CUSTOMER SERVICE / TPL REPRESENTATIVE

Eskenazi Health; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 36,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Eskenazi Health seeks a Customer Service/TPL Representative to interact with patients and families, resolve billing questions, and maintain accurate accounts. You will work to ensure timely updates to demographics, insurance data, and payment statuses, while promoting excellent customer service in a busy hospital setting.

The role requires strong communication, organizational skills, and the ability to coordinate with multiple departments to resolve account balances.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree preferred; two years’ customer service experience in healthcare or four years in lieu of healthcare experience.
• Excellent communication with patients, families, and staff; bilingual skills desired.

Responsibilities

• Interact with patients and guests to address needs and balances.
• Update demographics and insurance information within three working days.
• Resolve operational concerns and communicate with departments.
• Answer calls and educate self-pay patients on resolution options.
• Establish payment arrangements and coordinate with clinical departments.
• Process and balance payments and maintain accurate financial data.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Conflict management

Data research

Analytical thinking

Computer skills

Organization

Customer service

Team player

Education

Bachelor’s Degree preferred

Healthcare customer service experience (2+ yrs)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

We asked Dawn, CEO - Eskenazi Health Center:

Q

What do you enjoy most about your role with Eskenazi Health Primary Care and working with the community?

We asked Dawn, CEO - Eskenazi Health Center: Q What do you enjoy most about your role with Eskenazi Health Primary Care and working with the community? Employee Q&A

Q

Why Eskenazi Health?

We asked Christia , Chief Human Resources Officer: Q Why Eskenazi Health? Employee Q&A

Location: Indianapolis, IN, US, 46202

Organization: HHC

Sub-Division:Hospital

Schedule:Full Time

Shift:Days

Eskenazi Health serves as the public hospital division of the Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County. Physicians provide a comprehensive range of primary and specialty care services at the 333-bed hospital and outpatient facilities both on and off of the Eskenazi Health downtown campus including at a network of Eskenazi Health Center sites located throughout Indianapolis.

FLSA Status

Non-Exempt

Job Role Summary

The Customer Service/TPL Representative directly interacts with patients, family members, other guests and customers in a professional manner and achieves a high level of satisfaction with these individuals relative to address of their needs, concerns, questions, and resolution of account balances.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Proactively contributes to Eskenazi Health mission: Advocate, Care, Teach and Serve with special emphasis on the vulnerable population of Marion County. Models Eskenazi Health values
• Stays current within profession as well as hospital/unit/department policies
• Complies with hospital policies and regulatory standards, including the Joint Commission, OSHA, Medicare, etc.
• Acts independently to resolve operational concerns, seeking guidance when necessary
• Directly interacts with patients, family members, third party payers, attorneys, other guests and customers in a professional manner and achieves a high level of satisfaction with these individuals relative to address of their needs, concerns, questions, and resolution of account balances.
• Updates system demographics, insurance information, patient issues/comments and responses to ensure a complete audit track within three working days
• Proactively responds to problem solving issues through interdepartmental/external department communications relative to system procedure errors, i.e. coding, registration and accounting issues.
• Ascertains that all accounts for callers and walk-ins are addressed by searching systems for multiple accounts, reviewing them with the customer and providing him or her with status information regarding each unresolved account. Provides management with information and documentation; assists patients with concerns related to registration, collection; documents trends, concerns, and issues.
• Answers phone calls within company guidelines, answers questions regarding patient accounting, and when necessary, routes callers to appropriate destination. Answers the phone in a maximum (3) rings
• Educates self-pay patients with options for account resolution and advises patients of potential bad debt status of account.
• Establishes payment arrangements for patients and communicates agreements; serves as a resource person to clinical departments for debt status of patients.
• Orders re-bills and obtains itemizations for patients and other customers as needed.
• Serves as liaison between medical and support staff regarding billing and collection issues and patients' medical information.
• Researches and reviews data to ensure accuracy of accounts and balances.
• Processes, receives, and balances payments while maintaining integrity of financial data presented for payment
• Initiates liens, amendments, and releases in a timely manner and as indicated for accounts analyzed, so as to properly record hospital liens with the State Recorders' office.
• Follows-up and works liability accounts (lien & LOP accts), by calling attorneys (or patients) and updating notes on accounts, taking the appropriate actions to resolve accounts or to move them along to the next step and resolution.
• Responsible for, or is back-up to:
  • Appropriately recording liens with the State Recorders office on a weekly basis
  • Filing of all lien and bankruptcy related paperwork in a timely manner
  • Process according to established procedures all bankruptcy notices, within 5 business days of receipt of notices
  • Receiving checks for liability settlements and judgments, and for copies of bills, handling according to established procedure
  • Performing all 'cancellations' of bad debt accounts within patient accounting systems according to established procedure
  • Serving as liaison between hospital and each collection agency
  • Analyzing accounts that may involve liability and flag appropriate accounts for follow up to determine if it is a liability case
  • Working weekly accounts with an external cause diagnosis, for potential liability cases
  • Completes special research projects as requested by management
  • Maintains productivity and quality assurance outlined by the department
  • Demonstrates average call times appropriate to department standards.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree preferred, with two years’ experience in customer service for a health care facility/clinic environment or 4 years of customer service experience in lieu of health care facilities experience.
• Bilingual skills strongly desired

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills necessary to interact effectively with patients, families and hospital personnel at all levels
• Strong conflict management skills and the ability to appropriately diffuse and deescalate sometimes difficult situations
• Works independently and efficiently
• Researches and collects data for the purpose of investigating patient complaints
• Establishes and maintains rapport with patients and staff
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills
• Strong computer skills, working knowledge of Microsoft Office Software, Windows
• Strong organization and ability to work efficiently in a multi-task environment
• Ability to use age appropriate communication skills
• Willingness and ability to assist other team members
• Understanding of health insurance, including government and managed care programs
• Meets the following competencies:
  • production / accuracy
  • deadlines
  • attention to detail and record keeping

Accredited by The Joint Commission and named as one of Indiana’s best employers by Forbes magazine for two consecutive years and the top hospital in the state for community benefit by the Lown Institute , Eskenazi Health’s programs have received national recognition while also offering new health care opportunities to the local community. As the sponsoring hospital for Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services, the city’s primary EMS provider, Eskenazi Health is also home to the first adult Level I trauma center in Indiana, the first verified adult burn center in Indiana and Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center, the first community mental health center in Indiana, just to name a few.