Aligning Marketing and Finance in Hospitals
by Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, ABC

The finance department, particularly accounts receivable, is and will continue to be a new public face of the hospital because of the storm of issues converging that needs addressing. Is your finance department aware of the marketing and public relations implications of what they do on a day-to-day basis? Is the real marketing and PR department in touch with these issues and talking with the CFO about them? Let's look at some of the issues.

MedFICO
A new FICO (short for Fair Isaac Corp.) score is emerging called Med FICO. It is designed so hospitals can see if people have the means to pay their bill. In concept, it is a retrospective tool that will not be looked at until after treatment is rendered. And, in all likelihood, it will then be used to help determine whether to write off a bill, reduce it, send it to collections and determine the aggressiveness of collection attempts. In theory, it is not supposed to affect access to care, but perception being everything, that notion is going to be a hard one to sell. How will your PR department handle the story and explain it.

Consumer-directed health plans
Many are brushing off consumer-directed health care plans as a fad that will fade. Think again. They are gaining momentum, and a new phenomenon is growing, healthcare insurance aimed at individuals.

As people in their 50s opt for early retirement, they are facing a dilemma. Medicare will not kick in for 10 or more years, and retiree medical coverage is a dinosaur for many. So these boomers are looking at individual health plans with higher and higher deductibles. More of the hospital bill will fall into their responsibility, and your AR department will be calling the consumer,not the insurance company, to collect. Are they trained in customer service skills to deal with this vocal population?

Price packaging
Medical tourism is a phenomenon that does not seem to be fading. Price packaging, primarily low-price packaging, is what drives this growing industry.

A boomer facing a deductible that might reach $7,500-$10,000 (and aching hips and knees that need replacement) is going to be very open to "shopping around" first on quality but with price never far from their radar screens. Packaging services to this population could be an attractive option, drawing people outside of their traditional service area.

While healthcare is said to be local, market forces are changing that. To compete in this arena, the finance department has to be bold. We have heard all the arguments about why this can't be done. Why not? Especially in systems where the majority of physicians are employed?

Tag team
In other industries, marketing and finance work in tandem. When the price of the iPhone was lowered by Apple, both marketing and finance were behind it. In hospitals, however, marketing and finance do not work together. Two things need to happen to foster more interaction. Financial leaders need to understand that they affect marketing and public relations, and the CFO needs to be open to making the first approach. The market is moving with you or without you. Recognize that there are opportunities to be seized by looking at the organization and seeing the possibilities.