Todd Conklin, executive vice president and CFO of Care New England, is working to steer the Providence, R.I.-based health system through industry challenges while implementing strategic initiatives for growth and efficiency.
Mr. Conklin told Becker's that the two most significant hurdles facing Care New England this year have been navigating certain value- and risk-based contracts while managing the rising cost of self-insured employee medical coverage.
The health system is dealing with rising costs for its self-insured employee medical coverage, which is driven by an increase in post-pandemic healthcare utilization. A delay in care during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in inpatient demand, which is affecting patients and employees.
"We are focusing on developing strategies to better manage utilization and to better manage cost in light of high utilization," he said. "[We are] working with payers around collaboration, because I believe that this has also been challenging for the payer community as well. Collaborative work to find solutions to either amend the contracts or to partner with utilization has been a part of our strategy."
Looking toward the future, Mr. Conklin's goal is to reach a 1.25% operating margin for fiscal 2025, up from 1% in fiscal 2024.
Mr. Conklin pointed to a combination of growth initiatives like operational improvements in expense management, revenue cycle and supply chain to help the system reach its goal. Care New England is also working to implement Epic's EHR program systemwide, scheduled to go live Oct. 1, 2025. The system currently uses Epic for outpatient ambulatory operations.
"Constant operational improvement work, both on the clinical operations as well as business-related services, has been very important for Care New England," Mr. Conklin said when asked about ways that hospitals and health systems can improve their margins. "Operating with lean overhead has been very important for Care New England. Understanding and driving positive operating margins with an understanding at the service line and business unit level is key."
Reflecting on the future of the CFO role in healthcare, Mr. Conklin stressed the importance of CFOs to serve as strategic advisors. "I do think that it is a proactive approach in supporting clinical operations and strategic growth activities, which are key to current CFOs and in the future."