Patient Account Specialist Senior - TLRA Insurance

CHRISTUS Health; Lake Charles (LA); On-site; USD 36,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

CHRISTUS Health seeks a Medical Collections Specialist to support TLRA collection units. The role focuses on resolving accounts with strong knowledge of healthcare billing practices, interacting with patients and payors, and ensuring adherence to state and federal guidelines.

The candidate will manage self-pay and insurance collections, document accounts, and collaborate with departments to obtain information necessary for claims processing while maintaining high patient satisfaction.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or equivalent required.
• 3-5 years of experience preferred.
• Experience in a healthcare billing/collections or collection agency environment is required.

Responsibilities

• Meets expectations of leadership competencies and provides effective collection services.
• Documents and updates patient account information timely in collection software.
• Handles inbound patient and carrier calls professionally to resolve inquiries and issues.
• Utilizes collection tools to achieve established recovery goals and maintain quality standards.
• Maintains knowledge of collection requirements by payors and ensures ethical collection practices.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Excel

Word

Accounts receivable

Education

High School diploma or equivalent

Job description

Description

Summary: Provides medical collection services for TLRA collection units. Utilizes a strong background as a medical collection specialist to successfully resolve accounts placed with TLRA for collection. This involves performing collection activities related to follow‑up and account resolution and includes communication with patients, clients, reimbursement vendors, and other external entities while adhering to all client, state, and federal guidelines. Patient and client satisfaction is essential. Associates in the collection units are expected to have knowledge of the overall collection work processes for both active AR and BD inventory.

Responsibilities

• Meets expectations of the applicable OneCHRISTUS Competencies: Leader of Self, Leader of Others, or Leader of Leaders.
• Provides effective collection services, ensuring the successful recovery of accounts in accordance with client and state guidelines as well as TLRA’s business objectives.
• Documents and updates patient account information in TLRA’s collection software system timely and accurate to include appropriate account status.
• Handles inbound patient and/or carrier calls promptly and professionally, providing assistance and resolution to account inquiries, issues, and requests.
• Uses collection tools effectively to ensure quality recovery services and meet or exceed established goals and work standards.
• Performs research and analysis of account issues and strives to resolve problems timely and accurately.
• Ensure daily productivity standards are met.
• Promotes positive patient relations by communicating in a manner that demonstrates respect for the human dignity of patients and/or their families.
• Must have solid knowledge and utilization of desktop applications to include Word and Excel are essential.
• General hospital A/R accounts knowledge is required.
• Performs other special projects as required when assigned.

Collections – Insurance

• Maintains active knowledge of all collection requirements by payors.
• Collects balance owing from third-party payers in accordance with State and Federal laws governing collections practices. Ensures that collection efforts are thorough with the overall objective being to collect outstanding balances in an ethical manner.
• Ensures quality standards are met and proper documentation regarding patient accounting records.
• Contact other departments to obtain necessary information for appeals, pending information, and any other issues that impact and/or delay claim processing.

Collections – Self Pay

• Ensures that self-pay accounts are handled in a customer service-oriented manner that accomplishes the goal of collecting monies due to clients, while at the same time preserving the positive image of TLRA that exists in the community.
• Responsible for assisting patients in identifying eligible means of financial assistance or if non apply working with the patient to make acceptable payment arrangements.
• Must be an effective team member with good communication skills. Must participate in team meetings, communicate work-related ideas and concerns proactively, and assist in finding appropriate resolutions.

Physician Billing/Collections

• Ensure proper reimbursement for all services and to ensure all appeals are filed timely.
• Review accounts and determine appropriate follow-up activities utilizing Six Sigma Practices.
• Identify under and overpayments and take appropriate actions to resolve accounts.
• Validate commercial insurance claims to ensure the claims are paid according to the contract.
• Direct knowledge using Meditech and CollectLogix software.
• Monitor and communicate errors generated by other groups and evaluate for trends.

Education/Skills

Job Requirements:

• High School diploma or equivalent years of experience required.

Experience

• 3-5 years of experience preferred.
• experience in a Customer Service call center environment with a focus on healthcare billing/collections or collection agency environment required.
• College education, previous Insurance Company claims experience and/or health care billing trade school education may be considered in lieu of formal hospital experience.

Licenses, Registrations, or Certifications

• None required.

Work Type

Full Time