Industry Insights
HBMA RCM Advisor Q1 2019 - President's Message
Insights
From Silver to Gold…
I am grateful for the opportunity to lead HBMA this year and sincerely appreciate those who have served before me for helping HBMA become the organization it is today. I must also recognize those who serve and have served on the board of directors, as well as committee chairs, vice chairs, and volunteers for their key roles in shaping HBMA.
A special thank you to all our members, volunteers, vendors, and our partners at SmithBucklin for the strong momentum HBMA is carrying coming into 2019. As we look back on our 25th anniversary year, we capped off many successes with an incredible 2018 Healthcare Revenue Cycle Conference and celebration that not even the impact of Hurricane Florence could stop! The commitment it took to evaluate the situation, reschedule the event, attend, and enjoy exemplifies the dedication, loyalty, and togetherness HBMA has.
Some big successes during this past year to remember:
The kickoff of the HBMA Compliance Accreditation Program was a huge accomplishment. This establishes standards for implementation and adherence to HIPAA, HITECH, OIG, and more for RCM companies and other organizations—a true industry first and one-of-a-kind certification only available through HBMA. As we have outgrown being merely “billers,” compliance has become a key component in distinguishing and defining ourselves as RCM professionals.
Our long established individual member certification program, the Certified Healthcare Business Management Executive (CHBME), has been refreshed with a revamped exam. New questions and content have been developed to keep this distinction relevant and current with the changes that have occurred within our industry.
To top off the year, we delivered the long awaited Billing Fee Survey, a huge member value. The membership provided strong participation, which helped to create a consolidated update and reference for pricing of our services. Information and data are important to us all in understanding our businesses, and HBMA plans to continue to provide more benchmarking and surveys on a regular schedule to keep with this key strategic initiative.
With such great value in individual and company certification, education, and information, it is no surprise to see our new member numbers continue to rise. Growing HBMA will allow us to invest further into member value to continue to improve our educational offerings and advocacy efforts.
A key strength of HBMA is our Government Relations Committee and presence in Washington, D.C. They continue to collaborate with our lobbyists to work with CMS and other government officials on a variety of issues surrounding the legislation and regulation within our industry. This was no more evident than during the annual Advocacy Meeting in June when the GR Committee and HBMA leadership spent two full days in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., with federal administrators and office holders to promote improvements and provide feedback on behalf of
the RCM industry.
Our partnership with the private sector continues to advance through the work of the Commercial Payor Relations Committee. They hosted quarterly multi-payer calls including HBMA members and representatives from Aetna, Cigna, Humana, and United Healthcare. The committee has not only proved to be a valuable asset in working with the payers to better connect our workflow and understanding of their policies, but enabled sharing and learning among the payers themselves.
I would be remiss not to mention HBMA’s vendors in this message. HBMA works extremely close with its vendors, and the vast tools and resources they provide are only the tip of their
contribution to our association. They provide us the means to improve our business and keep ahead of the competition. They sponsor and support us at our events, add to our educational content, contribute to our committees, and act as advisers.
To keep our positive direction, valuable services, learning opportunities, and influence, we need your enduring support, participation, and involvement. We have many challenges to face in our business and our industry—as HBMA, we can successfully face them together. Here’s to a great start to our gold milestone!
– Mick Polo, CHBME, HBMA President
A special thank you to all our members, volunteers, vendors, and our partners at SmithBucklin for the strong momentum HBMA is carrying coming into 2019. As we look back on our 25th anniversary year, we capped off many successes with an incredible 2018 Healthcare Revenue Cycle Conference and celebration that not even the impact of Hurricane Florence could stop! The commitment it took to evaluate the situation, reschedule the event, attend, and enjoy exemplifies the dedication, loyalty, and togetherness HBMA has.
Some big successes during this past year to remember:
The kickoff of the HBMA Compliance Accreditation Program was a huge accomplishment. This establishes standards for implementation and adherence to HIPAA, HITECH, OIG, and more for RCM companies and other organizations—a true industry first and one-of-a-kind certification only available through HBMA. As we have outgrown being merely “billers,” compliance has become a key component in distinguishing and defining ourselves as RCM professionals.
Our long established individual member certification program, the Certified Healthcare Business Management Executive (CHBME), has been refreshed with a revamped exam. New questions and content have been developed to keep this distinction relevant and current with the changes that have occurred within our industry.
To top off the year, we delivered the long awaited Billing Fee Survey, a huge member value. The membership provided strong participation, which helped to create a consolidated update and reference for pricing of our services. Information and data are important to us all in understanding our businesses, and HBMA plans to continue to provide more benchmarking and surveys on a regular schedule to keep with this key strategic initiative.
With such great value in individual and company certification, education, and information, it is no surprise to see our new member numbers continue to rise. Growing HBMA will allow us to invest further into member value to continue to improve our educational offerings and advocacy efforts.
A key strength of HBMA is our Government Relations Committee and presence in Washington, D.C. They continue to collaborate with our lobbyists to work with CMS and other government officials on a variety of issues surrounding the legislation and regulation within our industry. This was no more evident than during the annual Advocacy Meeting in June when the GR Committee and HBMA leadership spent two full days in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., with federal administrators and office holders to promote improvements and provide feedback on behalf of
the RCM industry.
Our partnership with the private sector continues to advance through the work of the Commercial Payor Relations Committee. They hosted quarterly multi-payer calls including HBMA members and representatives from Aetna, Cigna, Humana, and United Healthcare. The committee has not only proved to be a valuable asset in working with the payers to better connect our workflow and understanding of their policies, but enabled sharing and learning among the payers themselves.
I would be remiss not to mention HBMA’s vendors in this message. HBMA works extremely close with its vendors, and the vast tools and resources they provide are only the tip of their
contribution to our association. They provide us the means to improve our business and keep ahead of the competition. They sponsor and support us at our events, add to our educational content, contribute to our committees, and act as advisers.
To keep our positive direction, valuable services, learning opportunities, and influence, we need your enduring support, participation, and involvement. We have many challenges to face in our business and our industry—as HBMA, we can successfully face them together. Here’s to a great start to our gold milestone!
– Mick Polo, CHBME, HBMA President
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