant upheaval from the COVID-19 pandemic, not the least of which are the changes to the workforce. As we’ve adapted and managing a remote workforce has become the new standard, leaders need to effectively engage and manage their team – whether remote, in the office or a hybrid. At the same time, we must ensure office safety for those who are unable to work remote while creating a strategy to return to the office when appropriate.

Learning Objectives:

1. Effectively engage and manage their workforce, which is likely physically dispersed.
2. Maintain a safe office environment for those who cannot work remotely.
3. Create a strategy to return to the office when appropriate.

Click Here to learn more.

Week 1: CMS Price Transparency – How to Comply with Consumer Display & Machine-Readable File Requirements

Designed for hospitals just starting on their consumer display and machine-readable file, this session will include an overview of the requirements, 10 things you need to know, data requirements, how to lay out the machine readable file and 3 options to consider for meeting the consumer display requirement.

Session: Nov. 9, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m., CT
Workshop: Nov. 13, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., CT

Click Here to learn more.

The last decade has seen a seismic shift in the healthcare industry. Healthcare consumer expectations have changed, as has their relationship with the industry. Healthcare consumers want to manage their healthcare business online, and they expect a one-stop “Amazon-like” experience.

At the same time, there was a shift in payment responsibility from insurance to patient, which made it more challenging for provider to recover net revenue. Plus, many providers have fallen behind the technology curve and are unprepared to provide the seamless, online convenience consumers want.

Fortunately, there is a solution. Providers can onboard a digital engagement solution that both provides patients with an all-in-one financial experience and significantly enhances recovery rates and increases cash flow. One provider that integrated sch a solution saw improved contact and payment rates that exceeded their average recovery by 20% within the first few months.

Click Here to Register.

Beyond the News: Live! Election 2020’s impact on healthcare finance

webinar will take place on November 11th at 2 PM CT.

Register in advance to attend.

Join our Voices in Healthcare Finance podcast “Beyond the News” segment team, hfm Senior Editor Rich Daly and HFMA policy expert Chad Mulvany, for their breakdown of what the results of the 2020 election mean for your organization. Rich and Chad will explore:

• How presidential priorities will affect hospital finances
• Potential changes to Medicare, including possibly a large increase in beneficiaries
• Acceleration of price transparency and site neutral payments
• Potential major changes to insurance markets and payer mix
• Outlook for legislation to end surprise medical bills

After this program, you’ll be able to:

• Describe how legislative or regulatory changes could impact your organization
• Examine the timing of these potential changes
• Develop strategies to position your organization to success in the post-election period

Click Here to Register.

Week 1: CMS Price Transparency – How to Comply with Consumer Display & Machine-Readable File Requirements

Designed for hospitals just starting on their consumer display and machine-readable file, this session will include an overview of the requirements, 10 things you need to know, data requirements, how to lay out the machine readable file and 3 options to consider for meeting the consumer display requirement.

Session: Nov. 9, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m., CT
Workshop: Nov. 13, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., CT

Click Here to learn more.