Joanna Weiss, Executive Vice President and CFO at Moffitt Cancer Center

Summary

Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Summary: Joanna Weiss, Executive Vice President and CFO at Moffitt Cancer Center

Release Date: August 14, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast, host Madeline Ashley engages in an insightful conversation with Joanna Weiss, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. With nearly two decades of experience in the healthcare finance sector, Joanna shares her extensive knowledge on financial trends, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare operations, strategic growth initiatives, and the evolving role of CFOs in the healthcare landscape.

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Background: Joanna Weiss and Moffitt Cancer Center [00:00 - 02:34]

Joanna Weiss provides an overview of her professional journey and the organization she serves:

• Role and Organization: As the CFO of Moffitt Cancer Center, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in Florida, Joanna oversees financial operations for an institution that serves approximately 30,000 new patients and handles over 600,000 patient encounters annually across multiple campuses in Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

• Career Progression: Joanna has been with Moffitt for 19.5 years, starting as the Director of Internal Audit. Her tenure includes significant roles:

  • Director of Internal Audit: Focused on auditing accounts and learning the revenue cycle intricacies.
  • Vice President of Revenue Cycle: Led revenue cycle operations for nearly four years.
  • Vice President of Finance: Managed both finance and revenue cycle for five to six years.
  • Senior Vice President (SVP): Progressed through leadership ranks before her recent promotion to CFO.

“I've had a really progressive career here at Moffitt, and I feel so fortunate that I get to work here.” – Joanna Weiss [02:34]

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Current Trends in Healthcare Finance [03:09 - 05:33]

Joanna identifies three primary trends she is closely monitoring:

1. Financial Stabilization Post-Pandemic:

   • The pandemic significantly impacted financial margins.
   • Recently, margins have been improving, allowing for a period of stabilization.
   • Focus is on balancing growth with maintaining and improving margins, ensuring benefits for both patients and faculty.

2. Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Revenue Cycle:

   • Emphasis on utilizing AI to identify financial opportunities.
   • Moffitt currently employs extensive automation equivalent to 400 workers in its revenue cycle.
   • Exploring advanced AI applications to reduce collection costs and overall service provision costs.

3. Strategic Growth Amidst Capital Constraints:

   • Navigating growth in a capital-constrained environment.
   • Engaging in strategic planning to anticipate and adapt to changes in reimbursement models and regulatory landscapes.
   • Preparing operational teams for potential shifts that could significantly impact operations.

“It's always top of mind and trying to understand how you balance both growth and growing out of those compressed margins.” – Joanna Weiss [03:09]

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Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Finance [05:33 - 07:09]

Madeline delves deeper into Moffitt’s approach to selecting AI tools:

• Identification of Financial Opportunities:

  • Under the leadership of the Vice President of Revenue Cycle, Moffitt has pinpointed key areas where AI can drive financial improvements.

• Addressing Denials in Oncology Care:

  • Denials constitute a significant financial challenge.
  • Implemented an AI solution to ensure compliant and appropriate reimbursement, which has already started delivering positive returns.

• Enhancing Coding Efficiency:

  • In oncology, particularly inpatient settings involving cell and gene therapy, there is a scarcity of experienced coders.
  • AI is being used to boost coding efficiency, compliance, and accuracy, addressing recruitment challenges.

“We are extremely excited about that has already started to yield very nice returns for us.” – Joanna Weiss [07:09]

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Excitements and Innovations at Moffitt Cancer Center [07:09 - 09:07]

Joanna highlights the organization’s growth initiatives and innovations:

1. Expansion of Moffitt Ambulatory Clinics (MACs):

   • Recently opened a MAC in Ruskin to meet patient demand.
   • Plans to open another MAC in Pasco County alongside a new proton center, marking Moffitt’s expansion to Florida’s west coast.

2. New Research Facilities:

   • Launching a state-of-the-art research building aimed at accelerating cancer research and fostering innovation.

3. Commercially Viable Innovations:

   • Exploring non-traditional revenue streams through innovation to enhance cash flow amidst challenging reimbursement landscapes.

“We are looking for ways to augment our overall cash flow through what you would consider maybe somewhat non-traditional revenue generators like innovation.” – Joanna Weiss [08:57]

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Strategic Growth Plans for the Next 12-24 Months [09:07 - 10:08]

Joanna outlines Moffitt’s expansion strategy focused on patient-centered care:

• Geographic Expansion:

  • Establishing MACs in rapidly growing communities to provide cancer care closer to patients’ homes.

• Integration of Clinical Trials:

  • Bringing clinical trials to MACs to make participation easier and more accessible for patients.

• Investment Returns:

  • Expecting to realize returns from investments in new clinics and infrastructure within the next two years.

“We believe that the best cancer care is delivered closer to a patient's home.” – Joanna Weiss [09:07]

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Evolution of the CFO Role in Healthcare [10:08 - 11:18]

Joanna discusses the transformative nature of the CFO position:

• Shift from Cost Management to Strategic Partner:

  • CFOs are moving away from being perceived as “the Mr. No” to strategic advisors.
  • Focus on guiding clinical leaders and CEOs in optimizing the allocation of finite resources.

