Cash in on Change Valerie Barckhoff

In Episode #9, Bill Eikost and Valerie Barckhoff catch up with Heather Dunn about her recent career move to becoming President of SSI Group, a company that provides revenue cycle solutions for the healthcare industry. Key points in the conversation include:

· Heather's career path from healthcare IT to revenue cycle operations and leaving the provider side to have a bigger industry impact.

· Why Heather moved to SSI, including her take on company culture and client experience.

· Current challenges of revenue cycle leadership, including the importance of self-care, team support and prioritizing tasks.

· Advice for revenue cycle leaders, including open communication about burnout and time off as well as aligning your role with opportunities that reignite your enthusiasm.

The recent ransomware attack against Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth, has become a hot topic, reinforcing the need to place significant focus on cybersecurity in the healthcare industry. The attack also comes as a warning that cybersecurity isn’t just an emphasis point for large healthcare entities, but for all hospitals, health systems and related healthcare vendors – and it requires action now, not later. In Episode #8, Bill, Heather and Valerie discuss implications of the attack as well as points of action to help providers focus on creating or enhancing their current approach to cybersecurity, especially within the various touchpoints of the revenue cycle.

SHOAR Health and Windham Brannon are excited to release another episode of our podcast for revenue cycle leaders called Cash in on Change.

Cash in on Change welcomes long-time health attorney Rich Sanders, Partner from Southern Health Lawyers LLC, to join Bill, Heather and Valerie on Episode #7. Rich talks with the group about the latest in the class action lawsuit against UnitedHealth and it subsidiary NaviHealth, which alleges that the entities used automation and an algorithm that denied certain care to ill patients, even while knowing the algorithm had a high error rate. The lawsuit raises questions about how patients can make sure they know their rights under insurance plans as well as how hospitals can help patient regarding denials and authorization decisions from insurance companies.

Cash in on Change is pleased to have ⁠Chuck Acquisto⁠, Partner from ⁠Stephenson, Acquisto & Colman⁠, join Bill, Heather and Valerie to discuss best practices for hospitals and revenue cycle teams when handling the various terms of payment contracts. As denials are on the rise and hospital margins continue to be thin, Episode #6 delves into how you can handle contract negotiations for a more favorable outcome and how you can protect your organization should you need to operationalize the terms of your payment contracts.

SHOAR Health and Windham Brannon are excited to release another episode of our podcast for revenue cycle leaders called Cash in on Change.


As the number of uninsured Americans continues to rise, self-pay has become more common in healthcare and can have significant contribution to overall revenue. In Episode #5, Bill, Heather and Valerie discuss how hospitals and healthcare systems can proactively address some of the challenges with self-pay patients, including how to bolster the front end of the payment experience by setting upfront payment contract expectations, running thorough estimates and regular training for your collections staff.

Episode #4 tackles the topic of how Medicare Advantage plans have impact on rural hospitals in America. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform states that 800 rural hospitals are at risk of closing across the country, and as beneficiary enrollment increases with Medicare Advantage plans, funding and reimbursement has become a significant issue for rural hospitals. Bill, Heather and Valerie discuss how revenue cycle leaders should take a focused look at how Medicare Advantage payers are paying the hospital, where to seek tools and resources and the importance of data analytics.