| October 2: 8 AM: Registration and Breakfast 9 AM: Welcome and Kickoff 9:15 AM: Keynote Speaker – Day Egusquiza, President & Founder AR Systems, Inc. Payer’s (Still) Going Wild: Denials, Denials, Denials – Strategy Steps
1 - Discover the power of comprehensive payer analytics- in all size hospitals Learn techniques to monitor and evaluate denial patterns, accuracy rates, and processing timelines from the different payers. Let’s look at examples of an initial Payer Matrix – recorded from the EOB 2 - Move beyond acceptance of routine denials by reframing payer discussions Actionable data is being tracked and trended payer specific. Explore and identify multiple denial practice by the payers – ex) line item denials And all tied to the contract. What if you are not contracted with an Medicare advantage plan? About Day: Day Egusquiza brings over 40 years experience in health care reimbursement, hospital business office operations (20 years in an Idaho hospital), contracting and compliance implementation. Additionally, her experience includes eight years as a Director of a Physician Medical Management billing service, which included completing an integrated business office between a hospital and a large physician clinic. She has been an entrepreneur in hospital and physician practice accounts receivable management and a leader in redesigning numerous organizations. Ms. Egusquiza is a nationally recognized speaker on continuous quality improvement (CQI), benchmarking, redesigning, reimbursement systems and implementing an operational focus of compliance- both in hospitals and practices. She has been on the AAHAM National Advisory Council, HFMA National Advisory Council, is a past President of the Idaho HFMA Chapter & recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award. She has been highlighted in JCAHO’s Six Hospitals in Search of Excellence, Zimmerman’s Receivable Report, HFMA’s HFM and Patient Account, AHIA Prospective, and numerous healthcare newsletters along with a contributing author to 2006 Health Law and Compliance Update. She received the Idaho Hospital Association “Distinguished Service Award” for her legislative work and training on new indigent law.
10:15 AM: Break 10:30 AM: Session 2 - Day Egusquiza
Hot Revenue Cycle Topics and Potential Impacts This session will highlight the many current changes, and upcoming changes that includes an outline of potential impacts. After the education portion, there will be an interactive opportunity for the attendees to share their strategies to address the newest healthcare ‘hits’ and report out to the attendees. The healthcare village is strong! 11:30 AM: Lunch and Networking 12:30 PM: The Parallels Between Ironman Triathlon and Revenue Cycle Leadership. Presented by Jay Jacobs, Senior Revenue Cycle Manager at Southern Ohio Medical Center and Brian Garver, Senior VP, Business Development and Marketing at Keybridge.
Jay Jacobs is Senior Revenue Cycle Manager at Southern Ohio Medical Center, a 212 staffed bed short term acute care facility, is in Southern Ohio on the Kentucky boarder. He has worked at Southern Ohio Medical Center for over 43 years. He has held a variety of job titles during his tenure. He started out in Patient Accounting, then worked in Accounting, Manager of Decision Support, and has been in his current role of Senior Revenue Cycle Manager for the past ten years. He is also serving as a COPAM. He has also been married to his wife, Anita, for 39 years and has two grown children and one grandchild. He has completed 10 70.3 (half) Ironman races, and 5 full Ironman races.
Brian Garver is a passionate business development leader in the Healthcare Revenue Cycle space with over 20 years of leadership experience. Brian is also nationally recognized as an expert facilitator and speaker focused on Patient Experience, Organizational Culture and Business Leadership. In his presentations, Brian delivers actionable content with an engaging, compelling message that will inspire new, thoughtful changes within your team. His ability to touch every attendee with humor, emotion, empathy and care have made his presentations nationally recognized and highly sought after. His powerful speaking engagements have taken him across the country from New York to Los Angeles with many stops in between. Brian resides in Lima, Ohio and is an active member of the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management (AAHAM) and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). He also hosts the live podcast series… “The Revenue Cycle Rundown”.
1:30 PM: Break 1:45 PM: Beyond Denials: Reading the Data, Reducing the Waste, and Reclaiming Revenue Presented by: Candy Thompson, EDI Account Manager at Quadax, Missy Hellwig, EDI Key Account Representative at Quadax
Take control of your denial management strategy by learning how to interpret and act on the data found in your 277 and 835 transactions. This session explores how to streamline claim workflows, automate follow-up actions, and reduce manual intervention using insights from rejection and denial responses. Discover practical methods for identifying root causes, prioritizing claim resolution, and optimizing your revenue cycle processes. Technology, including automation and AI, will be covered as enablers—not drivers—of smarter, more efficient denial workflows.
