
S1 Ep152: The secret to winning payer negotiations, with Doral Jacobson, MBA, FACMPE, of Prosper Beyond VBC
From Off the Chart: A Business of Medicine Podcast by Medical Economics
May 21, 2026 · 26 min · Season 1 · Episode 152
About this episode
Doral Jacobson discusses strategies for effective payer negotiations in medical practices.
Most practices feel defeated going into payer negotiations before they even start. In this episode of Off the Chart: A Business of Medicine Podcast, Doral Jacobson, MBA, FACMPE, CEO of Prosper Beyond VBC, joins Physicians Practice Managing Editor Keith Reynolds to explain why, and what to do about it. Jacobson walks through the three things that undermine practices before a single word is spoken: no strategy, no clarity on how their contracts are actually performing and a poor track record that creates fear of rejection. She explains how to use price transparency data without getting trapped in a numbers debate, which contract terms beyond the headline rate move the needle most — including escalators, unilateral amendment protections and termination clauses — and what questions to ask payers early to find out how much leverage you actually have. The conversation also covers how negotiation strategy differs across primary care, specialty, behavioral health, ambulatory surgery and FQHC settings, and closes with a bottom line that Jacobson says applies to every practice regardless of size: payers have nothing without a network, and you have more power than you think. Music Credits…
People in this episode
Host: Keith Reynolds
Guest: Doral Jacobson
Topics covered
- payer negotiations
- medical practice strategy
- contract terms
- price transparency
- negotiation tactics
Keywords
- payer negotiations
- contract performance
- price transparency
- negotiation strategy
- medical economics
Sponsors
Copic medical liability insurance
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Prosper Beyond VBC
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