MGMA Member Spotlight: Navigating Patient Financial Responsibility with Julie Mobley

In this episode of the MGMA Member Spotlight Podcast, host Daniel Williams welcomes Julie Mobley, the founder of Gemstone Consulting and the practice administrator at Coleman Internal Medicine in North Alabama. Julie is set to speak at the upcoming MGMA Operations Conference in Las Vegas, where she will be addressing the topic of navigating patient financial responsibility.

Key Takeaways:

• Julie shares her diverse healthcare journey, including her background in speech pathology, software testing, and eventually transitioning into healthcare administration.
• Julie has been an MGMA member for 10 years, initially introduced to the organization through her work with an EMR company.
• As a practice leader, Julie emphasizes the importance of effective communication, emotional intelligence, and understanding personality differences to foster strong team dynamics.
• Managing a remote chronic care management team presents unique challenges, which Julie addresses through quarterly in-person meetings and leveraging a physician-led leadership team.
• Patient financial responsibility is a significant issue, with the recent rule change prohibiting the reporting of patient collections to credit bureaus. Julie outlines the impact on financial stability, administrative burden, and patient relationships.
• Julie discusses strategies for educating patients on financial policies, including utilizing various communication channels and providing easy-to-understand resources.

Resources:

• MGMA Operations Conference: The show will be held March 2-4, Bellagio Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
• Julie Mobley will be speaking twice at the show:
  • Bridging Gaps: Chronic Care Management and Value-Based Care (Monday, March 3, 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM PDT)
  • Navigating Patient Financial Responsibility (Monday, March 3, 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM PDT)