Risk Adjustment is No Longer a Back-Office Function

Caitlin Nicklow

Senior Manager

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For years, ACA Risk Adjustment was treated as a technical requirement—important, but largely operational and retrospective in nature. That framing no longer holds.​

​In today’s environment of margin compression, RADV pressure and performance volatility, Risk Adjustment has become one of the few controllable levers plans still have.​

When Risk Adjustment is managed as a siloed, back-office function, plans expose themselves to preventable financial risk and downstream disruption.​

​Leading organizations are reframing Risk Adjustment as an enterprise capability. They connect data, clinical documentation, analytics, finance and operations into a coordinated model—one that supports both accuracy and sustainability.​

​This Shift Changes the Conversation:​

  • From retrospective reconciliation to proactive margin protection
  • From isolated technical work to cross-functional accountability
  • From “getting it done” to getting it right​

In 2026, Risk Adjustment performance is not just a technical success factor.​ It is a strategic one.