FINANCIAL COUNSELOR

Universal Hospital Services Inc.; Spokane (WA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Universal Hospital Services Inc. in Spokane seeks a Financial Counselor to support the business office post-discharge by delivering accurate financial information to patients and coordinating with insurance companies.

You will verify intake data, assist with Medicaid enrollment, manage upfront collection activities, and collaborate with clinicians to ensure compliant, timely billing. Strong communication and confidentiality are essential.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required; Associate degree preferred.
• Two years of related customer service experience in a healthcare environment is preferred.
• Knowledge of accounts receivable collection techniques.
• Knowledge of patient financial transactions, Medicare, Medicaid, HMO’s and private health insurance contracts.
• Should be oriented and sensitive to patient needs and confidentiality of patients and employees.

Responsibilities

• Verify intake information: demographics, insurance eligibility, and benefit info; coordinate with third-party sources; meet patients on admission and discharge to collect information.
• Assist patients with Medicaid enrollment, charity applications, and Financial Attestations; ensure required signatures before discharge.
• Perform upfront collection activities for inpatient out-of-pocket costs; provide estimates; record monies; set up installment plans per INBH policies; meet upfront collection goals.
• Monitor Medicaid benefits posting and coordinate with UM Director regarding retro-authorization guidance.
• Analyze private self-pay accounts to ensure netting down based on contract rates and adjustments.
• Make collection calls on private/self-pay accounts and set up installment plans per policy.
• Provide back-up support for other business officer positions as needed.

Skills

Customer service

Attention to detail

Confidentiality

Education

High school diploma or GED

Associate degree

Tools

Excel

Accounts receivable

Job description

Responsibilities

SUMMARY STATEMENT & PURPOSE

The Financial Counselor promotes positive customer relationships by providing accurate and timely financial information to current patients and provides general support to the business office post-discharge. The Financial Counselor is the liaison between patients and their insurance companies; often coordinating payments and answering questions from both parties. Coordinates with the facility Business Office, the corporate Central Business Office, Intake/Admissions Department, Utilization Review, and Clinical Team Members.

All employees are expected to be pleasant, respectful, and courteous in all interactions with patients, families, staff, and visitors of the Hospital, as well as being a positive representative of INBH at all times.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Highschool Diploma or GED required, Associates Degree preferred
• Two years of related customer service experience required, in a healthcare environment preferred.
• Knowledge of accounts receivable collection techniques.
• Knowledge of patient financial transactions, Medicare, Medicaid, HMO’s and Private Health Insurance contracts.
• Should be oriented and sensitive to patient needs and aware of the importance of confidentiality of patients and employees.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced knowledge of Excel preferred.

Qualifications

SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE RESPONSIBILITIES

All functions are essential functions unless otherwise noted. The job functions of this position are not limited to the duties listed below.

• Verify information obtained during the intake/admission process regarding demographic data, insurance eligibility, and insurance benefit information; coordinating the process of patient eligibility (VOB) through various third-party sources including coordination with families and primary supports as needed. This includes meeting with patients in Intake upon admission and coordinating with Social Work/Nursing to meet with patients upon discharge to ensure the accurate collection for all necessary information when inaccurate or missing (including insurance cards) from the patient and /or their families/primary supports.
• Assist patients with Medicaid enrollment (either on paper or online), charity applications and/or Financial Attestations, ensuring compliance with required patient signatures on appropriate financial documents prior to discharge.
• Perform upfront collection activities on all expected inpatient out of pocket costs, including providing reasonable out of pocket estimates, properly handling and recording all monies collected and setting up arrangements/monthly installment plans for patients to payoff balances within the guidelines of INBH collections policy. This includes meeting minimum upfront collection goals (currently 30% of estimated OOP, subject to change at discretion of management).
• Monitor daily and report when Medicaid benefits are posted for patients enrolled at the facility and coordinate with UM Director in each case to seek guidance on whether to obtain retro-authorization.
• Analyze private self-pay accounts to ensure they are netted down based on contract rates and other miscellaneous adjustments.
• Make collection calls on all private/self-pay accounts collecting all monies due from patients and/or patient designees, properly handling and recording all monies collected and setting up arrangements/monthly installment plans for patients to payoff balances within the guidelines of INBH collections policy.
• Provide back-up support for other business officer positions as needed and as defined by the Director.

EEO Statement

All UHS subsidiaries are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. UHS subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers and as such, openly support and fully commit to recruitment, selection, placement, promotion and compensation of individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), genetic information, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

We believe that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success.

Notice

At UHS and all our subsidiaries, our Human Resources departments and recruiters are here to help prospective candidates by matching skillset and experience with the best possible career path at UHS and our subsidiaries. We take pride in creating a highly efficient and best in class candidate experience. During the recruitment process, no recruiter or employee will request financial or personal information (Social Security Number, credit card or bank information, etc.) from you via email. The recruiters will not email you from a public webmail client like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. If you are suspicious of a job posting or job-related email mentioning UHS or its subsidiaries, let us know by contacting us at: https://uhs.alertline.com or 1-800-852- 3449.