Certified in Provider Compensation Valuation

The Certified in Provider Compensation Valuation (CPCV) is a professional accreditation focused on the valuation of provider services in the healthcare industry. It is the only national certification for professionals working in this space.

CPCV

What is the CPCV?

CPCV credential holders learn how to prepare and review valuations of provider services in the healthcare industry. Provider services are the services that physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists perform for patients and third parties (a/k/a providers). These services include a wide spectrum of tasks and activities, such as direct patient care, call coverage, administrative duties, oversight and collaboration, and general management services.

What Does the CPCV Indicate About a Credential Holder?

The CPCV indicates a credential holder possesses the core knowledge required for preparing and reviewing valuations of provider services in the healthcare industry. It also indicates the credential holder is subject to professional standards in performing certain valuation services and rendering opinions of value for healthcare industry participants. The CPCV is the only valuation credential developed specifically to provide the requisite valuation knowledge for provider compensation professionals.

What are the Qualifications of CPCV Holders?

CPCV credential holders meet the following qualifications: (a) Knowledge of valuation principles applicable to valuing provider services in the healthcare industry, including an understanding of how the healthcare regulatory environment impacts compensation valuation, (b) Demonstrated command of this knowledge through completion of numerous courses and testing, and (c) Appropriate background and work experience.

Credential holders are subject to professional standards and a code of ethics and receive ongoing professional education in areas relevant to compensation valuation to maintain the credential.

Who Should Get the CPCV?

Independent valuation consultants that provide compensation valuation services to clients.
Inhouse provider compensation professionals that perform internal valuations or review external valuations for healthcare organizations.
Professionals, such as lawyers and compliance consultants, that routinely review and evaluate compensation valuation reports for clients.

The knowledge base required for the CPCV enables these professionals to competently perform and/or review valuation analyses of a variety of service arrangements.

Frequently asked questions

Why Is the CPCV Needed in the Healthcare Industry?

Over the past two decades, health system-provider service arrangements have grown more complex and must adhere to complex regulations. Many of those regulations require that compensation aligns with fair market value (FMV). This requirement has created a need for valuation specialists as part of healthcare compliance programs. Historically, the valuation field has lacked a credential specifically developed for professionals assessing the value of provider services. To address this gap, the AAPCP introduced the CPCV.

The CPCV credential ensures professionals are qualified to perform valuation analysis or review the valuation services of other professionals. Though focused on healthcare, the CPCV curriculum incorporates principles from other valuation disciplines recognized globally. CPCV standards align with those accepted in the broader valuation community, establishing the credential’s parity with other professional valuation certifications, including knowledge, performance and ethical requirements of credential holders

How Did Valuation Become Important in Healthcare?

Compensation Valuation (CV) emerged in the healthcare industry in the mid-2000s as health systems and life sciences companies implemented programs to comply with federal laws, such as the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute. As the healthcare industry has expanded since the 2000s, the demand for CV expertise has grown.

However, CV practices have developed in an unregulated environment, leading to inconsistencies in the quality and rigor of valuation opinions. To address this, the Certified Provider Compensation Valuer (CPCV) credential provides training, establishes knowledge requirements, and institutes professional standards within the CV field. This ensures more consistent and reliable valuation practices in healthcare.

How Do I Earn the CPCV?

The CPCV credential is obtained by meeting the following requirements: A. Be a member of AAPCP, whether individually or through an organizational membership, B. Have a bachelor’s degree or 10 years of related healthcare experience, C. Complete 2 years of relevant experience in compensation valuation, administration or analysis, D. Pass the comprehensive exam for each learning module with a score of 75% or more and complete all learning modules within 12 months of entering the credential program, and E. Adhere to the CPCV professional standards.

To maintain the CPCV, credential holders are required to complete ongoing professional education hours on an annual basis. For a complete discussion of the CPCV requirements, see the CPCV Credential Requirements document.

What is the Cost of the CPCV?

The cost for the CPCV credential includes an upfront registration and exam fee to begin the credential program. The initial fee is priced as follows:

$625 for individual AAPCP members
$530 for AAPCP members with a group membership

The fee covers all application costs, the cost of materials for the learning courses, and examination fees. Candidates are expected to complete all learning courses within one year of being accepted into the program. The cost to maintain the CPCV credential is a bi-annual renewal fee of $150.

Core Knowledge Competencies

CPCV credential holders are required to have knowledge competencies in the following areas related to compensation valuation:

General concepts, principles, and practices in the valuation body of knowledge
Analysis of services and key terms in compensation arrangements
Market and circumstantial analysis
Research and use of industry information sources
Application of the three approaches to value and related valuation methods
Development of an opinion of value
Communication of the opinion of value

See the CPCV Credential: Core Knowledge Competencies document for a more detailed listing of the various knowledge areas.

