CHFP Exam Format | CHFP Course Contents | CHFP Course Outline | CHFP Exam Syllabus | CHFP Exam Objectives

1. The Big Picture (Healthcare Environment) - Industry characteristics - healthcare reform (PPACA) - role of the financial manager. - Value-Based Care: Shifting from volume to quality/outcome. - Population Health Management: Improving health outcomes of a specific group. - Fiscal Intermediary: An entity that processes claims for the government. 2. Financial Accounting Concepts - Elements of accounting, financial statement analysis, and GAAP/FASB/GASB rules. - Balance Sheet: Assets, Liabilities, and Net Assets (at a point in time). - Statement of Operations: Revenues, Expenses, and Net Income (over a period). - Liquidity Ratios: Current Ratio, Days Cash on Hand. - Profitability Ratios: Operating Margin, Return on Assets. 3. Cost Analysis Principles - Cost definitions, cost behavior (fixed vs. variable), and cost allocation methods. - Direct vs. Indirect Costs: Costs traceable to a department vs. overhead. - Full Costing: Including all direct and indirect costs in the price. - Contribution Margin: Revenue minus variable costs. - Break-even Analysis: Point where total revenue equals total costs. 4. Strategic Financial Issues & Resource Management - Capital budgeting, strategic planning, and risk mitigation. - Net Present Value (NPV): The value of future cash flows in today's dollars. - Internal Rate of Return (IRR): The discount rate that makes NPV zero. - Working Capital Management: Managing current assets and liabilities. Module II: Operational Excellence 1. Payer Business Environment - Health insurance exchanges, payer consolidations, denial management, and unsustainable reimbursement rates. - Medical Loss Ratio (MLR), Payer Differentiation, Risk Adjustment. 2. Physician Business Environment - Physician-Hospital alignment, burnout, shortages (leakage), and independent vs. employed models. - Ancillary Positions, Liability, Clinical Integration. 3. Provider Business Environment - Hospital consolidations, integrated care delivery, and improving the patient experience. - Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), Consumerism. Module I: The Business of Health Care 1. The Big Picture (Healthcare Ecosystem) - US Healthcare System overview, healthcare reform (ACA/PPACA impacts), and the shift from volume to value. - Stakeholders: Payers (Insurers/Employers), Providers (Hospitals/Physicians), and Patients. - Value-Based Care: A delivery model where providers are paid based on patient health outcomes. - Population Health Management: Improving the health outcomes of a group by monitoring and identifying individual patients within that group. 2. Financial Accounting Concepts - Reading and interpreting financial statements, GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), and FASB/GASB rules. - Assets/Liabilities/Net Assets: Basic accounting equation ($Assets = Liabilities + Net Assets$). - Balance Sheet: A snapshot of an organization's financial position at a specific point in time. - Statement of Operations (Income Statement): Shows revenue and expenses over a period. - Net Patient Service Revenue (NPSR): Revenue actually expected to be collected (Gross Charges minus Contractual Allowances). 3. Cost Analysis Principles - Cost behavior (fixed, variable, semi-variable), break-even analysis, and cost allocation methods. - Direct vs. Indirect Costs: Costs directly attributable to patient care (e.g., supplies) vs. overhead (e.g., administrative salaries). - Contribution Margin: Revenue minus variable costs. - Activity-Based Costing (ABC): Assigning costs based on the resources consumed by specific activities. 4. Strategic Financial Issues - Capital budgeting, strategic planning, and risk mitigation. - Net Present Value (NPV) & IRR: Tools for evaluating the profitability of capital investments. - Financial Ratios: Liquidity (Current Ratio), Profitability (Operating Margin), and Solvency (Debt-to-Equity). - Days Cash on Hand: Measures how long an organization can meet its daily operating expenses using only its cash. 5. Managing Financial Resources - Revenue cycle management (RCM), internal controls, and audit processes. - Days in Accounts Receivable (DAR): The average number of days it takes to collect payment. - Denial Management: The process of investigating and resubmitting insurance claims that were not paid. - Bad Debt vs. Charity Care: Uncollectible accounts from patients able to pay vs. services provided to those unable to pay. Module II: Operational Excellence - Physician-Hospital Alignment: Economic integration, compensation models, and physician burnout. - Payer Environment: Managed care contracts, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and health insurance exchanges. - Operational Productivity: Labor management, supply chain optimization, and clinical integration. - Strategic Growth: Mergers and acquisitions, service line profitability, and telehealth expansion. - Capitation: A fixed amount of money per patient per unit of time paid in advance to the physician for the delivery of health care services. - Contractual Allowance: The difference between what a hospital charges and the amount the insurance company has agreed to pay. - EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization; a measure of operational performance. - HCAHPS: Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems; standardized survey data for measuring patient satisfaction. - ICD-10 / CPT: Standardized coding systems used for diagnosing and billing medical procedures.