Behavioral health and home healthcare organizations play an integral role in their local communities, providing high levels of care and support to a diverse range of individuals. To succeed, these organizations must overcome a complex set of financial challenges, from navigating an intricate web of billing systems to proactively managing their costs.

Regardless of whether an organization is a for-profit business or a not-for-profit organization, robust financial management is vital. But it’s a skill set that’s outside of the core competencies of many of these organizations. 

Many finance teams lack the resources to balance day-to-day financial management with long-term planning – a challenge that often holds organizations back from reaching their full potential. Often members of the finance team or accounting department get promoted into positions that they don’t really have the skill sets for leaving the organization vulnerable to the strategic finance support that is needed to maintain and grow the business.

To ensure they can continue providing a high level of care to patients and service users, healthcare providers must take a sophisticated approach to managing finance and accounting. For additional support, many behavioral health and home healthcare organizations turn to Mercadien: an experienced outsourced CFO and accounting firm with a proven track record advising healthcare agencies and organizations.

In this introductory guide, we’ll explore why these organizations outsource elements of their financial and accounting responsibilities to Mercadien and outline what you can expect from our team should you choose to follow in their footsteps.

WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT ACCOUNTING FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND HOME HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS? 

From a financial perspective, behavioral health and home healthcare organizations operate in a similar way. Both types of organizations must navigate a complex network of payers, from insurance companies to various federal and state funding programs.

Billing has to occur in a precise, timely manner, otherwise, claims will be rejected and organizations will face cash flow challenges. The processes that govern these billing processes must be robust and well-documented, often involving multiple deadlines and engagement from different departments.

These billing processes often have to be replicated multiple times over to account for the nuances of each payer. From federal programs like Medicaid and Medicare, to a variety of third-party insurance companies, providers must bill in accordance with the best practices of each payer to ensure minimal delays or denied claims.

The complexity of these billing cycles also extends to the way the organization manages its day-to-day operations. It’s incumbent on management to ensure that providers are spending their time on billable activities and are accurately recording these services as they are performed. In the case that providers have to modify a patient’s medical plan, they must update the payer and secure all appropriate approvals.

Another key focus is on controlling costs. Many of the costs these organizations face are recurring: payroll, rent, medical supplies, and so on. But without the right management, costs can often grow unchecked. Developing a budget that also includes forward-looking forecasts is key to an organization’s long-term sustainability. 

OUTSOURCED CFO AND ACCOUNTING SERVICES: WHAT’S INCLUDED

At Mercadien, the outsourced services we provide to behavioral health and home healthcare organizations can be broken down into two key segments: outsourced fractional CFO advisory services and outsourced accounting.

Outsourced CFO engagements are primarily advisory engagements that allow organizations to build more concrete long-term plans. Many organizations are primarily focused on their day-to-day operations: handling patient care, managing staffing schedules, and so on. These tasks are often prioritized over long-term strategic planning.

At Mercadien, our outsourced CFO professionals partner with organizations to identify projects and initiatives that help organizations build the foundation for long-term growth. Our team often leads strategic planning sessions, assists with the plan creation, and ensures accountability to the plan.  We often create financial dashboards that key in on the strategic goals and progress to goal as well as build long-term forecasts and budgets.

Outsourced accounting services tend to be less strategic and more transactional and historical focused. These services typically act as the foundation of an organization’s accounting system, providing ongoing support in areas such as financial reporting, bookkeeping, bill pay, payroll, and more.

By partnering with an outsourced accounting firm that’s well-versed in the nuances of the behavioral health and home healthcare industries, organizations can benefit from a more tailored approach to accounting and bookkeeping. It’s an approach that gives management significant clarity over the financial position of their organization. 

THE VALUE OF A SPECIALIZED OUTSOURCED CFO AND ACCOUNTING PARTNER

It’s true there’s no shortage of outsourced CFO and accounting firms out there, but what’s equally true is that almost none (with the exception of Mercadien!) have deep expertise supporting the needs of behavioral health and home healthcare organizations. We understand your operations and revenue cycle which sets us apart from others.

We’ve already explored some of the unique financial and accounting challenges that organizations in this space face. Working with a specialized outsourced CFO and accounting provider such as Mercadien not only enables organizations to better address those, but it also delivers several other benefits, including:

• Benchmarking: At Mercadien, our experience working with a wide range of healthcare organizations allows us to provide our clients with benchmarking insights that help them understand how they are performing relative to their peers. Whether it’s identifying inflated costs or helping an organization understand its mix of revenue to patients, our professionals help organizations pinpoint exactly where (and how) they can improve.
• Holistic Approach: Mercadien is a full-service CPA firm that provides a wide range of additional services, including tax planning, compliance consulting, and more. Working with our professionals ensures organizations can identify tax opportunities and build an efficient plan that helps their organization go from strength to strength.
• Professional Network: Our team brings a rich network of professional connections to every engagement and are happy to introduce clients to specialized insurance brokers, attorneys, and other professionals.

MERCADIEN: OUTSOURCED CFOS & TRUSTED ADVISORS TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH & HOME HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS

While your organization’s primary focus is on the health of your patients, it’s also vital you pay close attention to your own financial health. Often, organizations lack the diagnostics to do that, but with the help of a specialized outsourced CFO and accounting firm, they can discover a better path forward.

At Mercadien, our professionals provide outsourced CFO advisory services to a wide range of private companies and nonprofit organizations across the healthcare industry. With deep industry knowledge and decades of cumulative experience, our team brings a bespoke approach to every engagement and is passionate about helping our clients continue to grow and flourish.

To learn more about Mercadien’s outsourced CFO and accounting services for behavioral health and home healthcare organizations, contact an advisor today.

DISCLAIMER: This advisory resource is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute business or tax advice and may not be used and relied upon as a substitute for business or tax advice regarding a specific issue or problem. Advice should be obtained from a qualified accountant, tax practitioner or attorney licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where that advice is sought.