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.
Question: What is one revenue cycle myth you wish would go away?
Anthony Cunningham. Chief Revenue Officer at LCMC Health (New Orleans): Patient access roles (scheduling, registration, clearance, etc.) are entry-level positions. The reality is that these roles require significant expertise. Navigating complex payer requirements, verifying and sequencing insurance correctly, and accurately communicating out-of-pocket costs are critical to preventing denials and avoiding surprise billing. Equally important are the empathy, communication and customer service skills needed to support patients during vulnerable moments.
These responsibilities make patient access a highly skilled function, not an entry-level one. As an industry, we need to recognize this complexity, compensate these professionals accordingly, reduce turnover and build the capabilities necessary to support a strong revenue cycle.
Billie Jo DeBolt. System Director of Revenue Cycle Operations at Lee Health (Fort Myers, Fla.).: One revenue cycle myth I wish would go away is the belief that once a clean claim is submitted, the insurance company will either pay it correctly or clearly explain why it was denied. Years ago, that was often the reality, making the claims process much more straightforward and predictable. Today, even after submitting clean claims, revenue cycle teams frequently have to make repeated phone calls, review payer portals and conduct extensive research just to determine what information is needed for adjudication. Many denials and payment delays are caused by inconsistent payer processes rather than provider billing errors. The reality is that successful revenue cycle management now requires persistent follow-up, detailed analysis, and significant administrative effort well beyond simply submitting a claim.
Blake Evans. System Vice President of Revenue Cycle at Rush University System for Health (Chicago): One revenue cycle myth I wish would go away is the belief that revenue cycle alone can solve a healthcare organization’s financial challenges. Too often, revenue cycle is viewed as the lever to simply generate more revenue when budgets are tight or as an area to reduce costs during financial hardship. While revenue cycle plays a critical role in financial performance, it cannot overcome broader challenges such as declining patient volumes, unfavorable payer contracts, rising labor costs, or operational inefficiencies on its own.
I often compare revenue cycle to the blood in the human body. Blood isn’t the most visible part of the body, but every organ depends on it to function. In the same way, revenue cycle connects and supports nearly every aspect of a health system from patient access and clinical documentation to coding, billing, collections and the patient’s financial experience. Sustainable financial success requires every part of the organization working together: delivering exceptional clinical care, growing patient access, managing expenses responsibly, optimizing operations, and maintaining a high-performing revenue cycle. When the entire system is aligned, the organization thrives.
Joel Gentry. Vice President of Revenue Cycle at OU Health (Oklahoma City): The revenue cycle myth I wish would disappear is that our job is simply billing. Billing is the final output of a much broader strategic function. Revenue cycle sits at the intersection of patient experience, clinical documentation, revenue integrity, reimbursement, compliance and financial stewardship. Our teams help patients navigate an increasingly complex healthcare finance system while ensuring providers are appropriately reimbursed for the care they deliver. At its best, revenue cycle is not about collecting dollars. It is about creating financial clarity for patients, protecting the organization’s financial health and enabling continued investment in high-quality care. When revenue cycle performs well, patients, providers, and health systems all benefit. Revenue cycle is no longer a back-office function. It is a strategic driver of patient access, organizational resilience and the overall healthcare experience.
Emily Goertz. Chief Revenue Officer at UK HealthCare (Lexington, Ky.): The myth that I wish would go away is that all volume is good volume. Although we want to serve all of our patients, we also want to ensure that secure funding prior to providing services. If we do not, it is likely that we will not get paid and the service is being performed for free. Sometimes that means scheduling the patient farther out so that we have enough time to get authorization or enough time to help the patient with financial options. Although many physicians are incentivized based on productivity or WRVUs, our ability to fund this model becomes unsustainable.
Dwight Johnson. Director of Revenue Cycle at Southeast Health (Dothan, Ala.): Statements that prior authorization requirements lower healthcare costs are not true. Inefficient processes in both provider and payer worlds create administrative burdens, delays in patient care and at times lead to adverse results for patients that drive up costs in the end. AI and automated efforts to ease administrative burdens are encouraging, but I believe unified protocols across all payers and providers within that technology would reduce the many variables that currently exist and bring consistency to the process. Uniformity enables efficiency that leads to reduced costs.
Paul LePage. Vice President of Revenue Cycle at UC Davis Health (Sacramento, Calif.): Automation means fewer jobs. Automation isn’t about replacing people — it’s about eliminating repetitive, low-value tasks so our teams can focus on work that truly requires human expertise. Technology can process transactions, but it can’t build relationships, solve complex problems, or improve workflows. The future of revenue cycle isn’t people versus automation; it’s people empowered by automation to deliver better outcomes for our patients, providers, and organization.
Joe Palumbo. Executive Director of Front End Operations at WakeMed Health & Hospitals (Raleigh, N.C.): One of the biggest myths in healthcare technology is that a vendor alone can solve the challenges of improving cash flow, reducing denials and simplifying workflows. While vendor capabilities are important, success depends just as much on organizational alignment, operational commitment and technical support. That is why I highly value conversations with existing customers and collaboration with internal stakeholders before entering into a new vendor agreement.
Although some vendors have successfully delivered on their commitments, the reality is that realizing the full value of a solution often requires substantial effort from operations and IT. Implementation, workflow redesign, integration and ongoing optimization are frequently necessary to achieve the outcomes originally promised during the sales process.
Mike Vigo. Chief Revenue Officer at UC San Diego Health: One of the biggest myths I wish would disappear is that the revenue cycle is simply a back-office billing function, usually summed up in one simple phrase “just bill it.”
In reality, revenue cycle operations is a strategic enterprise capability that influences nearly every aspect of a health system’s performance including but not limited to its span from patient access and the patient financial experience through to clinical operations, physician satisfaction, cash flow, quality and long-term financial sustainability.
The highest-performing healthcare organizations no longer view revenue cycle as a department that collects payments after care is rendered; rather, they recognize it as an integrated, data-driven function that begins before the patient ever arrives. Successful revenue operations require close partnership across finance, operations, clinical teams, and technology. When revenue cycle leaders are included in strategic decision-making, organizations improve not only financial performance but also the overall patient experience.
Stephanie Wells. Senior Vice President of Revenue Cycle/HIM at Ochsner Health (New Orleans): One revenue cycle myth I wish would disappear is the belief that revenue cycle functions are easy to automate and that the majority of the work will be fully automated within the next few years. While technology and AI will undoubtedly transform many aspects of the revenue cycle, this perspective significantly underestimates the complexity of the work, the judgment required to navigate exceptions and the constant changes introduced by payers. Success in revenue cycle management requires a high degree of adaptability, and that reality is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Next question: What’s one specific thing you do to make your team feel valued, not just measured?
If you are interested in responding, please send responses to Andrew Cass at acass@beckershealthcare.com.
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