HBMA's 2023 Owners & Managers Meeting

Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort
Dana Point, CA

May 2nd-4th, 2023

Full Schedule

Day 1
Tuesday, May 2nd

7:00am-8:00am: Breakfast

8:00am-9:00am: Opening Session
Presented by Robert Burleigh & Dave Jakielo
The conference opens with a review of what’s happening nationally and globally relating to legislation, regulation, information systems, technology innovations, hospitals and their effect on the billing industry.

9:00am-10:30am: Industry Overview
Presented by Robert Burleigh & Dave Jakielo
2023 and beyond pose new and unique challenges for the U.S. health care industry.  Consequently, owning and growing a medical billing company must include understanding and adapting to the tsunami of changes that are occurring in real time.  We will explore the latest and most important trends in the medical billing industry that may have a positive or negative effect on your company.

• We’ll cover active and emerging trends in hospitals, practices, insurers, regulations, billing companies, technology and much more.
• Learn about the current trends and opportunities in the Medical Billing Industry.
• What are the most significant challenges and opportunities the industry is facing.

10:30am-11:00am: Break

11:00am-12:30pm: E&M Coding For 2023    
Presented by Nancy Enos FACMPE CPMA, CPC-I, CEMC and Holly Louie RN
2023 ushered in the most significant change in E & M coding in three decades.  This session will be led by a well-known coding guru to address how to comply with the coding rules, how providers must adapt their charting and medical records processes, what billing companies must do – even if you “don’t offer coding services.”

• Especially if your company doesn’t offer coding services, E & M coding and documentation will have a measurable effect on you and your clients.
• Understand how to predict and validate the impact of the changes, whether and how you can assist your clients and what the longer-term impact will be for additional changes in the next few years;
• Understand the compliance changes that must be made by you and your clients in order to maintain a strong compliance program.

12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch

1:30pm-2:30pm: Surprise Medical Bills – What You Need To Know
Presented by Robert Burleigh
Many states enacted surprise billing regulations years before the federal regulations took effect in 2021 and 2022.  At the end of 2022, additional changes and additions were proposed that would significantly change the economics of challenging adverse payment determinations by insurers.  This session will cover the latest regulations – changing by the week in 2023 – as well as the status of proposed changes.  It will also address how to manage your contractual responsibilities, whether additional fees should be considered, and how to help your clients navigate how the regulations affect their practice operations and legal risks.

• How do you bill patients if your client is not participating with a third-party payer, regardless of whether they chose to be non-par, or were pushed out by the insurer?
• How do you ensure your clients remain compliant. 
• Are there additional loss prevention or additional revenue sources possible?

2:30pm-3:00pm: Break

3:00pm-4:00pm: Building Bench Strength
Presented by Dave Jakielo
The most important requirement for continued growth and success is not the owner/CEO – it’s the next levels of management.  We will cover how to develop a plan for building your management team that will support growth and operational success, as well as provide the owner/CEO with more time to focus on growing the company.  Included will be tips on recognizing when you need a COO (#2 leader), how to fund it, and what happens if you don’t.

• You can’t grow your business without competent leaders, but how do you grow leaders?
• Is it time for a COO in your company?  If so, what are the criteria, timing and costs?

4:00pm-5:30pm: Medical Billing Contracts and Why They Matter
Presented by Robert Burleigh
“An oral contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”  While most billing companies have a written contract, how old is it?  How have you modified and maintained it as new regulations, new requirements, new services, new problems and new operational issues have evolved?  In addition to providing more than one sample, we will discuss why the clauses are included and what the alternatives are, as well as how to deal with clients’/prospects’ attorneys who want to rewrite your contract.

• Do your contracts contain the clauses need in today’s much more complex environment?
• How do you handle the situation when a client wants to rewrite portions of your contract?
• What are the most important “must have” contract components?

6:00pm-7:30pm: Opening Reception

Day 2
Wednesday, May 3rd

7:00am-8:00am: Breakfast

8:00am-9:00am: How Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation Can Improve Your Billing Operations 
Presented by Robert Burleigh & Dave Jakielo
If you’re still processing all of your incoming work, outgoing claims, incoming payments and unpaid receivables with personnel and your billing system, the likelihood of staying in business another five years is poor, or impossible.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) products, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Blockchain are all revolutionizing many industries, including medical billing.  We’ll provide a state-of-the-art update on the ways these tools will improve the results you produce for your clients, lower your operating costs, reduce errors and streamline your entire operation.  Just like all of your competitors.

• Learn about opportunities to reduce your cost.
• See what opportunities are available to improve productivity.
• Understand how to shop for solutions available in the market.

