AAPC and HealthCon Review

Quick Summary of HCON Impact

AAPC HEALTHCON is one of the largest annual conferences dedicated to the business side of healthcare, with a primary focus on medical coding, billing, auditing, compliance, and revenue cycle operations. Organized by the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), the conference is designed primarily for provider-side professionals seeking education, certification maintenance, and career advancement. While HEALTHCON delivers meaningful value to coders, billers, and compliance staff, its audience composition and objectives differ significantly from payer-centric conferences—an important distinction for vendors and sponsors evaluating return on investment.

What Is AAPC and How Does It Make Money?

The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) is the world’s largest training and credentialing organization focused on healthcare administrative and financial operations. Its core business model centers on education, certification, and ongoing professional development.

AAPC generates revenue through several primary channels. First, certification programs—such as CPC, CCS, CRC, COC, and CPMA—represent a significant income stream, with members paying for exams, retakes, and preparatory courses. Second, AAPC collects annual membership dues, which provide access to coding resources, forums, continuing education units (CEUs), and industry publications. Third, conferences like HEALTHCON produce revenue through registration fees, sponsorships, exhibitor booths, workshops, and virtual attendance packages.



For its members, AAPC delivers structured career pathways, credential recognition, and access to updated coding and compliance guidance tied to AMA, CMS, and payer policies. For employers, AAPC certifications function as workforce validation tools, helping standardize billing and compliance knowledge across provider organizations.

Biller and Provider Benefits for Attending

2023 AAPC Conference

Location:  Nashville, TN

Date:  May 21-24, 2023

Attendee Cost:  $1,595 for both onsite and virtual attendance

HEALTHCON 2023 attracted a national audience of healthcare professionals working across physician practices, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, billing companies, and consulting firms. The majority of attendees came from provider-side revenue cycle and compliance roles, with limited participation from payer organizations.



The conference opened with a keynote by Paul Keckley, a widely respected healthcare policy analyst, who addressed systemic pressures facing U.S. healthcare—ranging from payer-provider tension and workforce shortages to technology adoption and long-term sustainability. His message emphasized shared accountability across the healthcare ecosystem and the growing importance of operational efficiency, automation, and data integrity.

Educational Focus and Session Themes

HEALTHCON’s educational content is designed to support day-to-day operational excellence for coding and billing professionals. Sessions covered a broad range of topics, including inpatient and outpatient coding fundamentals, evaluation and management (E/M) updates, Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs), ambulatory surgery center billing, Medicare risk adjustment compliance, global surgical packages, appeals and denials management, MIPS reporting, and interpretation of NCDs, LCDs, and payer-specific policies.

Specialty-focused sessions addressed complex procedural coding, orthopedic arthroscopy, and documentation standards, while compliance tracks emphasized audit readiness, error prevention, and evolving regulatory guidance. The overall tone of the conference remained practical and tactical, aimed at improving accuracy, reducing denials, and protecting provider revenue.

Top 10 Reasons Coders and Billers Attend HEALTHCON

1. Earn required CEUs for maintaining AAPC certifications
2. Stay current on annual CPT, ICD-10, and CMS updates
3. Learn denial prevention and appeal strategies
4. Improve documentation and audit readiness
5. Gain exposure to specialty-specific coding challenges
6. Network with peers facing similar operational issues
7. Access direct instruction from recognized industry educators
8. Prepare for certification exams or advanced credentials
9. Explore tools that support billing efficiency and compliance
10. Strengthen career advancement and professional credibility
    

Guide for HCON Sponsors and Vendors

HEALTHCON offers vendors strong visibility within the provider billing and coding market, but it is not a balanced payer-provider conference. Exhibitors primarily engage with coders, billing managers, consultants, and small to mid-sized healthcare organizations. Decision-makers from health plans, MSOs, IPAs, or TPAs are uncommon, and when present, are rarely in purchasing roles. Sponsorships and booths perform best for vendors offering coding tools, education platforms, staffing services, or provider-side compliance solutions. Vendors targeting payer leadership, medical directors, or enterprise-level compliance buyers should calibrate expectations accordingly.

Should You Present and/or Sponsor at HCON

Presenting at HEALTHCON can be effective for vendors positioned as educational partners rather than enterprise solution providers. Sessions that focus on coding accuracy, documentation improvement, or audit preparedness resonate strongly with the audience. However, solution pitches aimed at payer analytics, delegation oversight, or large-scale payment integrity programs often miss the mark because of an audience mismatch.

For vendors evaluating conference ROI, understanding who attends—and why is critical. HEALTHCON excels at education and professional development, not enterprise procurement.

Alternatives to AAPC Conferences

Organizations seeking payer engagement may find stronger alignment at conferences focused on health plans, Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, or regulatory oversight. Events hosted by CAHP, AHIP, RISE, or state-level Medicaid associations typically attract executive-level decision makers responsible for claims, authorizations, compliance, and vendor selection.

PCG Review of HCON as a Sponsor

PCG Software attended and sponsored HEALTHCON as both an exhibitor and presenter. While the conference delivered value in terms of education and provider-side engagement, it became clear that HEALTHCON’s audience profile does not align with PCG’s core customer base—health plans, MSOs, IPAs, and TPAs.



Payer attendance was minimal, and executive decision makers responsible for compliance, claims oversight, and technology strategy were largely absent. As a result, PCG determined that continued sponsorship would not provide a sustainable return on investment for payer-focused growth.

Going forward, PCG will prioritize conferences where payer leadership, compliance officers, and operational executives are actively engaged, ensuring meaningful dialogue around payment integrity, automation, and regulatory readiness.