Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 27, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 19 C H A M P I O N S O F H E A LT H C A R E F O C U S Congratulations to Champions of Health Care award honoree Dr. Stephanie Broder and the entire team at Main Street Pediatrics Worcester Framingham Boston BOWDITCH.COM Hutt strengthens providers' financials in the shi to preventative care BY LAURA FINALDI Special to WBJ A s partner and healthcare division leader at West- borough accounting firm AAFCPAs, Matthew Hutt helps medical providers answer complicated questions. Health- care providers, especially smaller ones, have difficulty thinking about long- term financial planning and navigating complex payment structures. at's where Hutt and his team of tax profes- sionals step in. "When you're in the middle of something, you're not as objective as you should be. Sometimes you need someone from outside your organiza- tion to tell you what they really think," Hutt said. "Sometimes it's just being there for them as things come up." Hutt joined AAFCPAs in 1991. As leader of the healthcare division, he advises medical providers on coor- dinating care, including integrating behavioral health with the overall de- livery system. Carla McCall, managing partner at AAFCPAs, said Hutt is a wealth of information. "Our core values are about com- munity service and giving back; it's all about the client at the center of everything we do. He has embodied that since he walked through the doors," McCall said. "He stands out as someone with genuine care for his clients, the industry, and the communi- ty and is always trying to help them be better in order to think creatively about business." Hutt said he wanted to work with the healthcare industry because of the crit- ical need it provides to the community. "In the Worcester area in particu- lar, there are patients who don't have health insurance, who are under- insured, or who don't have enough providers in their communities," he said. "By helping health organizations become stronger, they can provide more services to medically under- served areas where there's not a lot of access to care." In late 2017, MassHealth began a new accountable care organization (ACO) program, reimbursing provid- ers based on community healthcare outcomes. Hutt is at the forefront of changes in healthcare, McCall said, and he worked with MassHealth, the Community Care Cooperative, and the Mass League of Community Health Centers as the ACO program developed. Aer it rolled out, he spent a significant amount with different agencies, whether they were clients or not, to help them understand what the change meant for them. e shi to an ACO program was a change for agencies, Hutt said. "It's a real shi because if you go back to the 1990s, we told our clients, 'It's volume right. You want to make sure doctors are very productive, be- cause that's how you increase revenue.' Now with the revenue cycle, it's not volume, it's patient panels, understand- ing community, understanding mon- itoring services. It's a big change," he said. "It's good in the long run, because the goal is to have better quality of care, and keeping people healthy is the primary focus. It's helped move them towards a more preventive type of care. But it's a big shi." Helping clients transitioning to an ACO involved more documentation and having systems in place for moni- toring and reporting, Hutt said. Hutt provided pro bono assistance to agencies during COVID-19. For many healthcare providers, the pandemic was the first time they worked with federal funding. To stay informed, Hutt said he read guidance as it was released daily and adjusted as things changed. "ere were monies that were avail- able to be spent, but it was teaching them, 'Before I take this money, how am I going to document it and spend it on the right things?'" he said. "ey would be audited in the future, so it was about understanding what the rules are, and teaching and providing guidance." Looking forward, Hutt said helping healthcare firms turn a profit is at the top of his mind. Agencies can benefit from diversifying revenue sources by adding things like pharmacy services. He wants to help clients think about the big picture when they're in the daily trenches. Whatever the healthcare industry fac- es in the future, McCall said she knows Hutt will be there helping shape it. "He's a thought leader in the indus- try. He's super super smart, and he can just take that knowledge and translate it to everyday language," she said. H

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