Lead Medical Collections Specialist

About the role

This role serves as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and point of contact for team members on complex collection issues or questions. It involves serving as a liaison for outside collection agencies, partner facilities, and other providers by assisting with requests and questions.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a SME and point of contact for team members on complex collection issues or questions.
• Handle high-balance, aging, or escalated accounts requiring advanced follow-up, appeals, negotiations, or coordination with payers.
• Streamline and improve collection workflows and processes to support timely resolution of claims.
• Collaborate with billing, coding, and patient services teams to address denials, underpayments, or claim rejections.
• Maintain current knowledge of payer policies, billing guidelines.
• Support training initiatives by sharing knowledge and best practices with new or existing team members.
• Monitor and analyze account receivables and contribute to reducing outstanding A/R and improving cash flow.
• Generate and review daily or weekly reports to identify trends or issues in collections and escalate to management as needed.
• Provide oversight of daily workflows of employees and software systems in the production environment.
• Audit work queue accounts to ensure training and production standards are met by line staff.
• Review and approve timely filing actions, patient complaints, and adjustments of accounts.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or equivalent required; Associate’s degree preferred.
• 3 – 4 years previous collections experience, with emphasis on healthcare insurance negotiations/collections of all types.
• 1+ year in an SME, leadership or supervisory role preferred.
• Strong understanding of commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid payer policies.
• In-depth knowledge of healthcare billing systems and payer portals.
• Familiarity with Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payer guidelines.
• Excellent problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in Excel and other Microsoft Office tools.

Qualifications

• Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines and performance goals.
• Coachable and open to learning new processes and strategies.

Skills

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Benefits

Sign-on bonus up to $7,500.

Pay

Details on compensation package available upon request.

Schedule/Location

5 & 2
Phoenix, AZ

The Successful Candidate Will Have

• A High School Diploma or equivalent required; Associate’s degree preferred.
• 3 – 4 years previous collections experience, with emphasis on healthcare insurance negotiations/collections of all types.
• 1+ year in an SME, leadership or supervisory role preferred.
• Strong understanding of commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid payer policies.
• In-depth knowledge of healthcare billing systems and payer portals.
• Familiarity with Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payer guidelines.
• Excellent problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in Excel and other Microsoft Office tools.

Disclaimer

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed, as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. PHI, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.