Patient Access & Financial Clearance Specialist

Hackensack Meridian Health; Neptune Township (NJ); On-site; USD 29,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Hackensack Meridian Health is seeking a Patient Access Specialist in New Jersey. You will conduct patient interviews, verify eligibility, perform pre-registration, scheduling, and insurance verification to support inpatient and outpatient services.

You will coordinate with departments to ensure timely admissions, bed planning, and financial clearance, while maintaining regulatory compliance and delivering excellent patient service.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or GED required; college degree is a plus.
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Responsibilities

• Greets patients and visitors in person/phone in a prompt, courteous, respectful and helpful manner.
• Implements scheduling, pre-registration, pre-certification, referral procurement and insurance verification policies and procedures for the assigned outpatient point of service.
• Adheres to patient identification policy and ensures an accurate patient search to maintain patient safety and prevent duplicate medical record numbers.
• Check‑in and account for location, arrival/processing time to ensure prompt service within time frames.
• Ensures Regulatory Forms are filled out and signed by the patient.
• Performs bed planning, reservations, pre-registration and bed assignment.
• Prioritizes bed assignment per policy and appropriate unit.
• Reviews orders to ensure proper status and level of care.
• Initiates real time eligibility query (RTE) on insured patients to verify plan code and benefits.
• Completes Medicare Secondary Payer Questionnaire accurately.
• Performs insurance verification for inpatient/outpatient services and determines out-of-pocket responsibility via EPIC Financial Estimator.
• Where appropriate, pursues upfront cash collections and explains financial resources.
• Verifies benefits to ensure procedures are covered before services.
• Verifies pre-authorization requirements and follows up with physician and payer.
• Submits data timely to obtain authorizations before date of service.
• Ensures diagnosis data is accurate and meets medical necessity.
• Complies with patient financial responsibility policies.
• Provides administrative information as directed.
• Maintains compliance with regulatory forms and signatures.
• Registers patients during downtime and resumes normal procedures when systems are available.
• Addresses scheduling/integration issues and escalates if needed.
• Completes work queue accounts timely.
• Performs other duties as directed by supervisor/manager/director.
• Assesses patient needs (age, culture, language, disability) and communicates accordingly.
• Delivers excellent customer service and positive patient experience.
• Follows department policies and workflows; scans documents from patients/payers.
• Liaises to coordinate daily departmental activities for patient comfort and trust.
• Schedules patients when needed and handles high-volume calls professionally.
• Writes timely notifications to payers and coordinates with Case Management as needed.
• Verifies eligibility and benefits to ensure coverage prior to service.
• Accesses payer websites to confirm coverage and benefits.
• Works with patients to clear their accounts and refers to Financial Counselors as appropriate.
• Processes payments accurately and reconciles cash drawer daily.
• Completes pre-registration in Epic and confirms account status.
• Contacts patients or physician offices for Pre-Admission Testing scheduling.
• Obtains patient records and processes scheduling info (copying, filing, faxing, calls).
• Ability to work in all Access Services areas and rotate shifts as needed.
• Checks email for process/task updates and maintains productivity.

Skills

Customer service

Communication skills

Microsoft Office

Google Suite

Basic medical terminology

Rotating schedules

Weekend/holiday availability

Bilingual

Education

High School diploma or GED

Bachelor's degree or related experience

Epic Cadence and Prelude training

Tools

EPIC HB

Cadence

Prelude

Job description

Hackensack Meridian Health is seeking a Patient Access Specialist in New Jersey. You will conduct patient interviews, verify eligibility, perform pre-registration, scheduling, and insurance verification to support inpatient and outpatient services.

You will coordinate with departments to ensure timely admissions, bed planning, and financial clearance, while maintaining regulatory compliance and delivering excellent patient service.