9:00am-10:30am: Delivering a Great Patient Experience 
Presented by Jeb Burrows, Senior Vice President, AccessOne
The percentage of medical bills owed by patients has risen significantly over the past decade, and more so in the last five years.  Consumers are more and more aware of their experience as a patient/consumer and those experiences have an outsized impact on their satisfaction with the practice, as well as their willingness to pay what they owe.  This session will address how to support your clients by enhancing their patients’ experience from scheduling through zero balance.  Some of the opportunities to support the practice may also offer new revenue sources for your company.

• Understand the non-financial components of the patient experience that are part of the registration, check-in, check-out, satisfaction survey and other “touches” involved in being a patient;
• Learn, through case studies of U.S. billing companies, how the companies have strengthened their client relationship, added revenue and improved billing results.

10:30am-11:00am: Break

11:00am-12:30pm: How to Prevent and Survive Client Litigation
Presented by Robert Burleigh
The business environment in the U.S. is increasingly litigious.  Once upon a time, billing companies could boast that “we’ve never been sued by a client, and we’ve never had to sue one, either.”  Those days are long gone.  This session will provide you with insights on how to predict, prevent, respond to, and win litigation with your clients, include real-life case studies and examples of what went wrong, how it was addressed and how it turned out.

• The longer you’re in business, the greater the likelihood that you will be sued, or have to sue a client.
• This long-standing program is always fresh with new examples and real-world advice, based on actual cases.
• Know how to prevent litigation, how to be prepared if the inevitable happens, how to manage your clients to protect your company and how to organize the best defense – or offence.

12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch

1:30pm-3:00pm: Benchmarks, KPI’s and Ratios 
Presented by Robert Burleigh
This ever-popular session covers WHAT to measure, HOW to measure it, WHEN to measure, WHY to measure it and the importance of each.  You’ll get all of the formulae, methods for gathering the data and how to deduce what cannot be obtained.  Operating a successful, profitable company demands knowing your operation, as well as how you are performing for your clients.  Sample reports will be provided.

• Are you providing excellent service to your clients based on industry KPI’s?
• Learn what you need to expect and inspect.
• Are you optimizing your operation, based on productivity and operating metrics?

3:00pm-3:30pm: Break

3:30pm-5:00pm: To Catch a Thief
Presented by Robert Burleigh & Dave Jakielo
There are only two types of practices and billing companies: those that have been embezzled from and those that will be (or who haven’t caught it yet).  The fiduciary operations of billing companies, combined with their clients’ office and banking relationships create a vast array of opportunities for dishonesty – of your employees, as well as the practices’.  We’ll share real life examples of how people have been caught embezzling in the past, plus outline prevention and detection methods, countermeasures and strategies to protect your clients and your company from an internal thief.

• We will provide real-life examples of thefts that have happened in medical billing companies.
• Give you tips how to prevent and detect theft and embezzlement. 

5:00pm-6:00pm: ChatGPT– How Will it Affect Healthcare?
Presented by Robert Burleigh & Dave Jakielo
ChatGPT is one of the hottest current news topics.  It seems to be everywhere, especially in science, journalism, academics, and . . . healthcare.  This session will be an interactive class discussion of in-the-moment news stories about this dramatically evolving Artificial Intelligence software and how it is being deployed by hospitals, EMR companies, practices, medical schools and others.  Bring your examples, experiences, questions and ideas as we discuss a subject that will be in our industry and our lives for everyone’s future.

• Understand what ChatGPT is, how it works and its limitations;
• Hear how early adopters are utilizing and integrating ChatGPT into operations, products, medical documentation and other innovative applications.

6:00pm-7:30pm: Reception

Day 3
Thursday, May 4th

7:00am-8:00am: Breakfast

8:00am-9:30am: 25 Secrets of the Top Billing Companies 
Presented by Robert Burleigh & Dave Jakielo
What makes a successful billing company successful?  What leaves many companies struggling to “get to the next level”?  We will share some of the ways that the most successful billing companies have learned to grow, prosper and succeed, even when their competitors have not.  Some of the most important secrets are in plain sight, but some are not.

• Have you implemented procedures that the most successful companies have?
• Pick up new ideas that will help you improve your operation and reduce cost.

9:30am-10:00am: Break

10:00am-11:30am: Developing an Exit Strategy - Before You Need One
Presented by Robert Burleigh & Dave Jakielo
None of us is immortal – we will all “move on” someday.  Even if your retirement or departure is years in the future, it often takes up to a decade to develop and implement an exit strategy.  This segment will discuss what to consider, how to structure a plan, how to fund/finance various exit options and when and where to get professional help.

• You won’t be doing this forever; how do you prepare for the future?
• Learn how Preplanning is a key to a successful exit strategy.
• When to recognize that the timing is right, or when to wait.

11:30am-12:00pm: Review and Wrap Up
Presented by Robert Burleigh & Dave Jakielo
The conference ends with a review of the educational sessions and will give attendees the chance to ask additional questions of the faculty.