SSM Health and Optum recently ended a partnership that involved revenue cycle management. Here is more on that and two other health systems that ended RCM partnerships since Aug. 4:
1. St. Louis-based SSM Health and UnitedHealth Group's Optum ended their administrative partnership around inpatient care management, digital transformation and revenue cycle management, an SSM Health spokesperson confirmed with Becker's on Jan. 3.
The health system declined to provide any additional information. The partnership was announced in October 2021 and formally began in early 2022. The deal included the hiring of about 2,100 SSM employees by Optum.
2. Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health is rehiring IT and RCM staff members it had outsourced to Oracle, a spokesperson confirmed to Becker's on Dec. 19. The health system and Oracle agreed in March to end their IT staffing contract, effective Jan. 13. As a result of this, Adventist began a transition process to take responsibility for its clinical and revenue cycle application support with the goal of retaining the Oracle employees it once outsourced to the company.
"The decision to transition these valued employees to Adventist Health will give us the ability to prioritize future work based on our mission and financial objectives," a spokesperson for Adventist told Becker's.
3. Gillette, Wyo.-based Campbell County Health ended its contract with Ensemble Health Partners on Aug. 4. The decision to transition end-to-end revenue cycle managed services back to CCH was mutually agreed upon by both parties.
The partnership between Ensemble and the health system began in August 2021. Eventually, the contract led to outsourcing Campbell's County RCM and billing departments to Ensemble.
Matt Shahan, CEO of Campbell County Health, said this is an area where the health system wants ownership back.
"One thing we really need is to take back ownership of our own revenue cycle process," he said. "We've had them kind of guide us through that process, and we need to have control over that whole process."