27 June 2019 4 Min Read
A Conversation with John Bartos, CEO of Collect Rx
NCP portfolio company Collect Rx has had a big year so far. After achieving greater than 40% growth last year, the team has been hard at work acquiring talent while planning and executing an expansion of its product offerings. We talked to Collect Rx’s CEO, John Bartos, about what’s going on with Collect Rx. Read our conversation to learn more about John and this exciting company.
New Capital Partners: Tell us about the history of Collect Rx and your role there.
John Bartos: Collect Rx provides revenue cycle services to healthcare providers, primarily in the ambulatory center and behavioral health markets. The Company’s focus is out-of-network claims where the medical provider has no contractual pricing relationship with the patient’s insurer. Collect Rx “levels the playing field” by helping providers achieve higher reimbursements on their claims.
Collect Rx’s history is interesting. Our founders and much of our staff has worked on the side of the payors and their intermediaries, and, in fact, wrote the book on how payors reduce payments to providers on out-of-network claims. We are truly the leading experts in the field. Because of this, along with our proprietary data and analytics tools we’ve created, we have the ability to provide value to our customers in ways no one else can.
As far as my background, much of my career has been spent in the healthcare services, information technology and revenue cycle management. I am a graduate of Princeton University and received my law degree from the American University Washington College of Law, where I graduated summa cum laude as a member of Law Review. Post-law school, I practiced law for several years. I primarily served as a litigator, representing financial firms, such as banks, savings and loans, securities firms and brokerage firms in a variety of litigation matters. Perhaps more interestingly, after graduating from Princeton, I was a professional tennis player, playing events around the world.
I entered the healthcare field in the late 1990s. As President of DrFirst, Inc. a leading e-prescribing company, and Executive Vice President of Prematics, Inc., which delivers fully managed clinical IT services for providers, I have specialized in providing services to hospitals, health systems, insurers and other healthcare providers. My customers have included a wide range of for-profit and not-for-profit health insurers, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Capital BlueCross, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic Region and CareFirst. I’ve also worked on behalf of numerous hospitals, surgery centers and health systems, including MedStar Health, AmSurg and NeuHealth, along with hundreds of physician practices.
My focus these days at Collect Rx is driving corporate strategy for the company, attaining operational excellence in our service delivery, defining our commercialization and product plans and ensuring that we execute and achieve our objectives.
NCP: What are some highlights in the past year at Collect Rx that you’re particularly excited about? What are you most looking forward to this year for the Company?
JB: We had a strong year in 2018 from a financial performance perspective. And, of course, the transaction with NCP that occurred in mid-2018 represented a significant milestone for us. We brought our CFO, Joe Esparraguera, onto the team. Finally, we broadened our product lines, expanding the types of complex claims we handle for our customers beyond out-of-network to other types of claims. With our push into expanding our markets and new product development, we’ve been able to leverage many of our core strengths to diversify our business and enter new markets.
NCP: What are some of the biggest challenges your team faces in your industry?
JB: Perhaps the greatest challenge we face here at Collect Rx is managing our AR. The healthcare IT and services companies by their very nature tend to have higher AR. Nevertheless, we have put in place a number of initiatives aimed at improving that aspect of our business. Furthermore, the diversification of our product lines, adding to the breadth of complex claim services that we offer, will play a key role addressing this challenge.
NCP: What do you love most about your work at Collect Rx and the company as a whole?
JB: What I love most is the people. I’ve worked at the company for many years, so I know the people well. I’ve also worked with some members outside of Collect Rx. We know each other quite well and, as a result, we are able to solve issues very efficiently and effectively.
NCP: When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your time?
JB: I’m married with four children. My oldest is 20, and my youngest is 12. Most of my free time is devoted to my family.
NCP: Describe the relationship between Collect Rx and New Capital Partners.
JB: The partnership with NCP is strong – NCP has served as a driving force for the company. Each member of the NCP team – James, Adam and Trey – brings something unique to the table. They are always willing to help, and I appreciate their good counsel and advice they provide me as CEO. It’s great to have them in our corner.
NCP: What has been the most beneficial part of the partnership with NCP?
JB: I would say that the feeling that we are all in this together has been the most beneficial part of our partnership with NCP. The NCP team has been incredibly supportive – their approach has been to work with us in a partnership to keep growing Collect Rx into a great company.
