Ask a Revenue Cycle Leader is a new series featuring insights from health system and hospital revenue cycle executives nationwide. Becker’s poses questions on the most pressing issues in healthcare finance — from payer relations and automation to workforce and patient experience. We welcome responses from all revenue cycle, finance and reimbursement leaders.
Question: What is your top priority in 2026?
Editor’s note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Lynn Ansley. Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management at Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, Fla.): My top priority in 2026 is leading Moffitt through a successful Epic implementation that transforms how our revenue cycle operates and performs. This is a year of intentional change, and rallying our teams around continuous improvement is essential. By strengthening workflows, enhancing data transparency and reducing friction in reimbursement, we are positioning ourselves to accelerate cash flow and reinvest more rapidly in cancer research and patient care. Ultimately, every optimization we make in the revenue cycle moves us closer to our mission: finding a cure faster.
Dwight Johnson. Director of Revenue Cycle Cycle at Southeast Health (Dothan, Ala.): My top priorities for 2026 are:
- Payer automation/AI for prior authorizations.
- Identify potential payer claim denials pre-claim filing utilizing predictive/AI payer behaviors.
- Automate payer claim denial appeals with minimal-to-no human intervention.
- Reduce application time for potential Medicaid coverage due to new federal guidelines in the OBBBA.
Patrick McDermott. Chief Revenue Officer at Geisinger (Danville, Pa.): As much as there are major net revenue and cost opportunities, the number one, especially now, is a strong, connected [revenue cycle] leadership team with a clear succession plan to carry capability into tomorrow and the next decade.
Tony Morrison. Vice President and Chief Revenue Cycle Officer at Sanford Health (Sioux Falls, S.D.): Automation is our top priority from a revenue cycle perspective in 2026. As the largest rural health system in the country, Sanford Health is focused on operating a revenue cycle that is efficient, scalable and sustainable across a broad geographic footprint. Automation is central to that goal. By reducing our reliance on manual processes, we can lower our cost to collect, improve accuracy and consistency and better support our revenue cycle teams.
Strategic investments in automation and technology allow us to streamline workflows across the revenue cycle — from access and coding to billing and collections — enabling our people to focus on more complex work that requires judgment and expertise. Just as importantly, automation strengthens the financial foundation that allows us to expand access to care and ensure long-term sustainability in the rural communities we serve.
Kerry Rogers. Associate Chief Revenue Cycle Officer at MUSC Health (Charleston, S.C.): In 2026, my priority is building efficiency and precision into the revenue cycle by optimizing technology and leveraging automation and AI. This is essential to manage costs as we scale and to mitigate financial risk from anticipated Medicaid and ACA subsidy reductions, which will increase underinsured volumes and drive charity care and bad debt.
Next question: What is one thing you learned in 2025 that will help you in 2026? If you are interested in responding, please send responses to Andrew Cass at acass@beckershealthcare.com
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