• Strategic Planning and Future-Oriented Thinking:

  • Emphasis on scenario planning to navigate potential changes in reimbursement and regulations.
  • Driving long-term growth through informed capital investments and resource management.

• Future Outlook:

  • The role of CFOs will continue to evolve rapidly, becoming increasingly integral to strategic decision-making in healthcare organizations.

“It's really more about how do we help our clinical leaders and chief executive officers strategically think about finite resources and where best to put them.” – Joanna Weiss [10:24]

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Conclusion

The episode provides a comprehensive look into the financial strategies and forward-thinking initiatives at Moffitt Cancer Center under Joanna Weiss’s leadership. From embracing AI to enhance revenue cycles, expanding patient-centric care locations, to redefining the CFO role as a strategic partner, Joanna offers valuable insights into navigating the complex healthcare financial landscape.

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Notable Quotes:

• “It's always top of mind and trying to understand how you balance both growth and growing out of those compressed margins.” – Joanna Weiss [03:09]

• “We are extremely excited about that has already started to yield very nice returns for us.” – Joanna Weiss [07:09]

• “We believe that the best cancer care is delivered closer to a patient's home.” – Joanna Weiss [09:07]

• “It's really more about how do we help our clinical leaders and chief executive officers strategically think about finite resources and where best to put them.” – Joanna Weiss [10:24]

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights shared by Joanna Weiss during her interview on the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast, providing listeners and readers with an in-depth understanding of the financial strategies shaping Moffitt Cancer Center’s growth and operations.

Transcript

[A]

This is Madeline Ashley with the Becker CFO and Revenue Cycle Podcast. And I'm so excited to be joined today by Joanna Weiss, Executive Vice President and cfo, Moffitt Cancer Center. Hey, Joanna, thanks for joining me.

[B]

Hey, nice to meet you and I'm glad to be here.

[A]

Wonderful. So, Joanna, before we kick things off, do you mind sharing just a little bit about yourself and your organization with our audience so we can get to know you better?

[B]

Sure, of course. So I am the CFO at Moffitt Cancer center, and we are a NCI designated comprehensive cancer center in the state of Florida. We serve about 30,000 new patients a year and over 600,000 encounters per year. And we are located in the beautiful city of Tampa, Florida, and we have several campuses in Hillsborough and soon to be Pasco County. And we are just a very fortunate organization that we are here in the state of Florida. So that is Moffitt Cancer center, and I have been here about 19 and a half years. I started my career at Moffitt. I'm a CPA by training, and I started as the Director of Internal audit. And it was such a wonderful nine years there where I got to really learn the organization and establish so many relationships across the organization. And in those nine years, we implemented a patient accounting system, and that implementation didn't go so well. And so I had a chance to really learn a lot about our revenue cycle. And in the course of that, we audited many, many accounts. And I really learned how that cycle worked. And so when there was an opportunity for a leadership opening, I was promoted to the VP of Rev Cycle. And I absolutely loved my time in Rev Cycle. I love the fact that it's. It is, in fact, a cycle. There are metrics and there's patient interaction and there's an amazing team. And so I did that for, I would say, just under four, just right around four years. And then we had an organizational restructure and I was promoted to the VP of Finance, inclusive of Rev cycle. And I stayed in that role for, I would say, about five or six years and then progressed through to an svp. And then recently I was promoted last year to the cfo. So I've had a. A really progressive career here at Moffitt, and I feel so fortunate that I get to work here.

[A]

Thank you so much for sharing that. And then it just sounds like you're incredibly happy and such a great organization. And my parents actually used to live in Tampa, so I have a little connection there as well. Yeah, yeah, it's a nice, sunny place. So to kind of kick us off, Joanna, I would love to hear maybe two to three trends that you're closely following in healthcare. As you just shared with us, you've been in the industry for a few years, almost two decades. So what is something that you're really keeping your eye on right now, maybe even in just the cancer healthcare space as well?

[B]

Yeah. So I don't think I'm unlike any other CFO in the world where just I would say financial stabilization. We came out of the pandemic and it took us several years to sort of recover from that experience. And we've seen improving margins subsequent to the pandemic. And I would say we're just now sort of taking a deep breath. But, you know, as the winds are always changing in healthcare, just that stabilization and that continuation of financial stewardship in such a slim margin industry is always top of mind and trying to understand how you balance both growth and growing out of that, those compressed margins, but also finding ways that you can continue to increase those margins in ways that are both good for the patient and good for our faculty. So I would say that's the first thing. A couple other items, and this is really more of a way to do it, is the utilization, of course, is the buzzword that we all know is artificial intelligence really trying to understand where we have opportunities. We have a tremendous amount of automation in our current revenue cycle, and it's in excess of the equivalent of 400 workers. And so we, we utilize automation quite a bit. But taking that to the next level, how can we use agentic AI? How can we use AI for other things? That's going to make our cost to collect lower. It's going to decrease our overall cost of providing the service to our patients and to our organization. So that's the second item. And then I would say the third item is really a deviation of the first, is how do we grow in an environment where, you know, everyone is so capital constrained because of just, you know, the margins that we live with and figuring out ways to think strategically and scenario plan and be prepared for things such as, you know, changing reimbursement or federal regulations or state regulations, and so really getting our operational teams ready for what we would do in case something really catastrophic or changed our way of operations in a way that was really meaningful. So those are the type, top three things that I would say are on my mind.

