Prior Authorization Assistant

UnityPoint Health; West Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 37,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

401K matching

Dental and health insurance

Daily Pay

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

UnityPoint Health is seeking a Prior Authorization Specialist in West Des Moines, IA. The role focuses on obtaining insurance prior authorizations, maintaining accurate data entry, and communicating professionally with patients and staff.

The position is full-time, with standard Monday–Friday hours. A strong understanding of payer requirements and EMR documentation is essential to ensure timely authorizations and high-quality patient care.

Qualifications

• Must have accurate data entry and maintain data integrity.
• Strong communication with patients, teams, and payers.

Responsibilities

• Obtain insurance prior authorizations for office procedures, diagnostics, and imaging.
• Gather necessary patient information from provider and EMR to process authorizations and referrals.
• Verify demographic and insurance details when scheduling and pre-certifications.
• Monitor pending authorizations and initiate timely follow-up.
• Document authorization outcomes accurately in the EHR.
• Coordinate with clinics and scheduling to ensure timely appointments.

Skills

Accurate data entry

Professional communication

Education

High School diploma or equivalent

Job description

Overview

UnityPoint Clinic

Prior Authorization Specialist

Monday-Friday 8:00AM-5:00PM

Full Time Benefits

The Prior Authorization Assistant I supports patient care coordination by initiating and documenting insurance prior authorizations for patient services. This role emphasizes accurate data entry, adherence to payer and organizational standards, and professional communication with patients, internal teams, external places of service, and payers.

Why UnityPoint Health?

At UnityPoint Health, you matter. We're proud to be recognized as a Top 150 Place to Work in Healthcare by Becker's Healthcare several years in a row for our commitment to our team members.

Our competitive Total Rewards program offers benefits options that align with your needs and priorities, no matter what life stage you're in. Here are just a few:

• Expect paid time off, parental leave, 401K matching and an employee recognition program.


• Dental and health insurance, paid holidays, short and long-term disability and more. We even offer pet insurance for your four-legged family members.


• Early access to earned wages with Daily Pay, tuition reimbursement to help further your career and adoption assistance to help you grow your family.


• With a collective goal to champion a culture of belonging where everyone feels valued and respected, we honor the ways people are unique and embrace what brings us together.


• And, we believe equipping you with support and development opportunities is a vital part of delivering an exceptional employment experience.

Find a fulfilling career and make a difference with UnityPoint Health.

Responsibilities

Prior Authorization-Obtaining Insurance

• Obtains insurance prior authorizations for office procedures, diagnostic testing, and imaging for patients.


• Obtains all pertinent clinic health information from provider, clinical staff and/or EMR to process authorizations, referrals, and pre-certifications.


• Verifies demographic information, including insurance, when scheduling and/or obtaining pre-certifications.


• Monitors outstanding authorization requests and initiates follow-up of outstanding authorizations in a timely manner.


• Completes timely and accurate documentation of authorization outcomes in the EHR.


• Maintains current knowledge of payer specific requirements of prior authorizations by attending virtual workshops, researching, reading newsletters.


• Follow department guidelines and payer protocols to initiate prior authorization processes.


• Coordinates authorization processes with scheduling staff so appointments can be made in timely manner.


• Communicate with clinics and referral teams to confirm completeness and accuracy of information.


• Meets department productivity and quality benchmarks.


• Ability to remain flexible and prioritize multiple work streams and process steps.

Customer Service

• Exhibits strong customer services skills and maintain professional communication standards through their work with payers, clinics, and patients.


• Adheres to department customer service standards.


• Collaborate with other departments to assist in obtaining prior authorizations in a cross functional manner.


• Readily identifies work that needs to be performed and completes it proactively.


• Monitors and responds professionally and timely to all inquiries and communications.

Qualifications

• Education High School diploma or equivalent.