Overview of the Learning Modules

CPCV candidates are tested over seven areas of knowledge as part of meeting the requirements for the credential. These knowledge areas are broken down into four foundational modules, two application modules, and one specialized module for academic medicine. The seven learning modules include:

Foundation in Valuation
Foundation in Regulatory Compliance
Foundation in Provider Service Economics
Foundation in Information Sources
Valuing Provider Arrangements I and II
Valuing Academic Medicine Arrangements

For a more in-depth introduction to the learning modules, see the CPCV Credential Learning Modules document.

Each learning module includes an orientation session that introduces the learning content and discusses the learning objectives for the module. For a listing of the individual courses in each learning module, click here.

Knowledge Competency Testing

CPCV candidates demonstrated core knowledge competencies in the relevant areas by passing the exam at the end of each learning module. The criteria for the module exams include the following:

Each module exam includes 35 to 40 questions over the material from the learning module.
The format of the exam questions is multiple choice or true/false.
The questions are designed to test the candidate’s critical understanding of the concepts, principles, and practices discussed in the module, both in terms of breadth and depth of the subject matter.
Some questions require the candidate to apply the relevant concepts, principles, and practices to a specific set of fact and circumstances or scenarios, demonstrating mastery of the learning material.
The questions are structured to ensure the candidate has an appropriate working understanding of the material and not simply to test regurgitation of the learning content.

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Credential Committee

Meet our national experts developing this industry leading credential.

Tim Smith

Committee Chair

Timothy Smith is the principal of TS Healthcare Consulting, where he focuses on a wide range of healthcare valuation and consulting services. His career in the healthcare industry began in the mid-1990s and included more than 14 years with the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), where he designed and managed HCA’s fair market value compliance program for outside appraisals and reviewed hundreds of business and compensation valuations. He is the editor of The Complete Guide to Fair Market Value Under the Stark Regulations and coeditor of the BVR/AHLA Guide to Valuing Physician Compensation and Healthcare Service Arrangements. Tim is a licensed certified public accountant in two states and holds the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is currently the chair of AAPCP’s Certified in Provider Compensation Valuation (CPCV) credential.

Eric Leafgreen

VP of Provider Compensation

Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth.

Greg Endicott

Managing Director

Greg Endicott, ASA, CPA/ABV, CEIV is the Managing Director of Strategic Value Group, LLC, a valuation consulting firm serving clients nationwide. With nearly 30 years of experience in business valuations across diverse industries, Mr. Endicott specializes in healthcare and multi-disciplinary projects. He has conducted valuations for various purposes including transactional, tax, gift and estate, financial reporting, compliance and litigation. In addition to his business valuation expertise, Mr. Endicott has over 20 years experience valuing service arrangements, in the healthcare space, including provider compensation. Mr. Endicott is also the CEO of Valuevision, Inc., a Software as a Service company that develops technology solutions for the valuation ecosystem.

Jim Carr

Partner

Jim leads InHealth’s work structuring, implementing, and valuing provider alignment models for clinic-based specialties. Additionally, he advises businesses spanning the healthcare industry on some of their most complex valuation challenges. Jim is a frequent presenter and author on matters pertaining to physician alignment models and provider compensation. He also possesses extensive experience serving as an expert in disputes and investigations involving physician compensation issues.

Prior to founding InHealth, Jim was a partner with a healthcare valuation firm. He previously served as the Director of Finance and Controller of a large academic medical center in Houston, Texas. Jim began his career serving with NASA as an engineer in the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. He earned a MBA with a concentration in Finance from Rice University and a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Tennessee. Jim holds the Accredited Senior Appraiser designation from the American Society of Appraisers.

Richard Romero

Senior Vice President

Richard Romero is a senior vice president at Coker Group. With over 25 years of healthcare experience, he has advised a range of clients from physician practices, private equity, critical access hospitals to publicly traded hospital systems, and other industry participants. Richard serves clients through various consulting engagements including valuation of provider compensation, financial arrangements, business enterprises, and litigation support including expert witness testimony for damages, self-disclosure and regulatory defense. He provides opinions on a variety of both typical and unique provider compensation arrangements.

He speaks to legal and industry groups and has published articles and book chapters on topics involving healthcare, litigation, and valuation. Currently, Richard is serving as a Co-Chair of the Distance Learning Committee for the American Bar Association (ABA). He has also served as an instructor for the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA) Consultants Training Institute, earning Instructor of Great Distinction multiple years.