Revenue Cycle Operations

UTMB Health Revenue Cycle Operations (RCO) creates a culture of excellence built by providing outstanding service. We do this through accurate verification of patient eligibility and timely billing of services. 

Our objective is to secure optimal reimbursement while maintaining excellent customer service. As a world-class revenue cycle organization, we will continue to be proactive and innovative through the integration of our diverse departments. Unified, yet independent, our teams collectively maintain the momentum which moves the mission of  the UT Health system.

Our Promise

Based on our extensive experience, we will cultivate a culture of trust, perpetuate patient care, analyze revenue, encourage efficiency, identify performance trends, communicate objectives with clarity, and develop customized solutions across the entire revenue cycle.

This site addresses a number of common financial and billing questions. If you do not find the information you need, please contact one of our Customer Service Account Specialists at (409) 771-8811 or (800) 994-0363.

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Our Mission

To optimize revenue and reimbursement through strategically-driven initiatives contributing to the organization’s financial health and patient satisfaction.

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For Employees
Emily Goertz, VP
Emily M. Goertz, MBA
Vice President
Revenue Cycle Operations

Emily M. Goertz, MBA, joined UTMB in February 2016 as Vice President of Revenue Cycle Operations. Emily came to UTMB with more than 17 years of experience in healthcare financial management. She obtained a Master of Business Administration from Texas Woman’s University and holds several professional certifications including CPAM, CHFP and CPC-A.

Today, her leadership encompasses oversight of UTMB’s Single Billing Office, Patient Admitting and Registration, Coding Services, Billing, and Denials Management. As an integrated billing system, for both Hospital and Professional services, Emily believes that the revenue cycle is an essential component in delivering a world-class patient experience. Emily specializes in resolving long-standing challenges that improve operational efficiency and enhance the customer service experience. Before coming to UTMB, she served as Director of Patient Financial Services at Texas Children’s Hospital. Her extensive experience working with EPIC systems and history of demonstrated leadership equips her to provide UTMB’s Revenue Cycle Team with the guidance to implement best practices across the billing cycle and enhance revenue.

Revenue Cycle Operations by Department

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  • Coding Team

    Coding Team

    The Revenue Cycle Coding team of over 80 individuals supports UTMB clinics in encounter documentation and data interpretation. Through our innovative information systems and our diligent coding specialists, with the guidance of their Director, the coders are able to ensure quality assurance in the capture of all healthcare encounters throughout the fiscal year. Our coders operate remotely. During training periods, our coding team will also visit campus and clinics to assist in clinical documentation training. 

    Coding Contact

    Miriam Perez, Director
    Email: mirperez@UTMB.EDU
  • Financial Clearance Team

    Financial Clearance Team

    The Financial Clearance Team supports the Day Surgery Units, Ancillary areas, and many clinics with pre-registration functions.  The team obtains insurance authorizations and payments, to improve the quality of the patient experience and billing accuracy.  Under the guidance of the Director, this team seeks to ensure that when the patient arrives for an appointment or procedure, their health and wellbeing  is the primary focus of the visit.

    Financial Clearance Contact

    Kristi Morgan Turner, Director 
    Email: krmorgan@UTMB.EDU
  • Hospital Billing and Denials Management Team

    Hospital Billing and Denials Management Team

    The Hospital Billing and Denials Management Team is responsible for effectively managing claim denials which will increase revenue and collection rate while improving patient satisfaction.  After the patient has received care the claim for care will be sent out to a payor to receive payment. Sometimes, the payor finds that documented claim insufficient. It is the Denials Management Team's responsibility to mitigate the denial and attempt to root cause correct the error in order to prevent any unnecessary loss of reimbursement to our facility or faculty. 

    Hospital Billing and Denials Management Contact

    Lovell Davis, Director
    Email: lodavis@utmb.edu
  • Payment and Business Operations Team

    Payment and Business Operations Team

    The Payment and Business Operations team provides financial planning and forecasting. This team provides satisfactory reporting to the institutional budget and finance team and ensures that Revenue Cycle remains in compliance with financial regulations. In addition, the team manages all vacant positions and collaborates with Human Resource's Position Control Board on all replacement positions while maintaining the budget to support fluctuating labor expenses.  

