The 2026 OPEN MINDS CFO Summit

Strong managed care partnerships have become essential to financial sustainability and strategic growth of behavioral health organizations. In this session, we’ll hear two executive perspectives on how to lead the development of resilient, mutually beneficial relationships with health plans that drive reimbursement strength, quality performance, and long-term sustainability.

The session will unpack the executive team’s role in shaping payer strategy – from preparing compelling organizational value propositions and negotiating contract terms to using data to demonstrate outcomes, reduce friction, and strengthen trust with managed care partners.

Attendees will explore:

• How to analyze payer mix, model contract impacts, and align financial operations with performance expectations
• Practical frameworks, negotiation insights, and communication strategies to enhance payer collaboration and secure favorable terms
• How to position organizations as high-value, reliable partners in a competitive and rapidly evolving managed care environment

As consolidation accelerates across the behavioral health landscape, CFOs are playing an increasingly strategic role in shaping the future of their organizations. This session examines how financial leaders can guide mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, and cross-sector partnerships that strengthen market position, expand service capacity, and advance mission-driven growth.

Participants will explore the full lifecycle of partnership development– from assessing organizational readiness and conducting rigorous financial and operational due diligence to structuring deals that balance risk, value, and long-term sustainability.

This session will provide:

• Emerging trends in collaborative models, including payer-provider partnerships, joint ventures and alliances that enhance care integration and access
• Practical tools to evaluate strategic fit, model financial impacts, lead negotiations, and communicate partnership value to internal and external stakeholders
• The insight needed to navigate complex decisions and drive successful, future-focused organizational strategy

Most finance leaders inherit an accounting system someone else chose. Replacing it is one of the few decisions a CFO fully owns, and it sets what the finance team can and cannot do for the next decade.

This session follows an I/DD CFO through that rebuild, from the realization that a change is needed, through go-live and the months after. Attendees will hear what the organization got right, what it would do differently, and where the capacity gains exceeded expectations.

Attendees will leave with:

• A read on when an aging accounting system has become the constraint on growth, and how to make that case to a board
• The sequence of a full implementation, including the internal staffing and hours the project requires
• Where finance team capacity is recovered after go-live, and how long it takes to begin seeing the return