Developing processes and policies to keep our organization financially healthy is vital to continuing our mission of providing the highest quality treatment services. In this regard, we are fortunate to have the bold leadership and vast experience of Theresa Amico, recently promoted to Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management.
In her new role, Amico provides oversight of all reimbursement related activities for inpatient and outpatient services, including insurance verification, coding, claims submission, collections, and reporting.
“Healthcare is a complex environment, and it’s crucial for all departments within the revenue cycle to understand each unique requirement of the different payers we contract with,” Amico said. “Training our staff at all levels to understand those idiosyncrasies is perhaps the biggest challenge I face on a day-to-day basis.”
Amico joined Spectrum Health Systems in 2017 as Reimbursement Manager, later serving as Director of Reimbursement. She has more than 30 years’ professional experience in third party billing and collections, more than 25 of which have been specifically focused on behavioral healthcare. In 1999, she co-founded the New England Medical Management Group, a startup medical billing group that eventually grew to serve more than 100 clients in 10 specialties across five states.
During her career with Spectrum, she has reengineered revenue cycle management during a period of extremely rapid growth for the organization, making tremendous improvements to both collection results and patient billing experiences.
“Improving our capacity to enhance collection rates has been tremendously rewarding,” she notes. “It’s something I’ve been able to do at each organization where I’ve worked, and I always feel a real sense of accomplishment since it’s so vital to supporting important missions.”
Placed squarely at the intersection of economics and politics, revenue cycle management in a health care organization has always required an ability to deftly navigate rapid change. Reflecting on her career, Amico cites a litany of significant new developments she has faced, and nimbly managed.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with multiple payment models, including straight fee-for-service on both the medical and behavioral health sides,” she recalls. “Plus, all-inclusive rates, pay for performance models, day rates, capitation, and even system development and implementation of complex rates, like the new Medicare medication for opioid use disorder weekly roll up.”
There will doubtless be new initiatives, and new challenges, in the field. But Amico expresses great pride, and confidence, in Spectrum’s ability to thrive—and her own role in helping it to do so.
“I have had and continue to have the opportunity to work with great people and mentors every day,” she says. “I stay focused on working closely with each Director and everyone on our leadership team to support the relationship between our front-end staff and site-based patient accounts to avoid anything that might result in frustration for patients.”
For more information about working at Spectrum Health Systems, visit the careers page on our website.
