Month: July 2025

Supporting your Mission Starts With Supporting the Team 

Across the country, FQHCs are feeling the strain of a workforce stretched too thin. Billing departments are understaffed, coders are burning out, and hiring qualified revenue cycle talent feels harder than ever. For CFOs and Revenue Cycle Managers, this isn’t just a staffing issue, it’s a financial one. 

When your team is under-resourced, it shows up in your bottom line: missed revenue, higher denial rates, and lagging A/R. And in a year where every dollar counts, operational inefficiency isn’t something most health centers can afford. 

But staffing challenges don’t mean your mission has to take a hit. With the right financial strategies, FQHCs can protect staff wellbeing and strengthen long-term sustainability. 

The True Cost of a Short-Staffed Revenue Cycle 

It’s easy to think of staffing gaps as a temporary inconvenience, but the financial impact can be substantial. Burnout leads to turnover. Turnover leads to errors. Errors lead to lost revenue. 

• Coders and billers are in short supply. 9 out of 10 healthcare executives report shortages in medical billing and coding professionals, and 63% are actively facing staffing shortfalls in their revenue cycle teams. 

• Burnout drains both people and profits. Replacing an experienced coder can cost up to 200% of their annual salary. And while you search for a replacement, unpaid claims pile up. 

• Workload is growing faster than staff capacity. CMS made 230+ CPT code additions in its most recent annual update. That’s more work, more complexity, and higher demands on already thin teams. 

When staff are exhausted, even the best systems break down. Denials increase. A/R balloons. Claims are left unsubmitted or under-coded. It’s a vicious cycle – and one that can quietly erode your revenue month after month. 

Strategies That Support Financial and Staff Health 

RCM isn’t all doom and gloom though! While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, there are smart, proven steps FQHCs can take right now to stabilize their workforce and protect their financial future. 

1. Invest in Retention Before You Have to Invest in Replacement 

Turnover is expensive. Building a culture of retention saves money and strengthens your team from within. 

• Offer cross-training and development opportunities – especially in billing and coding – so staff feel they can grow without leaving. 

• Create realistic productivity goals tied to quality, not just quantity. Overworked staff are more likely to make mistakes that lead to denials. 

• Consider flexible scheduling, remote work or hybrid options when possible. Small changes can reduce burnout and increase loyalty. Offering the kinds of working conditions that quality billers and coders are looking for makes your FQHC more attractive to top candidates. 

2. Automate Where It Makes Sense 

You don’t have to automate everything. But a few strategic tools can give your staff breathing room. 

• Use eligibility verification tools to reduce manual work at the front desk and cut down on claim errors. 

• Implement denial management software that flags trends and helps prevent repeat issues. 

• Track A/R in real time using user-friendly dashboards to reduce manual reporting and speed up corrective action. 

3. Outsource Without Losing Control 

Outsourcing doesn’t mean losing your mission. In fact, it can be one of the most mission-aligned decisions you make, especially if you find a company that understands the FQHC landscape and the improtance of operating in a mission-first culture. 

• AR cleanup and denial resolution are high-impact, low-disruption services that can recover revenue without pulling your team away from current claims. 

• Full RCM outsourcing provides access to certified coders and billing experts without the overhead of recruiting, onboarding, or backfilling staff. 

• The right RCM company will feel like an extension of your internal team, not a replacement for it. 

Resilient Teams Deliver Sustainable Care

FQHCs are built to serve their communities. That mission hasn’t changed, but the environment has. Workforce shortages, policy uncertainty, and funding challenges are pushing teams to the limit. 

The solution isn’t to push harder. It’s to work smarter. By rethinking staffing strategies, improving processes, and exploring support options like outsourced RCM, FQHC leaders can protect their teams, reclaim lost revenue, and keep their organizations strong for the communities that rely on them. 

Want to explore how outsourced RCM can strengthen your team and your bottom line? Let’s talk. 

For healthcare leaders, improving patient collections isn’t just about increasing cash flow, it’s about meeting patients where they are. As high-deductible plans and cost-of-living pressures continue to grow, flexibility in how (and when) you collect matters more than ever. 

Patients want options. And when you offer multiple, convenient ways to pay, you don’t just boost your collection rate, you build trust, improve satisfaction, and reduce the likelihood of accounts going to collections. 

Why Payment Flexibility Is a Strategic Advantage 

Offering multiple payment methods is more than a courtesy, it’s a proven way to reduce bad debt and improve the patient experience. In an environment where medical bills often compete with housing, food, and transportation, convenience becomes a competitive advantage. 

• Patients are more likely to pay when it’s easy. Studies show that offering digital payment options like online portals or mobile pay increases collection rates by up to 30%. Removing friction encourages faster, more consistent payments. 

• Payment variety supports different financial realities. From patients who prefer to pay with Apple Pay to those who need installment plans, one-size-fits-all just doesn’t work anymore. Offering flexibility supports your diverse patient base. 

• You keep more of what you earn. Even with credit card fees, collecting 90% of a balance electronically is better than writing off 100% of it later. Reviewing quarterly payment data can help you weigh costs vs. value. 

Practical Ways to Make Payments Easier 

You don’t have to overhaul your billing department to make progress. Start by removing barriers and making payments part of the normal patient experience, not a dreaded afterthought. 

• Put a “Pay My Bill” button on your website. It sounds simple, but this one change can significantly increase payment volume. Bonus points for not requiring a login, and allowing payments with account numbers or invoice numbers only! 

• Accept payments in as many ways as possible. Credit cards, HSA cards, Apple Pay, Venmo, checks, and yes – even American Express. Don’t let limited options turn into missed revenue. 

• Empower all staff to take payments. From the front desk, to the call call center, to your nursing team, everyone should know how to process a payment if a patient is ready. It’s about catching the moment of intent, and keeping your payment process simple means cross-training staff won’t add tedious training sessions or overload your hard-working staff. 

• Offer payment plans at time of service. Waiting 90 days to start payment conversations is too late. Give patients real attainable payment options early, ideally during check-in or discharge. 

FQHCs: Balancing Mission and Payment Reality 

FQHCs have a unique challenge: serving vulnerable populations while staying financially stable. That doesn’t mean avoiding payment conversations, but it does mean approaching them with compassion and clarity. 

• Segment your patient population by ability to pay. The “easy pay,” “challenged pay,” and “can’t pay” groups need different strategies. Avoid rigid policies and lead with flexibility. 

• Make discounts and sliding fee options clear and accessible. Patients are more likely to engage when they understand their options. Consider signage, scripts, or printed guides at intake. 

• Let data guide your payment strategy. Look at payer mix, service utilization, and payment completion by method. Tailor your payment experience to the realities of the community you are dedicated to serve. 

The Bottom Line: When Patients Can Pay, Make It Easy 

Even patients who want to pay often delay simply because the process is confusing, inconvenient, or unavailable at the right time. When you provide multiple ways to pay – online, in-person, mobile – you turn that moment of intent into real revenue. Check out our free guide on Making Patient Payments Easier for a deeper dive into this topic. 

Want help strengthening your RCM while keeping patient satisfaction high? Let’s talk.