Insurance Verification & Authorization Specialist

Blackbird Health; United States; Remote; USD 32,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work

Benefits eligible

Job summary

Blackbird Health is seeking an Insurance Verification & Authorization Specialist to help families access care by confirming benefits, coordinating prior authorizations, and navigating payer requirements.

You'll review patient requests, verify eligibility for behavioral health services, and work with internal teams and carriers to ensure timely access to care. This fully remote role follows Eastern Time hours and offers hourly compensation of $23-$25 with benefits.

Qualifications

• Experience in healthcare insurance verification, eligibility, benefits determination, prior authorizations, or referrals.
• Strong understanding of insurance terminology including copays, coinsurance, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs.
• Exceptional attention to detail with the ability to manage high-volume workflows and resolve coverage discrepancies.
• Strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills with patients, insurance carriers, and internal teams.
• Experience with behavioral health insurance benefits or prior authorizations is a plus.
• Familiarity with EHR systems such as Athenahealth and insurance portals; maintain patient confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Verify insurance eligibility, coverage, and behavioral health benefits for new and existing patients.
• Review patient inquiries to confirm age, location, insurance participation, and service eligibility.
• Identify plan complexities and payer-specific coverage requirements.
• Obtain, submit, and track prior authorizations and referrals to ensure timely access to care.
• Communicate with insurance carriers to resolve coverage discrepancies and explain patient financial responsibilities.
• Manage high-volume requests through internal ticketing and EHR systems, maintaining accurate documentation.

Skills

Insurance verification

Eligibility

Benefits determination

Prior authorizations

Referrals

HIPAA compliance

Tools

Athenahealth

Insurance portals

Job description

Insurance Verification & Authorization Specialist

Remote

About Blackbird Health

Blackbird Health is clinician-founded, owned, and operated by dedicated professionals. We believe that providing the best care for children starts with building the best possible team. We deliver virtual and in-person mental health services across Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey & Maryland—and we're growing into new markets in 2027.

At Blackbird, we take a whole-child approach, looking at how the brain, body, and behavior interact to address the root causes of challenges, not just the symptoms. Every role matters here, and you'll join a collaborative, supportive, and innovative team that's shaping the future of pediatric mental health care. If you're passionate about helping children and families while growing your career, Blackbird is the place to make an impact.

Join us and help change mental health care for children for the better!

ABOUT THIS ROLE

As an Insurance Verification & Authorization Specialist, you'll help children and families access care by verifying insurance benefits, coordinating prior authorizations and referrals, and identifying potential coverage barriers.

You’ll review incoming patient requests, navigate complex behavioral health insurance requirements, and collaborate with internal teams and insurance carriers to ensure a smooth patient experience. Success in this role requires exceptional attention to detail, strong problem-solving skills, and the ability to manage a high-volume workflow.

Internally, this position is referred to as an Insurance Operations Specialist.

POSITION DETAILS

• Employment Type: Full-Time, Hourly (Non-Exempt), Benefits Eligible
• Location: Fully Remote, Eastern Time Zone preferred
• Schedule: Monday-Friday, Eastern Time business hours
• Compensation: $23-$25/hour

HOW YOU'LL MAKE AN IMPACT

• Verify insurance eligibility, coverage, and behavioral health benefits for new and existing patients.
• Review incoming patient inquiries to confirm age, location, insurance participation, and service eligibility.
• Identify complexities within insurance plans, including third-party behavioral health administrators and payer-specific coverage requirements.
• Obtain, submit, and track prior authorizations and referrals to ensure timely access to care.
• Communicate with insurance carriers to resolve coverage discrepancies and explain patient financial responsibilities, including copays, coinsurance, and deductibles.
• Manage high-volume requests through internal ticketing and EHR systems, maintaining accurate documentation and collaborating with internal teams to resolve barriers to care.

WHO YOU ARE

• Experience in healthcare insurance verification, eligibility, benefits determination, prior authorizations, or referrals.
• Strong understanding of insurance terminology, including copays, coinsurance, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs.
• Exceptional attention to detail with the ability to manage high-volume workflows, investigate coverage discrepancies, and maintain accuracy.
• Strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills when working with patients, insurance carriers, and internal teams.
• Experience with behavioral health insurance benefits, prior authorizations, or specialty healthcare is a strong plus.
• Familiarity with EHR systems such as Athenahealth and insurance portals is a plus, along with the ability to maintain patient confidentiality and comply with HIPAA requirements.

Salary Range

$23 - $25 USD

To raise the standard of pediatric mental health care through accurate understanding and precise treatment that reflect how each child's brain, body, and behavior work together.

"It's so rare to find comprehensive care like this---from testing to therapy to med management (and more)--all in one place. In addition, the school advocacy support we receive is unprecedented. We no longer feel like we are managing things alone."

Fostering an inclusive environment:

Blackbird is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and belonging. We are able to grow and learn better together with a diverse team of employees. In recruiting for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs. Blackbird provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact us at [e-mail] so we can support you.

Our patient support team is busy helping children and families, please do not call or email them about your application — this helps us process your application more efficiently.

U.S. Standard Demographic Questions

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Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Blackbird Health's Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.