Qualifications

Healthcents has the most qualified leadership team to enable you to maximize your reimbursements:

Our Executive Management Leadership Team:

Healthcents' Founder and President, Ms. Susan Charkin MPH, leads client strategy and new business development.  Susan has a very successful and proven track record in enabling medical care providers to make more money.   Susan's background includes 15+ years of experience in senior contracting positions with Health Net, Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California, Blue Cross Blue Shield of the National Capital Area (Washington DC), Aetna, MaxiCare and the University of California, San Francisco. Susan has a complete understanding of Healthcare reimbursement from the perspective of both providers and insurance companies and is one of the few individuals in the USA with this unique background. Susan is also a leading author and national speaker on managed care contracting issues and has been published in journals such as Specialty Capitation and The Emergency Medical Services Insider Journal. She holds a Masters in Public Health Administration from USF and is currently a Trustee at Natividad Medical Center, a 160+ bed public tertiary care facility in Central California.   Susan not only has the ability to define a current plan to maximize your payer reimbursements today but she has the insight and knowledge to define and implement a commercial payer reimbursement plan that will stand the test of time and maximize your reimbursements, going forward, in this era of new healthcare reform and uncertainty.

Healthcents' CEO, Mr. Steve Selbst leads our business operations including contracting and reimbursement analysis.  He is responsible for all of Healthcents Inc.’s business processes, contracts management, negotiations, and computing systems which are used to enable Healthcents to get providers maximum reimbursements on payer contracts.  He has negotiated over 4000 payer contracts and is the inventor of RevolutionSoftware, Healthcents’ state of the art web service product for payer contracts’ analysis.  Under Steve's leadership, many of the largest practices in the USA have become our reference accounts.   Steve leads the development and delivery of our "Blue Print for Success" Payer Contracting Class which teaches medical providers the "secret sauce" about how to negotiate payer contracts.

Steve's background includes over two decades of Executive Management with IBM and he is well known in the software and healthcare businesses as a leader who builds new businesses quickly and profitably. His experience includes the managing of complex multi-site and multi company software development including labs in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. He managed a staff of over 300 people in the development of complex business intelligence software used by companies all over the world for query, reporting and data analysis. Steve has been quoted in many press releases and was one of the industry leaders in the development of metadata standards across enterprises and has built several strategic business partnerships including one of the most important OLAP (On Line Analytic Processing) business agreements in the industry. Steve holds a BS in Business from Arizona State University, Summa Cum Laude, and was invited to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship.

Our VP of Accounts and Operations, Ms. Regina Vasquez, has been successfully leading and closing payer contracts for our clients since 2004.  Since then, she has successfully negotiated thousands of payer agreements for clients across the United States and was the team leader in assisting one of the largest payers in California to negotiate and credential a complete skilled nursing facility network.  Regina’s work with Healthcents has proven her to be a savvy negotiator with established success delivering to our clients improved revenue and profit through increased reimbursements from commercial payer agreements.   

Regina has 10+ years of contracts negotiations and project management experience plus five years working as an ancillary professional in the postpartum unit of a large, private hospital in San Diego County, California.  She has a proven track record of success in contracts negotiations, organizational development, operations and management, including work-flow management and customer service.  Regina is on the local Economic Development Commission and on the board of directors of two non-profit organizations focused on providing opportunity for young people to participate in competitive sports and music activities.  She attended the University of Wyoming and is also completing a Bachelor of Science in Public Management at Colorado State University.

Our VP of Practice Management, Ms. Mari Cyphers, brings over 25 years of medical experience to Healthcents. Initiating her career as a Physical Therapist, she has maintained key roles within the medical field, including direct patient care, private practice, education, management and executive administration. Her organizational responsibilities have included clinical compliance, personnel management, policy and procedural implementation, financial performance, strategic planning, program development and public relations.

Most recently, Mari has worked at managing large physician groups as they transition from small to larger sized practices, including the development of ambulatory surgery, imaging and rehabilitation centers. Her skill in organizational development stems from a decade with Physiotherapy Associates, a division of the Stryker Corporation. Her primary role was to ensure organizational stability as the region grew from 6 to 30 facilities in California and Nevada. During this time, she transitioned numerous acquisitions and start-up facilities, with a strong emphasis on customer service and consistency in operations. She demonstrates a unique capability in developing and motivating teams from a performance based position.

Mari received her Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Hayward followed by a post-graduate degree in Physical Therapy from Children's Hospital Los Angeles/UCLA. Additionally, she completed a standard teaching credential obtained from Chapman College. Her background has been strong in many areas, especially Sports Medicine and Fitness, with several key publications in Shape Magazine and the International Fitness Association - Personal Trainer Manual. She is a member of Medical Group Management Association, HealthCare Business Women's Association, and the American Physical Therapy Association.

AND

Our Business Model:

• Extensive Senior Contract Management experience negotiating with insurers and working for insurers including MaxiCare, Health Net, Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of the National Capital Area (Washington DC), Aetna/US Healthcare and the University of California, San Francisco
• Experienced and professional staff to enable fast and accurate negotiations to enable maximum reimbursement
• Nationally Recognized firm that speaks at prominent industry conferences such as the AUA (American Urological Association), LUGPA (Large Urology Practice Group Association), American Ambulance Association and many others.  We written many trade journal articles which you may view at our Published Articles page
• Many references and happy clients. See our Testimonials page for examples
• Proven track record in enabling medical practices to increase profit and grow their practices
• One stop shopping to meet your needs:
• Reimbursement Analysis
• Contract Negotiations
• Marketing
• Business Expansion
• Billing and Collections
• Collateral and Web Site Development
• Training