Senior DRG Medical Coder - National Remote

UnitedHealth Group; Concord (CA); Remote; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Senior Inpatient Facility Medical Coder to enhance health outcomes through precise coding and documentation. This remote role offers the chance to work with a diverse team dedicated to advancing health equity. You will be responsible for coding inpatient services, ensuring compliance with guidelines, and maintaining high standards of performance. With comprehensive training and a supportive environment, this position is ideal for self-starters who thrive in a virtual setting and are passionate about making a difference in healthcare. Join us in our mission to help people live healthier lives.

Benefits

Sign-on Bonus

Comprehensive Benefits Package

Incentive Programs

401k Contribution

Equity Stock Purchase

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in Acute Care Inpatient medical coding.
• Professional coder certification required (AHIMA or AAPC).

Responsibilities

• Assign ICD-10 codes for inpatient services while adhering to guidelines.
• Provide documentation feedback to providers and maintain coding standards.

Skills

ICD-10-CM Coding

ICD-10-PCS Coding

Medical Coding

Documentation Standards

Data Abstraction

Ethical Coding Standards

Communication Skills

Education

High School Diploma/GED

Professional Coder Certification (AHIMA/AAPC)

Tools

EMR Systems

Microsoft Excel

Encoder Systems (eCAC, 3M, EPIC)

Job description

$5,000 SIGN ON BONUS FOR EXTERNAL APPLICANTS

Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by diversity and inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

We’re focused on improving the health of our members, enhancing our operational effectiveness and reinforcing our reputation for high-quality health services. As Senior Inpatient Facility Medical Coder, you will provide coding services directly to providers. You'll play a key part in healing the health system by making sure our high standards for documentation processes are being met. This is a virtual, remote position that requires candidates to be highly organized, self-starters, and well-versed in technical applications. Previous success in a remote environment is preferred.

We offer 4 weeks of training. The hours during training will be 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Monday-Friday. Training will be conducted virtually from your home.

You’ll enjoy the flexibility to telecommute* from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Identify appropriate assignment of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS Codes for inpatient services provided in a hospital setting and understand their impact on the DRG with reference to CC/MCC, while adhering to the official coding guidelines and established client coding guidelines of the assigned facility.
• Abstract additional data elements during the Chart Review process when coding, as needed.
• Adhere to the ethical standards of coding as established by AAPC and/or AHIMA.
• Adhere to and maintain required levels of performance in both coding quality and productivity as established by Optum360.
• Provide documentation feedback to providers and query physicians when appropriate.
• Maintain up-to-date Coding knowledge by reviewing materials disseminated/recommended by the QM Manager, Coding Operations Managers, and Director of Coding/Quality Management, etc.
• Participate in coding department meetings and educational events.
• Review and maintain a record of charts coded, held, and/or missing.

You’ll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

• High School Diploma/GED (or higher).
• Professional coder certification with credentialing from AHIMA and/or AAPC (RHIA, RHIT, CCS, CCS-P CPC, OR CPC-H) to be maintained annually.
• 3+ years of experience with Acute Care Inpatient medical coding (hospital, facility, etc.).
• 3+ years of experience working in a Level II trauma center and/or teaching hospital with a mastery of complex procedures, major trauma ER encounters, cardiac catheterization, interventional radiology, orthopedic and neurology cases, and observation coding.
• 3+ years of experience with ICD-10 (CM & PCS) and DRG coding.
• Ability to pass all pre-employment requirements including, but not limited to, drug screening, background check, and coding.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 2+ years of outpatient facility coding experience.
• Experience with OSHPD reporting.
• Experience with various encoder systems (eCAC, 3M, EPIC).
• Ability to use a personal computer in a Windows environment, including Microsoft Excel (create, edit, save, and send spreadsheets) and EMR systems.

*All Telecommuters will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy.

**PLEASE NOTE** The sign-on bonus is only available to external candidates. Candidates who are currently working for UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare or a related entity in a full-time, part-time or per diem basis ("Internal Candidates") are not eligible to receive a sign-on bonus.

The salary range for this role is $23.70 to $46.35 per hour based on full-time employment. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. UnitedHealth Group complies with all minimum wage laws as applicable. In addition to your salary, UnitedHealth Group offers benefits such as a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with UnitedHealth Group, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.

At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. We believe everyone–of every race, gender, sexuality, age, location, and income–deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Today, however, there are still far too many barriers to good health which are disproportionately experienced by people of color, historically marginalized groups, and those with lower incomes. We are committed to mitigating our impact on the environment and enabling and delivering equitable care that addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes — an enterprise priority reflected in our mission.

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

UnitedHealth Group is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment