Medical Money Matters with Jill Arena

Send us Fan Mail New year, new goals… but how many of us actually prioritize professional development as a resolution? Most people jump into January thinking about eating better, working out more, maybe saving some money or getting more sleep. And those are all important. But here’s something that often gets left off the list—and it might be the most important investment you can make: developing y...

Send us Fan Mail What if your next big change wasn’t executed on day one… but first asked as a simple question: “What would happen if we did this?” What if you stopped offering walk‑in appointments for two weeks, or changed your scheduling template entirely, or removed all paper forms—and saw what surfaced? That kind of question is the heart of a thought experiment —a structured “what if?” scenari...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine this: You see a patient, perform the exam, document the care, your staff submits the claim—to all appearances everything looks right. But then the claim comes back denied. The team may shrug, file it away, mark it unresolved. And the revenue disappears. What you delivered—the service, the documentation, the provider expertise—is lost financially. And more often than you th...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine this: you see a patient, orders the labs, do the follow‑up, navigate the complexity, chart the visit, and deliver the care. The work is done. Then someone in the billing department closes the claim with a single click, marking it as “adjusted off.” You never see the revenue. You might not even know it was written off. That’s a dollar (or many dollars) you earned but never...

Send us Fan Mail Groups that adopt AI thoughtfully will outpace those who don’t—faster than most people realize. That’s the bottom line. AI isn’t some futuristic buzzword anymore. It’s here, it’s already changing how practices operate, and it’s moving fast. Medical groups that learn how to integrate AI into their daily routines—clinically, operationally, administratively, financially—will be more...

Send us Fan Mail In a sector where women make up the majority of the workforce, why are women still under-represented in the seats of power in medical groups? That’s the question we’re digging into today. Because while it’s no secret that healthcare has long depended on the contributions of women—as physicians, nurses, administrators, and operational leaders—the top roles still tend to skew male....

Send us Fan Mail If you’re running a medical practice in 2025, chances are—without even realizing it—you’re leaving real money on the table. And I don’t mean pennies—I mean tens or even hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars a year. Here’s the thing: most practices aren’t bleeding cash from one major hole. They’re leaking it quietly, invisibly, in ways that seem small until they snowball. A...

Send us Fan Mail We’re kicking off Season 4 of the Medical Money Matters Podcast, and we’re celebrating something big. Over 10,000 downloads. Listeners tuning in from nearly 1,000 cities across the country—and even internationally. And we’re entering our fourth year of episodes. Honestly, that number still stuns me a little. When we launched this podcast, our goal was simple: to help physicians an...

Send us Fan Mail What if I told you that in most medical groups, the person in charge of your financial health might not fully understand half of your revenue? It sounds dramatic, but it’s true. In countless physician practices and medical groups across the country, the CFO—the Chief Financial Officer—is responsible for the organization’s entire financial picture… except when it comes to revenue c...

Send us Fan Mail There’s a CPT code out there that’s worth about $16 to $20 per visit… and most of you are ignoring it. It’s been right in front of us, since early 2024, and yet week after week, we watch practices leave thousands—sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars—on the table. The code is G2211 . And if you haven’t heard of it—or haven’t trained your teams to take it seriously—you’re not...

Send us Fan Mail I still remember the first time my dad explained his pre‑flight checklist. He shared some of the items with me: “Instruments check. Fuel quantity check. Weather briefing confirmed. Exterior visual check.” It felt almost ceremonial—methodical, purposeful, adding some calm into the midst of what could have been pre-flight chaos. To many people, that might have seemed like just one m...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Medical Money Matters , we sit down with Jon Anderson, AIA, NCARB, AIBC of Anderson Dabrowski to explore the art and science of clinical space design. From timing and budgeting to layout efficiencies and flexible use of space, Jon shares key insights that can transform how medical spaces function—for patients, providers, and staff alike.  Whether you're bui...

Send us Fan Mail When Washington shuts its doors, your practice can’t afford to blink. What happens when Medicare payments slow—or telehealth rules vanish overnight? Welcome to Medical Money Matters . If you’re like most medical group leaders, your attention is already divided between patients, staff, regulations, and operations. Add a federal government shutdown to that mix, and suddenly you’re f...

Send us Fan Mail Debt makes most doctors nervous. But what if avoiding financing is actually holding your practice back? Welcome to Medical Money Matters , the podcast where we tackle the intersection of medicine, money, and management—helping you run your practice like the business it is. Today, we’re diving into a topic that physicians often avoid but can’t afford to ignore: debt and financing f...

Send us Fan Mail What’s the real cost of not growing your practice when the time is right? Spoiler alert: it’s more than just lost revenue. Welcome to Medical Money Matters . Today’s episode tackles something many practice leaders know they should think about—but often push to the bottom of the to-do list: when and how to scale your medical practice. Now, if you’re a physician or practice administ...

Send us Fan Mail What if your most complex visits were being paid as basic ones—and no one on your team even noticed? That’s not a hypothetical. It’s happening right now. Today we’re talking about something that could be quietly draining your revenue, hurting your bottom line, and going completely unnoticed by your billing team: automatic downcoding of high-level E/M visits. This is a new policy f...

Send us Fan Mail You've got two leaders at the helm - one knows the medicine, the other knows the business. Sounds like a dream team, right? But what happens when they're not on the same page? Welcome to Medical Money Matters. Today we're diving into the art and science of clinical-administrative dyads - those essential partnerships that drive medical groups forward. When they work,...

Send us Fan Mail Picture this: you're finalizing your residency, or you've spent years in practice and you're finally ready to strike out on your own. You have this forward-thinking amazing vision—a practice that reflects how you want to deliver care. A place built for patients, for community, perhaps for innovation. It’s exciting. But here’s the truth: owning your own practice isn’...

Send us Fan Mail Join me for a compelling conversation with leadership development expert, Laurie Baedke, FACHE, FACMPE where we unpack what Mentorship, Sponsorship and Coaching can mean to a medical group's bottom line. Laurie draws from her experience as a leadership development program founder, author, and international speaker as she shares with us the reasons why medical groups should do...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Medical Money Matters Podcast , brought to you by Health e Practices—where we explore smarter ways to manage the business side of medicine, without losing sight of why we’re here: to provide excellent care. Today’s episode might make you a little uncomfortable—and that’s a good thing. We’re talking about revenue that slips through your fingers every single day. And...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Medical Money Matters . I’m Jill Arena, and I’m so glad you’re here with me for this very special edition of the podcast. Today, I’m beyond excited to introduce something that’s been in the works for over three and a half years—a course that I truly believe can transform the way physicians engage with the business side of medicine. This is Physician’s Edge: Masteri...

Send us Fan Mail You walk into the office and feel it right away—something’s off. A nurse is giving the front desk the silent treatment, one of your physician partners is avoiding eye contact, and the clinic administrator looks like they’re about to quit on the spot. And yet… no one says anything. Everyone keeps moving, business as usual.  Sound familiar?  Welcome back to Medical Money Matters , t...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine this: It’s July 2026, and your front desk is fielding a wave of calls from patients who've just lost their insurance coverage. Some are angry. Some are confused. And some are simply disappearing from your schedule altogether. At the same time, reimbursements are getting tighter, eligibility verifications more complicated, and your once-predictable payer mix is in free...

Send us Fan Mail It’s early August. Your waiting room is half-empty. The phones are unusually quiet. And your front desk staff is asking the question you’ve heard every summer: “Is it always this slow?”  Welcome to the summer doldrums.   If you’ve led or worked in a clinic for any length of time, you know what I’m talking about. The summer months, particularly June through August, often bring a na...

Send us Fan Mail Today, more than ever, it is critical for medical group leaders to think like a CEO - adopting business strategy, delegation skills and long term vision that ensures that the practice thrives decades from now. We are facing industry consolidation, margin pressure, burnout and evolving reimbursement models. That's why leadership born of strategic clarity matters now, more than...