March 2020

Cover Story
Walmart's plans to test narrow networks selected on quality could set stage for a shift in employer-sponsored insurance
Walmart plans a ground-breaking test of narrow networks for its employee health plan that will test both enrollee acceptance and physician cooperation.
Features
How Orlando Health stemmed healthcare costs by eliminating unnecessary clinical process variation
An initiative to eliminate unnecessary variation in care processes for six diagnostic groupings enabled Orlando Health to significantly reduce its average length of stay for the diagnoses while realizing a substantial reduction in cost.
HFMA’s Consumerism Maturity Model provides an opportunity for healthcare organizations to assess their consumer readiness and improve their patient-friendly practices
Provider organizations can assess and improve their consumerism readiness using HFMA’s Consumerism Maturity Model.
Coding denials: Creating an effective appeal strategy
Distinguishing coding denials from clinical validation denials is an ongoing challenge, and a good place to review processes.
St. Luke’s Health System decides to allow carefully monitored, specific-payer access to its EHR after buy-in from all internal stakeholders
Idaho-based St. Luke’s Health System is allowing payers to access patient records directly through their EHR.
Advice from a hacker: How to safeguard medical devices from cyberattacks
The vulnerability of many medical devices to cyberattacks presents a serious safety concern for hospitals and health systems.
Columns
Healthcare finance professionals: Are you ready for the big wave of consumerism and transparency?
Healthcare organizations should avoid going into "protection mode" and actively respond to pressures from government, the private sector and patients to better serve patients while reducing costs of care.
Supreme Court's decision to wait to hear ACA challenge benefits Republicans
Democrats appear to have a strong advantage over Republicans in having gained public trust regarding healthcare policy, so it may be in Republication's interest to steer clear of discussions of healthcare in the time leading up to the November 2020 election.
The 5 keys leaders need to transform their organization's culture
More than simply updating office decorations or rewriting a mission statement, transforming a company's culture requires addressing deep-seated assumptions.
Don't allow risk aversion to get in the way of innovation
Failure to act can be failure to innovate.
The first step toward improving price transparency and the patient financial experience
HFMA President and CEO Joe Fifer offers advice on where to begin improving the financial experience for consumers.
Departments
HFMA exceeds 50,000 members for first time in its history
The announcement comes fewer than two years after launching an Enterprise membership program, which has grown to 91 organizations with employees in all 50 states.
HFMA Leadership Training Conference veterans Benway and Sabal emphasize career advancement and networking
HFMA Leadership Training Conference veterans share why they find value in going to the event: from networking and connecting to learning and career development. Find out why hundreds of members attend LTC each year.
In memory of HFMA National Board member Herman Guenther
HFMA regrets to inform members of Herman Guenther’s passing. He was a lifetime member, held multiple awards and honors and served on the National Board of Directors. Plus, career updates from others in the industry.
Supplements
Optum360 helps providers and payers work together to resolve revenue cycle problems
Optum360 illustrates how it is driving change across healthcare by empowering and engaging staff to be creative in solving payer and provider challenges and viewing the revenue cycle more holistically.
HFMA and CareCredit conduct survey on consumer-centric strategies being used to drive patient-centric healthcare
Consumerism emerged as a top concern among healthcare executives in a survey conducted jointly by HFMA and CareCredit.
Targeting deteriorating margins to preserve mission delivery
A tips-focused article about maintaining tight margin control to ensure an organization can successfully deliver on its mission statement. Includes lessons learned from a recent HFMA Strategic CFO Council meeting.