2026 ACDIS/NAHRI Denials Management Mastermind: Outlier claims, workload management, and automatic downgrades

Rising denials are putting unprecedented pressure on hospital and health system finances, forcing organizations to do more with less while striving to maintain high-quality patient care. Those in the CDI and revenue integrity fields are increasingly being asked to help fight the rising denial tide. And it’s no small task.

The annual Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists (ACDIS) and National Association of Healthcare Revenue Integrity (NAHRI) Denials Management Mastermind group brings together a multidisciplinary group of leaders from CDI and revenue integrity for focused brainstorming and problem-solving around this challenging issue.

This multitopic report, produced in partnership with Waystar, shares takeaways from the first half of the 2026 ACDIS/NAHRI Denials Management Mastermind term. These conversations cover a range of topics, including:

• Navigating outlier payer claims
• Managing the denials workload with limited resources
• Identifying and combating automatic downgrade denials