Surgery Prior Authorization Specialist

BoulderCentre for Orthopedics and Spine; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 42,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

BoulderCentre for Orthopedics & Spine is seeking a Surgery Prior Authorization Specialist to join our Revenue Cycle team. This role ensures surgical procedures are properly authorized and financially prepared before a patient’s scheduled surgery.

The successful candidate is organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable working with insurance carriers, providers, and schedulers. You will review orders, submit authorizations, verify benefits, and communicate authorization status to the team to keep

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• At least 2 years of experience in medical insurance, prior authorization, or medical billing.
• Experience with insurance companies and payer portals.
• Strong knowledge of insurance benefits and prior authorization processes.
• Familiarity with CPT and ICD-10 coding.
• Excellent attention to detail and organization.
• Ability to manage multiple cases and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Obtain and manage prior authorizations for surgical procedures.
• Verify insurance eligibility, benefits, authorization requirements, and payer guidelines.
• Review orders and documentation to meet authorization requirements.
• Submit authorization requests via payer portals, phone, or other channels.
• Track authorizations and follow up to ensure timely determinations.
• Identify and communicate authorization status and any restrictions or denials.

Skills

Medical billing

Revenue cycle

Insurance portals

Payer guidelines

Detail oriented

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Healthcare administration (preferred)

Tools

EMR/Practice management systems

Web-based insurance portals

Job description

Description

Department: Billing
Reports to: Revenue Cycle Manager
Status: Full-Time, Non-Exempt
Wage: $20.00 – $28.00 per hour, commensurate with experience
Bonus Eligibility: No

About the Position

BoulderCentre for Orthopedics & Spine is seeking a Surgery Prior Authorization Specialist to join our Revenue Cycle team. This position plays an important role in ensuring surgical procedures are properly authorized and financially prepared before a patient's scheduled surgery.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable working with insurance carriers, providers, clinical staff, and surgery schedulers. This role requires the ability to understand insurance benefits and payer requirements, manage multiple authorization requests, and proactively identify issues that could delay a patient's care.

What You’ll Do

• Obtain and manage prior authorizations for surgical procedures.
• Verify insurance eligibility, benefits, authorization requirements, and payer-specific guidelines.
• Review surgical orders and supporting clinical documentation to ensure you meet authorization requirements.
• Submit authorization requests through payer portals, by phone, or through other required processes.
• Track pending authorizations and follow up with insurance carriers to ensure timely determinations.
• Identify authorization requirements, site-of-service restrictions, and other payer guidelines that may impact surgical scheduling.
• Ensure surgical procedures are scheduled at the appropriate facility based on insurance requirements and medical necessity criteria.
• Identify cases requiring hospital versus ambulatory surgery center (ASC) scheduling based on payer restrictions or procedure requirements.
• Communicate authorization status, restrictions, denials, or potential delays to surgery schedulers, providers, clinical staff, and other appropriate team members.
• Proactively identify missing information or documentation and coordinate with providers and clinical staff to obtain what is needed.
• Escalate complex, urgent, or high-risk authorization issues as appropriate.
• Assist with denied, delayed, retroactive, and appeal requests as needed.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation of authorization activity in the appropriate systems.
• Perform insurance verification and assist with determining patient financial responsibility for scheduled surgical services.
• Review deductibles, coinsurance, out-of-pocket maximums, and applicable benefits to support accurate patient cost estimates.
• Communicate with patients regarding estimated financial responsibility and pre-service requirements when applicable.
• Coordinate with surgery schedulers, billing staff, providers, facilities, and insurance carriers to ensure surgical cases are financially and administratively .
• Monitor surgical readiness and notify appropriate team members of missing authorizations, unresolved financial requirements, or other issues that affect scheduling.
• Maintain knowledge of changing payer requirements, authorization processes, and insurance guidelines.
• Support departmental productivity, accuracy, timeliness, and revenue cycle goals.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

What We’re Looking For

Required

• High school diploma or GED.
• At least 2 years of experience in medical insurance, prior authorization, medical billing, revenue cycle, or a related healthcare setting.
• Experience working with insurance companies and payer portals.
• Strong knowledge of insurance benefits and prior authorization processes.
• Knowledge of medical terminology and familiarity with CPT and ICD-10 coding.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple cases and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to research and interpret payer requirements and insurance benefits.
• Proficiency with computers, electronic medical records/practice management systems, and web-based insurance portals.

Preferred

• Prior experience with surgical prior authorizations.
• Experience in orthopedic, spine, surgical, or other specialty medical practice.
• Familiarity with hospital and ASC requirements.
• Experience working with complex surgical cases and payer-specific site-of-service requirements.
• College work or degree in healthcare administration, business, or a related field.

Work Environment

This position works primarily in a professional healthcare and office environment and involves frequent communication with patients, providers, clinical staff, surgery schedulers, insurance representatives, and external facilities.

This position requires prolonged periods of sitting and computer use, along with occasional standing, walking, bending, reaching, and light lifting. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Closing Date

This position will be open for a minimum of 3 days and will remain open until a top candidate is identified.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, age, sex, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin, disability, genetics, or any other protected status. In our recruitment and employment practices, we adhere to applicable federal, state, and local laws, ensuring fairness and inclusivity in all aspects of employment. We value diversity and believe that a diverse workforce enhances our ability to serve our patients and community effectively. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply, regardless of background or identity.