Behavioral Outcomes: • Attendees will understand the denial workflow process to gain better knowledge of where the denial occurs and how to resolve it • Participants will gain insight to Best Practices for Working Denials, with and without AI assistance for their organization Supporting Points: • Identify Key Resources/Decision Intelligence • Utilizing Actionable Data • Minimize the reliance on the costliest resource: time
Candy Thompson, EDI Account Manager - With nearly three decades of healthcare experience, Candy Thompson brings invaluable expertise to her role as Sponsorship and Programming co-chair for the West Virginia Chapter, Healthcare Financial Management Association. After starting her career with a private practice and small hospital, Candy has spent the last 20 years at Quadax, rising to an EDI Account Manager position. There, she leads key initiatives to support revenue cycle management and implement innovative technologies. Missy Hellwig, EDI Key Account Representative - For over 15 years at Quadax, Missy Hellwig has ascended through her roles, from EDI Account Manager to EDI Key Accounts Representative. With an additional 11 years in healthcare, spanning billing, cash posting, benefits verification, training, and AR management, Missy has cultivated a diverse skill set. As an active member of HFMA's Ohio Chapter, Missy is poised to contribute expertise and experience to the dynamic landscape of healthcare finance and EDI.
2:30 PM: Payment Plans - Do they help or hurt your bottom line? The Surprising Costs Behind Collecting Over Time Presented by: Jessica Neyer, Head of Strategy and Operations, Healthcare at Sunbit
Payment plans are no longer just a convenience for patients—they're a necessity. With 72% of patients unable to pay their medical bills upfront and 68% of them willing but unable to pay in full, healthcare providers must rethink their approach to patient payments. This session will tackle the financial realities of offering payment plans so you can make sure to implement the right offerings based on your organization’s goals. Don't miss this candid discussion on balancing patient affordability with financial sustainability. Jessica Neyer is a Strategy executive with extensive experience working with various technology companies across the entire patient and provider journey. With a focus primarily on patient engagement, care delivery and revenue cycle, Jessica has helped numerous companies and medical practices scale such as Tebra (formerly PatientPop), Gentem, Heal and Pager. Currently, she leads Sunbit’s healthcare vertical where she’s focused on integrating its patient financing solutions into organizations existing payment workflows to deliver much needed payment flexibility options that work for both patients and providers. 3:15 PM: Break 3:30 PM: Revenue Cycle Leadership Panel Panelists: Kristen Shoup, Executive Director of Revenue Cycle at Southwest General Health Center David Kelly, Vice President of Revenue Cycle and Ambulatory Operations at Mary Rutan Jacob Lowe, Senior Director of Revenue Cycle at OhioHealth
About the Panelists: Kristen Shoup, MBA, RHIA, CHFP is currently serving as the Executive Director of Revenue Cycle at Southwest General Health Center. Since joining SWG, Kristen has driven improvements in financial operations and revenue performance across this 350‑bed nonprofit hospital serving southwestern Cuyahoga, northern Medina, and eastern Lorain counties in Ohio. Prior to this role, she spent more than two decades at Wooster Community Hospital, steadily advancing to Director of Revenue Cycle—where she led performance initiatives, process enhancements, and cross‑functional teams. Kristen holds an MBA and professional credentials (RHIA and CHFP), blending deep operational expertise with strategic financial acumen. She's passionate about forging collaborative, practical solutions to today’s healthcare finance challenges.
David Kelly, MHSA is the Vice President Revenue Cycle & Ambulatory Operations at Mary Rutan Health. David oversees the revenue cycle's financial performance and operational efficiency and ensures the hospital maximizes revenue and minimizes costs while managing the day-to-day medical groups. During his tenure, he has successfully implemented numerous projects and programs and has served Mary Rutan Health for more than seven years, ensuring the highest healthcare delivery and operational excellence standards.
Jacob Lowe is the Senior Director of Revenue Cycle at OhioHealth. Jacob Lowe is the Senior Director of Revenue Cycle at OhioHealth. In this role, Jacob manages both hospital and professional accounts receivables, cash & credit management, and revenue cycle analytics. Throughout his 17 year Revenue Cycle career, Jacob has led with a technology first mindset, striving to use the best tools available to drive performance and increase efficiency, as well as improve the human experience within workflows and reduce payer abrasion. As an example of this, Jacob presented at Epic’s XGM conference on a unique way to configure the EMR to deal with the complex processes and nuanced contract requirements involved in global transplant billing. He is passionate about empowering staff to think outside the box, using data to tell the story, and delivering succinct information for easier decisions. 4:30 PM: Door Prizes and Closing Remarks
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