Revenue Cycle Representative (Financial Counseling) - Self-Pay, Analytics, Revenue Cycle Counseling (SPARC) - Patient Financial Services

About the role

University of Iowa Health Care's department of Patient Financial Services is seeking a Revenue Cycle Representative (RCR)-Financial Counselor for an entry-level financial services position in the healthcare industry. This opening is within our Financial Counseling Team. The Financial Counselor will be expected to provide exceptional customer service to our external customers: patients, patient families, insurance contacts, etc; as well as internal customers. You will support our "Service Excellence" standards to all our customer groups by demonstrating compassion, empathy, and respecting patient rights. You will utilize tools and processes to make independent decisions and maintain a high level of integrity regarding patient rights. The Financial Counselor must have a demonstrated ability to prioritize, multi-task & quickly change focus in fast-paced team environment. You will be expected to provide accurate and comprehensive information (verbally and in writing) to patients, outside agencies and various administrative and management personnel regarding all third-party interactions, patient billing and customer service activities.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate with clinical department leaders, medical staff and hospital coders to develop treatment plans of care for financially unsecure patients.
• Provide assistance in educating department leaders, medical staff and other UI Health Care employees on internal policies, changes, and processes such as UI Health Care's Patient Access Policy and Pre-Service Charge Adjustment Review Team (CART).
• Prepare and submit Pre-Service CART forms as well as facilitate Pre-Service CART process.
• Collaborate with Payor Relations on new agreements for underinsured patients.
• Verify benefits and provide financial counseling to patients and families to ensure they are advised of their financial obligations, with appropriate financial arrangements made according to the hospitals financial policy.
• Use knowledge of Current Procedure Terminology (CPT) to generate self-pay and insured estimates for one-time services and treatment plans via the Epic Estimator.
• Use attention to detail when verifying benefit information from insurance websites as well as Real Time Eligibility (RTE) queries.
• Provide financial counseling via phone and/or in-person based on the patient's liability and ability to pay.
• Advise patients and/or family members about their healthcare accounts, collect appropriate self-pay balances, establish payment arrangements, screen and link patients to the available funding sources such as: Medicaid, COBRA Subsidy program, Immergruen, Healthcare Marketplace, Payment Plans, and external Financing Options.
• Screen patients, educate and facilitate application process for UI Health Care's internal financial assistance program prior to receiving care.
• Identify and assist patients who are unable to pay their estimated liability or who have existing balances.
• Identify & report undesirable trends and reimbursement modeling errors or underlying causes of incorrect payment; review allowed variances from third party payers.
• Be expected to maintain a high-level of accuracy to meet productivity and quality requirements.
• Identify trends and/or work processes for potential process improvements.
• Review and analyze report data to provide status updates to leadership.
• Communicate with providers, payers, patients, internal departments, co-workers and Coordinator's to resolve issues and take appropriate actions.

Work location & schedule

This position is primarily a combination of remote and onsite (hybrid) work locations. Remote work must be performed at an offsite location within the State of Iowa. Training will be held either ONSITE at the HSSB building or via zoom, with location and length of training determined by the supervisor. Remote eligibility will be evaluated upon a satisfactory job training opportunity. Per policy, work arrangements will be reviewed annually and must comply with the remote work program and related policies and employee travel policy when working at a remote location.

Equipment: Onsite – The department will provide a workstation which contains 3 (three) monitors, laptop/power cord, docking station/power cord, keyboard, mouse, headset, and desk supplies. Hybrid – while working onsite, the department will provide a workstation which contains 3 (three) monitors, a laptop/power cord, docking station/power cord, keyboard, mouse, headset, and desk supplies. When working offsite, the employee will take their laptop/power cord to carry back and forth, a second docking station/power cord to keep offsite. Prior to working offsite, the employee, at their own expense, will need to supply 2 (two) monitors, in addition to the university-issued laptop, which will serve as a third monitor due to its built-in camera function, a keyboard, and a mouse. Employees will be required to provide a photo of the domicile office setup and perform an internet speed test with a minimum 30mb download and 10mb upload reflecting a University of Iowa IP address, then providing a screenshot of the speed test to HR. The employee's remote workstation should replicate the onsite setup as if they were working onsite at HSSB. Remote - when working offsite, the department will provide the employee a laptop/power cord, docking station/power cord, headset. Prior to working offsite and at their own expense, the employee will be required to obtain or possess 2 (two) monitors, in addition to the university-issued laptop, which will serve as a third monitor due to its built-in camera function, a keyboard, and a mouse. Employees will be required to provide a photo of the domicile office setup and perform an internet speed test with a minimum 30mb download and 10mb upload reflecting a University of Iowa IP address, then providing a screenshot of the speed test to HR.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum 6 months revenue cycle, health insurance or related customer/patient focused service experience.
• Strong attention to detail and proven ability to gather and analyze data and keep accurate records.
• Proficiency with computer software applications, i.e. Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint) or comparable programs and an ability to quickly learn and apply new systems knowledge.
• Demonstrated ability to remain professional while managing difficult situations with callers, customers or patients and able handle complex and ambiguous situations with minimal supervision.
• Self-motivated with initiative to seek out additional responsibilities, tasks and projects.
• Excellent, professional verbal and written communication skills to provide outstanding customer service and support a "Service Excellence" environment working with a professional and patient population.
• Basic knowledge of medical terminology and working knowledge of HIPAA laws and regulations.

Preferred qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to maintain or improve established productivity and quality requirements.
• Working knowledge healthcare billing and/or Federal and state assistance programs.
• Bi-lingual skills in a foreign language highly desired (Spanish and/or French highly preferred).
• Experience navigating payor portals and interpreting insurance benefits across a broad range of commercial, government, and managed care plans.
• Knowledge and understanding of service types (e.g., primary care, specialty care, outpatient, inpatient, etc.) and how they apply across medical services and insurance benefit structures.
• Demonstrated ability to identify opportunities to improve estimate efficiency and accuracy from both system and end-user perspectives.

Pay & stipend

Pay Grade: 2B. Additionally, a 5% high-intensity, high-volume patient contact stipend for the work performed on a daily basis on the Financial Counseling Team. If you leave this unit for a Revenue Cycle Representative position in another unit or move to a different job class, the 5% amount you received for the high-intensity, high-volume patient contact stipend will be deducted from your base salary.