About CIFPO
Who stands behind CFPO, the relationship to DutyPath LLC, and the organization's accreditation status — stated plainly.
What CIFPO does
CIFPO is the issuing organization for the CFPO credential. It sets and publishes the standard, administers the examination, keeps the public registry, and enforces the code of ethics.
It does not teach. It does not sell preparation, endorse any provider, or receive any part of any provider's fee. It does not employ or place holders, and it does not represent them before any program.
The relationship to DutyPath LLC
CIFPO is organized as a legal entity separate from DutyPath LLC. DutyPath operates DutyPath Academy, a preparation provider whose Federal Payer Operations program is one qualifying Pathway B route, and Workflow, a software product for practices working federal payer programs. The two organizations share a founder. CIFPO is not independent of DutyPath and does not claim to be.
Many credentials begin this way. What matters is whether the standard is published, the examination is defensible, and the separation between preparing candidates and awarding the credential is real and observable. Three things make it observable:
The outline is public
Every domain, weight, item count and task statement is published in full, with the reference list. A candidate needs nothing from DutyPath to know what is tested.
No course is required
Pathway A requires documented work and no coursework at all. Pathway B accepts any program that covers the six domains in 40 hours, evaluated against the outline rather than against its owner.
Fees go one way
Examination fees are charged by CIFPO to the candidate and are not shared with, or discounted by, any preparation provider. DutyPath tuition does not include the examination fee.
Wherever the DutyPath relationship could bear on a reader's decision — eligibility, preparation, governance — it is disclosed on that page, and the standing disclosure appears in the footer of every page on this site.
Accreditation status
CFPO is not accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), by ANAB under ISO/IEC 17024, or by any comparable body. Accreditation examines the certifying organization itself — its governance, psychometrics and independence — and CIFPO has not applied for it. CFPO is not listed in any military credentialing catalogue, and no tuition-assistance or credentialing-assistance benefit is approved for it. CIFPO will not describe any accreditation or benefit as available until the approval exists in writing.
Direction of travel
- Standard-setting. After the first 100 administrations, a modified-Angoff study with a panel of practicing subject-matter experts re-sets the pass mark, and the study's method is published.
- Governance. CIFPO intends to seat a governing board on which a majority of members are neither owners nor employees of DutyPath LLC, with authority over the outline, the pass mark and disciplinary appeals.
- Accreditation. CIFPO intends to pursue third-party accreditation of the CFPO program once the holder population and administration history make an application meaningful.
None of the three is in place today. Each will be announced in a bulletin when it happens, and not before.
People
| Role | Who |
|---|---|
| Founder and executive director | Brenda Hyche MercerMarine Corps veteran. Author of the DutyPath federal payer curriculum, which is why the relationship above is disclosed rather than assumed away. |
| Standards panel | Practicing subject-matter experts serving as item writers and reviewersNamed on this page, with their consent, as each cohort is seated. Cohort 1 is recruiting. |
| Governing board | Not yet seatedSee direction of travel. |
Standing disclosure
CIFPO is the issuing organization for the CFPO credential. It is organized as a legal entity separate from DutyPath LLC, the company that operates DutyPath Academy, a preparation provider. The two share a founder. CIFPO is not an independent third party and does not claim to be; we state that on every page rather than leave it to be discovered.
CFPO is not a government license, not a state or federal accreditation, and not accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies or any comparable body. CIFPO and CFPO are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, the Defense Health Agency, TRICARE, CHAMPVA, or any of their contractors, including Optum and TriWest. References to those programs describe their published rules and imply no relationship.
CFPO confers no authority to practice and no guarantee of employment, contract, income or any other outcome. Certification is awarded solely on the published eligibility standard and examination performance.
Help write the standard.
CIFPO is recruiting practitioners to write and review examination items.