    Financial Management Contact

    Juan Guerrero, Director
    Email:  juguerre@UTMB.EDU
  • Physicians' Billing and Denials Management Team
    Cindy

    Physicians' Billing and Denials Management Team

    Our billing team understands the time sensitive nature of processing reimbursement for the UTMB enterprise and executes their contribution to RCO with prompt diligence. The Physicians' Billing and Denials Management Team is responsible for insurance follow-up and correcting denials of reimbursement for medical care in order to optimize revenue. After the patient has received care the claim for care will be sent out to a payor to receive payment. Sometimes, the payor finds that documented claim insufficient. It is the denials team's responsibility to mitigate the denial and attempt to root cause correct the error in order to prevent any unnecessary loss of reimbursement to our facility or faculty. Director Cindy Smith guides the Physician's Billing and Denials Management Team of Revenue Cycle Operations to achieve these goals.

    Physicians' Billing and Denials Management Contact

    Cynthia Smith, Director 
    Email: clsmith@UTMB.EDU
  • Registration Team

    Registration Team

    Patient Registration Specialists are located at the Galveston Campus, Angleton Campus, League City Campus and Clear Lake Campus with many teams working 24/7.  The team is responsible for emergency room arrival registration, bedside registration, insurance verification, collections and notification of admission.  Approximately 100 employees, the team with the guidance of Director of Gretchen L. Mason, successfully establishes a positive point of contact for patients receiving care which starts the Revenue Cycle process.

    Registration Contact

    Gretchen Mason, Director 
    Email: glmason@UTMB.EDU
  • Revenue Cycle Analytics and Solutions Team

    Revenue Cycle Analytics and Solutions Team

    The Revenue Cycle Analytics and Solutions Team is responsible for timely billing and processing for all of our hospital and professional claims, as well as the fiscal mitigation of our special contract relationships and the financial management of our UTMB research accounts. Our Billing team, understands the time sensitive nature of processing reimbursement for the UTMB enterprise and executes their contribution to RCO with prompt diligence; however, they do not lose sight of customer service or patient sensitivity. Our billing department works as much for our patients as our providers do, and assists with all payment options and queries, redirecting potential candidates for financial assistance to our esteemed customer service specialists or eligibility team in order to ensure quality care without compromising quality of life. The Analytics and Solutions Team identifies opportunities for efficiency discovered in our operations and develops lean process solutions. As our billing systems become more sophisticated and notation becomes more specific and critical to claim success, our technological solutions increase in demand. In order to guide these process driven initiatives, we have asked our PMO to guide our projects to success.

    Revenue Cycle Analytics and Solutions Contact

    Chad Allen, Director 
    Email: chjallen@UTMB.EDU
  • Revenue Integrity, Training and Customer Service Team

    Revenue Integrity, Training and Customer Service Team 

    The Revenue Cycle Customer Service department ensures a favorable financial experience for patients, offering support in understanding a patient’s bill and is responsible for addressing any billing discrepancies for the patient.  The team also works with our patients to find the best solution for payment.

    Revenue Integrity & Training Contact

    Kathy Thomas, Director
    Email: katthoma@UTMB.EDU

Road Ahead

As we further develop greater cohesion between our diverse departments, our teams are inundated with increased innovation, progressive process enhancement and creativity in effective communication across all specializations in this department. It is with diligence in our daily accomplishments and compassion for our patients that Revenue Cycle excels in its efforts to encourage the function and vitality of UTMB Health. 

Our Projects Management team is congruous in perpetual development and training mode, building a smarter way to work better. Our RCO Leadership team is guiding our mission through to fruition, as they work to encourage daily decision making in closer alignment with future focus. Our Patient Access and Patient Account teams execute our day to day action plans through the full arc of patient care, as they motivate quality and sustain success across the organization. Our Coding team persists in precision as they assure accountability through accurately captured healthcare encounters. Our Denials Management team is our champion of maintaining efficiency while our Billing team strives toward enabling excellence in reimbursement efforts. All teams work in tandem and tenacity with our Administration, driving greatness at the forefront of our united efforts.

We understand at RCO that excellence is an achievement to be maintained, while greatness must be ever strived after. This department is the embodiment of the guiding principle of UTMB: Working together to work wonders.