[A]

So thank you for sharing those trends. I'd like to back up to the second one you mentioned. Just in terms of AI, there's so many technologies and tools out there. So how, from a financial perspective, do you narrow down the tools that you'll go with?

[B]

Yes, thanks. I think that's a great question. Under the leadership of our vice president of Revenue cycle at Moffitt, she has done a really good job of identifying where our largest financial opportunities are. And so in oncology care, denials is a. Is a big component of that. And our intent is to ensure that we receive all the reimbursement that we are compliantly and appropriately entitled to. And so that was the first area that we've really explored and just recently, and it implemented a solution that we are extremely excited about that has already started to yield very nice returns for us. The second is where we have substantial FTE reliance, and not just reliance, but. And it's hard to recruit experienced team members. And so that's in our coding space. You know, coding is particularly in oncology and especially inpatient oncology, where you have cell and gene therapy. It's inpatient coders are very hard to come by. And so looking for ways that we can increase their ability to code efficiently, compliantly, appropriately is the second area that we're really exploring. We haven't implemented the SOL yet, but we've identified it in our, in the process. So we're really excited about both of those.

[A]

Yeah, I appreciate you diving in a little deeper there. I'm sure that'll be super insightful for our listeners. I would like to shift gears a little bit now and talk about maybe what you're most excited about at Moffitt Cancer Center. You know, again, as you mentioned, you've, you've been with the organization for, for a pretty good amount of time. So I'm sure it's been great to see it evolve and maybe if you could just share just some of the things that excite you most.

[B]

Absolutely. So I would say the first is we are a growing organization. We just recently opened a Mac, as we call them, a Moffitt Ambulatory Clinic in the south part of our county, down in Ruskin. And it has just really met a patient need. And so we're really excited about that. We have another Mac that will open in Pasco county, which is another very fast growing community where we have quite a few patients. And so that Mac is also going to open next year in conjunction with a proton center, which is new to Moffett and the west coast of Florida. And we are opening a brand new beautiful research building that will give our researchers a new space, room to grow and really accelerate their research. Moffitt's mission is to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer and we have a very large footprint in research, so that's really exciting. And then just the continued innovation that comes out of Moffitt and understanding how we can leverage that for commercial advisable activities. As we all know, reimbursement is a, is a very tenuous situation, but at the federal and commercial level. And so we are looking for ways to augment our overall cash flow through what you would consider maybe somewhat non traditional revenue generators like innovation. So both of those things I'm really excited about.

[A]

And you did touch on this a little bit at the beginning, just in terms of, you know, looking at growth. But could you share how you are thinking about expansion and growth over the next 12 to 24 months even?

[B]

Absolutely. So as I mentioned, we have the growth in our clinical teams and expanding into those geographic areas and we really believe that the best cancer care is delivered closer to a patient's home. It's hard for them to drive into a particular campus. So reaching them where they are is really important to us. And bringing our care to their home or to their home area is really important. So in the next two years, I would say that we will need to realize the return on that investment and all that capital activity from the South Shore Mac as well as the Mac that's opening in Pasco County. So that's how I'm thinking about growth and just understanding how we can get our clinical trials also back out into our Macs and bring those closer to patients. So that MAX strategy is one that was started several years ago. And it's really something that we believe is important to our patients for a lot of different reasons, both the geography as well as the clinical trials being closer to them as well.

[A]

And my final question for you here, something I like to ask CFOs. You know, just given your time in the world of finance, how have you noticed that the CFO role has grown and evolved? And where do you expect it to be in the next maybe three to five years?

[B]

Yeah. So, you know, there's a lot of literature and lots of articles on this, but CFOs really are having to transform the way they think about things. A lot of times we are the Mrs. No or the Mr. No or the Dr. No of an organization. And that really, really has changed. It's really more about how do we help our clinical leaders and chief executive officers strategically think about finite resources and where best to put them and then planning for the future. So, you know, it's really been a shift away from what I would call cost management to strategic thinking. And as I mentioned earlier, even just being able to grow our way into other things and thinking about where you put those capital investments and where you put your resources has really shifted, even even in the first year that I've as a cfo. And I suspect that will only continue to change at an even more rapid pace.

[A]

Well, some great insights there, Joanna. It was such a pleasure getting to chat with you about all the exciting things going on at Moffitt Cancer Center. I really appreciate it, and I'm excited to connect with you again soon.

[B]

Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

[A]

Thank you.