Lebanon — About 50 employees of Lebanon’s Dartmouth Health will become employees of Conifer Health Solutions, the Texas-based company that oversees DH’s billing and collections, from the end of next month.

The move, which is expected to take effect on 23 October, will see DH’s Lebanese location move from other locations in the health system that already rely on Conifer employees in their role as front desk staff to provide registration services to patients. matches

“By managing the registration process in one system, we are able to improve the patient experience by providing a consistent experience across all Dartmouth Health locations,” said Audra, DH spokeswoman. Burns said in an email.

In addition to DHMC, DH has four other hospitals, a visiting nursing organization, and several clinics in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Conifer has been working with DH since 2015. It now “responsible for the registration services currently provided through the integrated outpatient services and radiology departments on our Lebanese campus,” Barnes said.

About 50 frontline employees affected by the change received a letter dated September 14 informing them of the transition. According to the letter, employees are eligible for a $1,000 transition bonus paid during the first full pay period after their first six months of employment at Conifer. provided that the process is satisfactorily completed.

Requests for comment emailed to media contacts listed on Conifer’s website were not returned by the deadline.

Conifer’s website has a page congratulating DH on his recent award from the Healthcare Financial Management Association, an industry body. In June, DH was one of his 27 girlfriends who won the MAP award. The award recognizes providers who have demonstrated “excellence in meeting industry-standard revenue cycle benchmarks (…), implementing patient-centric recommendations and best practices (…), and focusing their efforts.” According to the HFMA news release announcing the winners, they achieved greater price transparency and outstanding patient satisfaction.

HFMA President and CEO Joseph J. Fifer said in a news release: “Congratulations to all the 2022 MAP Award winners for putting the consumer first.”

On its website, Conifer celebrates DH’s achievement of 101.9% of its cash collection target through its five-year partnership with Conifer.

According to the website, DH’s business goal was to improve the operational performance of the revenue cycle while adding new members to the DH system. Specifically, DH received support in integrating new partners into Epic, DH’s shared electronic medical record, with the aim of improving cash collection, patient satisfaction and uninsured patient funding.

According to Conifer’s website, DH selected Conifer to take over the operational management of the revenue cycle and the so-called “Single Business Office” of the entire healthcare system, including physicians, ambulatory surgery centers and imaging centers.

In a June 2019 news release announcing a new “Revenue Cycle Management Agreement” with DH member Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital in Lebanon, Dan Jantzen, DH’s CFO at the time, said Conifer was “a key performance indicator. are consistently provided.”

“Their expertise will enable D-HH (DH was formerly known as Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health) to maintain a strong financial base and a sustainable future that will serve the people of New England for generations to come. It will help us realize our vision of a health care system,” said Jantzen in a 2019 release. “D-HH and APD are working to connect people across New Hampshire and Vermont to the thriving integrated health communities they expect. He relies on Conifer to provide an economic experience.”

According to a 2019 release, APD was the second DH member hospital to adopt Conifer for its “comprehensive” revenue cycle management services, following Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, which adopted Conifer in 2017.

“The impact of our work goes beyond improving margins, reducing costs and streamlining operations,” said Stephen M. Mooney, Conifer’s president and CEO at the time, in a 2019 release. I’m here. As a member of the community, we are committed to providing patients and their families with the highest quality services anytime, anywhere. ”

However, some DH employees are concerned about Conifer’s growing role. An Instagram page maintained by a nurse at Lebanon’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center posted a meme that included a picture of the bride and groom kissing. The bride is labeled ‘Conifer’, the groom is labeled ‘DH’, and the woman in the foreground is making a stern look at the camera and is labeled ‘Main Desk Employee’.

The second photo on the page contains the following text at the top: Beneath that text is a picture of former President Donald Trump saying, “This was probably the worst trade deal ever in the history of trade deals.”

Additionally, some patients struggle with how DH and Conifer are billed. In her May article in Kaiser Health News, Elizabeth Melville, a resident of Sunapee, her 59-year-old patient at New London Hospital, faced her $2,185 bill for a second colonoscopy. has been taken up. Her first cost, almost six years ago, was $0 as it is mandated under the Preventive Services provision of the Affordable Care Act. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services believes that polyps removed during colonoscopy screening, as Melville did, should be considered part of the procedure and should not affect patient liability. said.

However, after KHN contacted DH and Conifer regarding Melville’s bill, Conifer told Melville that her bill was being reprocessed. Her Cigna, Melville’s insurance company, told her KHN that Melville was not responsible for her out-of-pocket expenses.

According to the story, Melville’s situation dictates that patients should check in with their insurance company to find out the expected costs before undergoing a colonoscopy. Doctors and hospitals should provide honest estimates to patients before surgery. Patients should carefully read the paperwork that must be signed in advance.

Melville told KHN that he feels the burden on patients is unfair.

Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.