Tower Health has announced a new partnership with Ensemble Health Partners that will see the Ohio-based company take over the health system’s day-to-day billing and patient management.
Ensemble will manage Tower Health’s revenue cycle operations, according to a statement issued Wednesday.
The revenue cycle is the business process that enables organizations to be paid for providing services. It involves everything that happens from the moment a patient account is created through payment for the particular treatment, surgery or care package.
Revenue cycle functions include things like billing, patient collections, coding, registration, claim submission, third-party follow-ups and remittance processing.
According to Tower Health officials, the partnership will see about 675 Tower Health employees already performing revenue cycle functions “re-badged” as Ensemble employees. The changes will take effect July 1.
The shift of employers will not result in any layoffs, Tower Health officials said, and current employees will not have to reapply for their positions. Their base pay will remain the same, or potentially increase.
Most employees will continue to work on Tower Health functions, and they will continue to work remotely or out of their current Tower Health locations, Tower Health officials said.
According to the statement, the move will allow Tower Health’s hospitals — which include Reading Hospital in West Reading, Pottstown Hospital in Pottstown and Phoenixville Hospital in Phoenixville — and physician practices to focus on patient care while Ensemble focuses on ensuring consistent financial performance for the health system.
“We’re thrilled to begin a partnership with Tower Health, helping them to provide coordinated, convenient and effective care to their community and to further support their mission of advancing care and transforming lives,” Judson Ivy, founder, president and CEO of Ensemble, said in the statement. “Tower Health has a rich history of providing high-quality, cost-effective care to the communities they serve, and we are confident we can support that mission and quickly deliver value by deploying proven best practices, data-rich intelligence and expert operational management to strengthen financial performance and modernize the patient experience.”
The move is part of a financial turnaround plan for Tower Health, aimed at allowing the health system to elevate its performance. Through the partnership, Tower Health and Ensemble have identified ways for the health system to run more efficiently and effective.
“We chose to partner with Ensemble because they are the industry’s top-ranked revenue cycle firm and they can ensure we’re optimizing our revenue cycle and incorporating best practices to better serve our patients,” Michael Stern, COO at Tower Health, said in the statement. “We are excited to partner with Ensemble and leverage their expertise and technological innovation in the revenue cycle industry.”
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