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Fall, October 2016
The Maine Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association is a professional membership organization for individuals in financial management of healthcare institutions and related organizations
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The Maine Chapter of HFMA is continuing its newsletter contest!
Last Quarter's winner was:
Kelsi West
Reimbursement Analyst
Maine Medical Center
(For contest details, check out the right panel below)
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Greetings Maine Chapter HFMA Members
Message from the President
Greetings Maine Chapter of HFMA Members!
Hopefully all of you have had the opportunity to enjoy the colorful fall foliage we had this year. It feels like the summer just started but we are getting close to setting our clocks back and this morning's forecast calls for snow in the mountains by the end of the week. The seasons seem to be flying by!
The Chapter held its annual meeting at Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay Harbor on September 15th and 16th. We welcomed Carol Friesen, FHFMA, the 2016-2017 HFMA National Chair-Elect as our keynote speaker. Carol installed the current year chapter officers and discussed how HFMA can assist its members Thrive in this new era of healthcare reform.
A revamped Revenue Cycle session will be held December 1-2 at the Sable Oaks Marriott in South Portland. Topics include; Annual Charge Master Update: Best Practices to Start off the New Year Right, ERISA Basics for Provider Contracting, and Mandated Benefits and Appeal Rights for Maine Residents to name a few. Please be sure to check the full agenda for all the topics and details. Invitations have been sent out for this program. If you did not receive one, please contact Natasha Erb at
nerb@mcd.org
.
To kick off 2017, we will be offering a 2 day program at the MHA in Augusta in January covering Medicare and Medicaid Regulatory Updates. In February, we will have a Physician Practice Management program also in Augusta and in April, we will bring back the 2-day Spring Symposium that will cover Hot Topics and Accounting Updates.
Make sure to mark your calendars for May 24th and 25th for what is sure to be another great Region 1 Conference at Mohegan Sun. There will again be three tracks.
Please check the Maine HFMA website at
www.mainehfma.org
for the most updated listing of programs that we will be offering this year along with presentations of past programs.
Lastly, I would like to thank our members, our sponsors, and our chapter volunteers for all that they do. Our chapter truly can't be successful without you. As always, we appreciate your continued support of the chapter and look forward to seeing you at education sessions. If you are looking for opportunities to volunteer or if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at
kcarmichae@mmc.org
or 207.662.6569.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Carmichael, CPA, FHFMA, CGMA
President Maine Chapter HFMA
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REVENUE CYCLE: DEC. 1-2, 2016
Portland Marriott at Sable Oaks
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Maine HFMA is Going Mobile
Check out the new Maine HFMA Mobile App
We are excited to be launching a new mobile app. The HFMA Maine Chapter app is being created to help build a closer-knit community among members. You can join conversations, share photos, learn about events and find contact information for all members. Be sure to download it through iTunes and the Google Play Store. The app should be available the first week of August. Please contact Denis Houle at
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Presidential Positions: Where the Candidates Stand on Health Care, Housing
Steve Kennedy
Senior Managing Director
Lancaster Pollard, Columbus.
In seemingly every presidential election, we are told by pundits and politicos that this particular contest represents the starkest choice between two vastly opposed ideologies that we've seen in decades. The future, your kid's future and your grandchildren's future, depends on its outcome.
Some may argue that such hyperbole is an understatement this year, and, whether that's true or not, one thing is clear-this election gives voters the choice between the known and the unknown. If Secretary Hillary Clinton wins, the nation will likely stay on its current path-a pursuit of incremental change shaded by Democratic ideologies. If Donald Trump wins, no one is quite sure what will happen, although a look at his proposals and the GOP's 2016 platform provides some insight.
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From a federal legislation perspective, the year 2015 won't go down in the annals of history as a model for bipartisan cooperation. From one day to the next, news reports confirmed the fact that common ground was nearly impossible to find. Legislators from both parties were simply too far apart to cooperate.
There was, however, one significant exception to that rule: The Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. More manageably referred to as MACRA, this act garnered little attention outside of healthcare policy circles - but its passage will precipitate sweeping changes in the way physicians are evaluated - and compensated - for the care they provide.
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Post-Acute Care Innovation Promotes Vitality While "Bending the Cost Curve"
By Alfredo Fernandez-Concha
In a recent analysis conducted by Kurt Salmon and Milliman, it was found that in the Houston, Texas, MSA there were 39 skilled nursing facilities with over 10 Medicare admits for total joint surgery. The analysis showed it was common for facilities to vary in allowed cost for Medicare patients by more than $10,000 and for readmission rates to vary by more than 10%.
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Not Your Father's Healthcare Acquisition Strategy
In today's brave new world of healthcare investment, merging with another company is not only smart, but perhaps necessary for survival. And the $40 billion in healthcare deals announced in a single day in April proves just that. As I said in The New York Times' Dealbook column,
"Health Care Companies See Scale as the Only Way to Compete,"
these deals are designed to achieve critical mass and position these companies as winners in the brave new world of healthcare investment.
