Registration Specialist I, Admissions-29863

Rush Oak Park Hospital; Aurora (IL); On-site; USD 24,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

Rush Oak Park Hospital in Aurora, IL is seeking a Registration Specialist I to join the Patient Access team. This on-site role supports complex admissions workflows, financial clearance, and real-time pre-service estimation while navigating insurance landscapes.

The ideal candidate has 1–2 years in a high-volume healthcare setting, proficiency with Epic and Microsoft Office, and strong analytical, communication, and accuracy skills to ensure clean claims and patient-friendly service.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• 1–2 years in a high-volume clinical, financial, or service environment.
• Experience with Epic and Microsoft Office preferred.
• Ability to manage complex workflows and communicate clearly.

Responsibilities

• Revenue Integrity & Work Queue Management: monitor and resolve electronic work queues; minimize front-end denials.
• Regulatory Compliance & No Surprises Act: follow CMS/EMTALA guidelines and document GFE for uninsured patients.
• Comprehensive Financial Clearance: verify demographics, financial data, COB, and secure inpatient payments.
• Data Integrity & Management: ensure accurate patient lookup and proper document indexing in the EHR.
• Point-of-Service Financial Counseling: discuss estimates, collect liabilities, and arrange payment plans.
• One Rush Cross-Functional Integration: support operations across campuses and standardize workflows.

Skills

Analytical ability

Communication

Accuracy

Independence

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Associate’s degree in Accounting, Business Administration, or Healthcare Administration

Tools

Epic EHR

Microsoft Office

Job description

Location: Aurora, Illinois

Business Unit: Rush Medical Center

Hospital: Rush Copley Medical Center

Department: Patient Access

Work Type: Full Time (Total FTE between 0.9 and 1.0)

Shift: Shift 1

Work Schedule: 8 Hr (7:00:00 AM - 3:00:00 PM)

Rush offers exceptional rewards and benefits learn more at our Rush benefits page (https://www.rush.edu/rush-careers/employee-benefits).

Pay Range: $17.63 - $27.77 per hour

Rush salaries are determined by many factors including, but not limited to, education, job-related experience and skills, as well as internal equity and industry specific market data. The pay range for each role reflects Rush’s anticipated wage or salary reasonably expected to be offered for the position. Offers may vary depending on the circumstances of each case.

Summary

The Registration Specialist I is a vital member of the Rush revenue cycle team, responsible for ensuring financial accuracy and regulatory compliance at the point of access. This role manages high-complexity admissions workflows, including real-time financial clearance, pre-service estimation, and active management of electronic work queues (WQs) to mitigate claim denials. The Specialist serves as a dedicated patient advocate, navigating complex insurance landscapes and federal mandates, including the No Surprises Act—to provide transparent, heart-centered financial communication.

Core Values & Behavioral Expectations

• Heart-Centered Patient Advocacy: Embodies Rush iCARE values by providing compassionate, respectful, and transparent communication. Acts as a steadfast patient advocate, ensuring individuals feel supported and informed throughout the financial clearance and admission process.
• Professional Integrity: Consistently demonstrates adherence to Rush organizational policies, ethical standards, and a commitment to professional growth and excellence in all patient and interdepartmental interactions.

Required Qualifications

• Education: High school graduate or equivalent.
• Experience: 1–2 years of experience in a high-volume clinical, financial, or service-intensive environment (e.g., healthcare registration, medical billing, or financial services).
• Technical Skills: Proficiency in enterprise-level Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems (e.g., Epic) and intermediate competency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel).
• Critical Competencies:
• Analytical Ability: Strong problem-solving skills; ability to manage complex, multi-tasking workflows under pressure.
• Communication: Exceptional verbal communication and active listening skills.
• Accuracy: High attention to detail with the ability to maintain consistency and data integrity.
• Independence: Demonstrated ability to function autonomously and manage own time/tasks effectively.

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate’s degree in Accounting, Business Administration, or Healthcare Administration.
• Prior experience in revenue cycle operations, such as medical claims processing or financial counseling.
• In-depth knowledge of insurance programs (Medicare, Medicaid, Managed Care) and coordination of benefits.
• Working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology.

Physical Demands

• Include standard requirements for office and hospital-based desk work, as well as the use of a mobile workstation (pushcart on wheels).

Disclaimer: The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements.

Responsibilities

• Revenue Integrity & Work Queue Management: Proactively monitors and resolves time-sensitive electronic work queues. Performs root-cause analysis on registration errors and executes corrective actions to ensure "clean claims" and minimize front-end denials.
• Regulatory Compliance & No Surprises Act: Ensures strict adherence to Federal, State, and local regulations, including CMS guidelines, EMTALA, and The Joint Commission. Prepares and documents Good Faith Estimates (GFE) for uninsured or self-pay patients in full compliance with the No Surprises Act.
• Comprehensive Financial Clearance: Collects and verifies demographic, financial, and clinical data with high precision. Completes complex insurance verification, including Coordination of Benefits (COB), obtaining necessary clinical authorizations, and securing payment for inpatient stays via the Admission Notification (NOA) process.
• Data Integrity & Management: Maintains the integrity of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) by performing accurate patient lookups to prevent duplicate medical records and ensure all documentation (consents, IDs, Important Message for Medicare etc.) is properly scanned and indexed.
• Point-of-Service Financial Counseling: Evaluates patient financial obligations with sensitivity. Discusses estimated balances, collects patient liabilities, and facilitates resolutions regarding past-due accounts or payment arrangements.
• One Rush Cross-Functional Integration: Serves as a flexible member of the system-wide Patient Access team, maintaining the ability to support operations across all three campuses (Rush University Medical Center, Rush Oak Park, and Copley) as well as satellite sites. Actively standardizes registration and financial clearance workflows, collaborating with Case Management, Clinical Departments, and Central Billing to ensure a seamless, unified patient experience and high-quality revenue outcomes across the entire system.
• System Proficiency & Continuous Learning: Maintains expert-level functional knowledge of Epic registration workflows. Attends regular Epic training sessions and departmental meetings to stay current on evolving workflows, regulatory changes, and organizational integrity standards.
• Operational Support: Receives and triages high-volume inquiries from patients, payers, and clinical staff. Performs other duties as needed and assigned by the supervisor or manager to support department objectives.

Rush is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.