The Success Story of the Denials and Specialty Billing UBT
UMass Memorial’s Denials and Specialty Billing Department is “Busy,” as their Director Dan Rossi puts it, “thirteen months out of the year.” And yet, their Unit Based Team (or, UBT) has found a formula for success, one that’s rooted in culture, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Speaking about their “Finding 4%” project to SHARE members and caregivers from throughout UMass Memorial at a recent UBT Peer Learning Event, SHARE UBT Co-Lead Mary Jacquot joked, “You can all stop looking, we found all of the 4% money right here.”
It was a wry joke, but there’s an important truth underlying it. The Denials team knows that they’re often a last line of defense for recovering money that’s owed to our hospital. Without good systems and good communication, high dollar accounts can time out. A single mishandled claim can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue or more.
Not every hospital department can reconfigure its processes to eliminate waste in a way that results in as much financial gain, but many of their Team’s successes can be recreated by SHARE members throughout the system, with powerful results.
What Makes This Team Stand Out?
SHARE UBT Co-Lead Mary Jacquot sums up her approach to the work with three words: “open, honest, and unafraid.” Mary’s worked long enough to recognize that fear can stifle progress—fear of managers, fear of looking uninformed, fear of admitting mistakes. She’s seen it in her previous work experience, and works to inspire a different mindset.
The department manager and fellow Co-Lead, Kaitlyn Licht, regularly participates in these meetings, too, along with area Director and Team Co-Sponsor, Dan Rossi. SHARE members on the team credit their current management team’s listening ear and democratic work-style as a major contributor to the team’s positive culture.
Listening to the Front Lines
Even with the most supportive management team, it can sometimes seem harder when “the boss” is looming. But Mary encourages SHARE members to be assertive wherever possible: when at least one brave voice breaks the silence, it paves the way for others.
“Nobody knows everything, and that’s okay. UBT meetings are a safe space where ideas flow freely,” Mary says. When one person speaks up during one of their remote Team meetings, others on the WebEx screen nod in agreement, reinforcing a shared understanding.
Department manager and management Co-Sponsor Kaitlyn Licht emphasizes openness to ideas, especially from those in the trenches. Competing ideas can be tough, she says, but this team embraces the challenge, knowing that innovation often comes from healthy discussion.
Celebrating Wins and Building Trust
The team recently reached Level 4 on their UBT Path to Performance, which you can see in the below slide-deck, and is aiming to reach the highest step in that path, Level 5—a testament to their commitment to growth. Many members are enrolled in Yellow Belt training, and leaders are stepping up by taking programs such as Leading at the Speed of Trust.
Gratitude is also woven into their culture: department notes with kudos and recognition through UMatter keep morale high. While UMatter entries go into staff files, the real magic is in how this team regularly celebrates one another.
At a recent Labor-Management Partnership Council meeting, Dan Rossi admitted that they’re not formally tracking all their improvements the way that they used to, but that’s only because the continuous improvement cycle has become so engrained in their workflows that it’s second nature.
The team’s progress is tracked and cheered on by Jackie Zhou, a Continuous Improvement Coach in the SHARE/UMass Memorial Labor Management Partnership Office. “We are incredibly proud of the team for reaching their Level 4 UBT milestone,” she says. “After coaching this UBT for the past two years, I’ve witnessed a powerful culture shift in the last year. Continuous improvement has truly become second nature, and every team member is empowered to bring forward ideas and turn them into real solutions. Keep it up!”
Looking Ahead
Opportunities like the Seed Grant are on the horizon. Kaitlyn’s idea to use it for multilingual patient letters—especially Portuguese—shows how this team thinks beyond the immediate task to improve patient experience.
The Secret Sauce?
The example set by Denials and Specialty Billing isn’t just a method for reaching status as a Level 4 UBT — it’s a formula for success.
Of course, formulas only go so far. But! We know if we could bottle it up their secret sauce, it would contain a few key ingredients:
Fearless communication: Open, honest, and unafraid.
Shared accountability: Everyone on the same page.
Ongoing improvement: Measuring what matters.
Continuous learning: Certifications and leadership programs.
Culture of gratitude: Celebrating each other’s contributions.
Congratulations to this UBT for reaching Level 4! We’re grateful to the whole Denials and Specialty Billing Department for the work you do to keep the revenue flowing to our hospital, and for setting a beautiful example of what good communication and teamwork can do.