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New Member Spotlight
Chris Mouradian
BerryDunn, Senior HCNFP
HFMA -What is it like to work in your hospital/organization?
Chris: It's challenging but also very rewarding. Deadlines are often stressful, but every day I get a chance to work with some of the smartest people I have ever met.
HFMA -What is your business philosophy?
Chris: We have to remember that business is not a zero-sum game. There's a way for all parties to prosper, and it's our job to figure out how to accomplish that.
HFMA -What has been your toughest business decision in your career?
Chris: Turning down a position in a retail management training program so that I could return to school. I would have started making money sooner, but I never would have gotten my CPA and never would have started working at BerryDunn.
HFMA -What is your favorite book/hobby?
Chris: When exercising or driving, I enjoy listening to podcasts. How I Built This - from NPR - is a new favorite.
HFMA -If you could meet anyone, who would it be?
Chris: My grandfather. I have always been told what a kind and giving person he was, I wish he had still been alive when I was born.
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Maine Chapter of HMFA- CFO Spotlight
Christina Maguire-Hardin
g
Norm Belair, FHFMA, CPA
(Former) Chief Financial Officer
Southern Maine Health Care (SMHC)
This quarters CFO Spotlight is dedicated to a long-standing member of HFMA and a dedicated CFO formerly at Southern Maine Medical Center. Norm Belair was an invaluable resource and I had time to speak with him prior to his retirement about his views on our healthcare environment locally, regionally and nationally. He shared his thoughts, success and challenges that he has experienced in the last 23 years. We at HFMA wish Norm well and thank him for his thoughtful guidance and quick wit over the years and wish him well on his next endeavors, even if be a member of the Red Sox didn't pan out.
Good Luck, Norm.
HFMA: What's new and exciting at our organization?
N. Belair:
As part of MaineHealth, SMHC is preparing to "go-live" onto the Epic system at the end of March of 2017. This implementation will be a "big bang" approach as both the hospital and the physician practices (we have approximately 20 practices) will be moving to Epic. In addition, we're converting to MaineHealth's Lawson HR/Payroll system on January 1, 2017. Then we'll implement the rest of the Lawson financial suite on October 1, 2017. Needless to say, these projects are and will be keeping all staff very busy over the next year.
HFMA: What was it like to work in our organization?
N. Belair:
I've started at SMMC in 2007 and we've been in a constant state of change and I have loved it! While it has caused a lot of work, the work has been rewarding and challenging. We are constantly moving forward, while keeping our mantra of "Excellence Always" for the patients we serve.
HFMA: How long have I been in Healthcare Finance, and in what areas?
N. Belair: I guess I would say that I started in Healthcare finance back in 1981, when I worked for Ernst & Whinney (now E&Y). Most of the clients I worked with were hospitals. In 1986, I went to work for a client as a Controller, and became a CFO in 1993. Since that time, I have been a CFO for about 18 of the 23 years.
HFMA:
What are our departmental and organizational goals for this coming year?
Obviously, I mentioned the software conversions above, but with that said, SMHC has many initiatives in place that will bring the organization into a better financial position. The Finance division is focusing on the revenue cycle and we have several projects underway that will provide financial results and will prepare us for the conversion over to Epic.
HFMA: What has been our organization's biggest accomplishment over the past few years?
N. Belair:
Back in 2014, Southern Maine Medical Center and Goodall Hospital merged and became Southern Maine Health Care. This was a significant undertaking that consumed the organization's resources. While this merger was important to our organizations, it was most important to the people SMHC serves in the communities of western and northern York County.
HFMA: What have we planned and not achieved over the past few years?
N. Belair:
While the merger I mentioned above was successful, our merger of our billing systems was less so. Because of the allure of meaningful use funding, we rushed to combine systems, and as a result, we have struggled to get us back to a more normal state with the revenue cycle. Above, under goals, I mention the revenue cycle projects that we have underway, and they are all directed at improving our situation.
HFMA: What did I want to do when I was a kid?
N. Belair:
I'm almost 58 years old, so my memories as a kid are from the mid-sixties to about 1970. In 1967, the Red Sox were in the World Series and Carl Yastrzemski was my boyhood hero. I wanted to follow him at some point (along with many other New England kids) to play left field in Fenway Park. The only problem was that I was not a great athlete. So I become a CPA instead!
HFMA: What's your pet peeve?
N. Belair:
I'm going to turn this around a little and highlight what I like most about my staff that I have worked with over the years. I enjoy working with staff that are always anticipating my next question or thought and are not satisfied with the status quo. I have been very fortunate to have worked with great staff over the years and have always attempted to surround myself with staff that are smarter than I am in their specific job.
HFMA: What is your favorite book/hobby?
N. Belair:
I don't know if I have a favorite book, but I read a lot of John Grisham and David Baldacci novels, mostly when I'm on vacation. My hobbies include hiking, golf (a game that keeps you humble), running and biking.
HFMA: What has been my favorite Maine Chapter HFMA event?
N. Belair:
While I haven't been in a few years because of conflicts, it was always the annual meeting. This was the event where we stayed overnight and were able to network with our peers in the State.
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