KBH professionals are experienced managed care negotiators who can either represent you fully in your managed care discussions or support you from behind the scenes. In small urban and rural communities, we strike a delicate balance.
First, we present an image to payors of highly skilled and assertive negotiators, ready to fight the provider’s battles if things turn adversarial. Secondly, our 30+ years of experience working in the heartland communities of the country has allowed us to maintain an equally important image as the friendly low-key advocate of local community values, working cooperatively with local employers, community leaders and area residents in a constructive problem-solving manner.
Significant advantages of KBH handling your negotiations.
Keep your decision maker away from the negotiation table
This is a basic tenet in negotiation strategy, i.e. avoid having your final decision maker sit at the chess table while active negotiations are taking place. While we are strongly committed to keeping the CEO and CFO fully informed, having that person too close to the fray inserts unnecessary risk, and reduces their strength as the last recourse.
Ask your attorney for “legal” advice but for “practical” advice, ask your KBH consultant
We are not attorneys, but we work closely with your legal counsel when appropriate. More than thirty years of successful negotiation experience have taught us that both “practical” and “legal” advice are important, though they may differ considerably.
Significantly improve Reimbursement
KBH negotiators are keenly alert to identifying when payor representatives state their supposed intentions, while inserting clauses that have strong potential for lost revenues due to unexpected interpretations of key words and clauses that go beyond “rates”.
Nobody can be an expert at everything
Community-driven providers need expert representation at the negotiation table by a highly skilled intermediary who can relate to the local community’s needs as well as those of the medical staff, clinical and ancillary departmental management. Most importantly, that representative must be familiar with the most current payor strategies used to reduce provider revenues. For KBH negotiation specialists, this is a full time, every day function.
What is NOT said in a contract can be as important as what is said
KBH consultants know what language is being accepted elsewhere and by other payors. KBH identifies key terms being omitted by the payors, i.e. significant clauses designed to protect the provider interests. Our favorite response we hear from payors is “Nobody has ever asked us for that before.” That is typically a sign that we’ve hit upon an issue worth attention.
Objective 3rd Party
An expert from the outside may be needed to keep political peace among the many constituents of a community-driven provider organization. Your KBH consultant often serves as an objective third party among the many constituents important in a community driven provider setting.