Consulting Services

USAging’s Consulting Services focus on the issues and opportunities that are critical to helping AAAs, other community-based organizations (CBOs), and networks of CBOs prepare for and respond to the evolving demands and opportunities in the health and community care environment, as well as preparing their agencies and networks for the future needs of individuals across the communities they serve.

Our nationally recognized consultants and leading AAA and CBO partners bring deep knowledge and expertise in AAA/CBO/network operations, managed care, health care, Medicare and Medicaid, community care needs assessments, quality and performance improvement, risk management, as well as community care programs and services. We understand that every AAA, CBO, and network are unique and require a tailored approach to address their consulting interests and needs.

Get Connected

For more information about how USAging Consulting Services can help your organization, contact Maya Op de Beke (mopdebeke@usaging.org) with USAging’s Aging and Disability Business Institute, or you can get started by completing our no-obligation online inquiry form so we can schedule an initial, no-cost discussion.

Areas of Focus

Meet Our Experts

The USAging Consulting Services program works with health and social care experts from across the country to offer tailored approaches to address your consulting needs.

Our focus is on supporting AAAs, community-based organizations (CBOs), community care hubs (CCHs), states, and other similar organizations in preparing and responding to business needs and opportunities.

Click the links below to learn more about our consultants and their areas of expertise:

To learn more and explore opportunities for collaboration with the Business Institute’s team of internal experts or one of our expert independent consultants, please submit an online inquiry form.

Advocacy and Alliance Building: To ensure policymakers understand the valuable role your organization plays in integrated care today and the positive new roles your organization can plan in the future, our consultants can help you build the skills and plans to create effective alliances with both traditional and nontraditional partners. They also have the experience to assist your organization in understanding state and federal health and managed care program requirements and timing as well as how to be an effective advocate for your agency while building relationships with and educating state and federal health policy experts and government decision-makers on solutions that address the broad-based needs of older adults, people with disabilities and their caregivers.

Business Development, Marketing and Contracting: Our team of consulting firms, partner organizations and individual consultants understand the ABCs of working with Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), hospitals, health systems, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and employers. Our consultants can help your organization strategically plan for growth and equip leadership with the tools necessary to successfully manage change across an agency that is enhancing operations needed to strengthen sustainability. They can help you successfully navigate the health care contracting process and prepare for risk-based contracting opportunities like Value-Based Care. More broadly, our consultants can help you with business development that includes government and grant-based funding opportunities as well.

Compliance: Ensuring your agency is in compliance with existing government compliance expectations for community care agencies can be a full time job. Expanding that to meet the rigorous privacy and security requirements for agencies working with managed care plans and health care providers brings new and complex challenges. USAging’s consultants can help with existing operational requirements as well as preparing for the challenges of health care contracting, data sharing, and delegation environments.

Financial Management: Developing budgets and proposed financial options is evolving. The future opportunities will focus on value with unit-based, fee-for-service pricing fading into the rear-view mirror. Developing a keen understanding and techniques for managing new financial structures will be critical to success. Examples include value-based purchasing, breakeven analysis, how to address sunk costs, withholds and quality bonuses, etc.

Health and Managed Care Environment: Payors, like Medicare and Medicaid, are increasingly empowering and paying health plans and integrated health systems to address Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) by providing for social needs and closing health equity gaps. If AAAs and CBOs are going to continue to serve the social needs across their communities, these organizations must learn, adapt, and develop the skills to effectively contract with managed care organizations.

Learning and Development: Knowledge is power, and our consultants can offer training and technical assistance on a variety of health care, operational, and business-related topics to help you and your organization learn what you need to be successful. Some of the most in-demand training topics include:

  • Culture change
  • ABCs of managed care
  • Value-based payment models

Medicare Part B Billing and Coding: The long-standing experience and expertise of aging and disability community-based organizations (CBOs) providing community care and related services, makes becoming a Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) provider a viable opportunity to diversity revenue streams, providing Medicare Part B billable services. CBOs serving older adults, people living with disabilities, and caregivers have an existing customer base to strategically position their services and programs for the Original Medicare FFS program, potentially generating a reliable revenue stream for your agency.

CBOs interested in becoming Medicare providers should learn about Medicare Part B to help determine which benefit(s) they are best positioned to offer and how to prepare for and successfully navigate the Medicare Part B provider application process. Our consultants have experience navigating that process and strategically aligning service offerings with available Medicare billing codes.

Networks and Community Care Hubs: Managed care organizations often need broad geographical coverage that spans far beyond the traditional boundaries of even the largest AAA or CBO. For these frequent situations, AAAs and CBOs have begun forming networks with a Community Care Hub or Network Lead Entity providing organizational and administrative solutions, like contract negotiations and management, billing, quality, product standardizations, systems and data integration, and performance improvement. Our consultants have experience building and consulting with existing hubs and help you achieve your vision as well!

Operations – Health Care Operational Readiness and Execution: Managing contracts with health care and managed care organizations brings new challenges to even the most sophisticated agency. USAging’s Consulting Services can help your organization anticipate and develop solutions for these challenges. Consulting services can be tailored to your needs and may include: development of internal workflows, policies and procedures, gap analyses, plans for quality improvements and efficiencies, and an operational readiness assessment for program launch and ongoing process improvements. Additional areas of focus may include: credentialing, value-based quality and outcomes programs and measurement, as well as support to help your agency navigate the new world of data systems, electronic data exchange, information technology, and data security.

Operations – Strategy and Business Planning: Our consultants are experienced in strategy and business planning and can support your organization in assessing your current operational effectiveness from performance expectations to shared services and operational management challenges. They can help your organization develop a clear, step-by-step path forward with manageable objectives, priorities, and timeframes.

Quality and Performance Measurement: Traditional AAA and CBO services have typically been measured on outputs. However, as person-centeredness trends towards whole person care, care that includes health care and community care, the focus of quality performance indicators is also shifting towards metrics centered on health and well-being goals and outcomes. Our consultants are experienced working in this environment and can help your AAA, CBO or network incorporate outcomes-based quality and performance management. We can also help organizations manage credentialing and accreditation processes.

Value Based Health Care Contracting: Community service organizations are increasingly delivering programs and services under paid contracts with health care organizations. Understanding the sources and drivers of financial risk in health care is an important component of informing and structuring a CBO value proposition, addressing pricing considerations and assessing how much risk your organization can assume under contract. Our consultants have experience working with health plans and CBOs to determine factors impacting health care financial risk modeling. They can advise your organization on strategies for managing and mitigating financial risk as you consider engaging in risk-based contracting opportunities, like Value Based Care arrangements.