Financial Care Counselor-Remote-Commitment Bonus

Job Description:

Financial Care Counselor-Remote-Commitment Bonus

At Duke Health, we're driven by a commitment to compassionate care that changes the lives of patients, their loved ones, and the greater community. No matter where your talents lie, join us and discover how we can advance health together.

About Duke Health's Patient Revenue Management Organization

Pursue your passion for caring with the Patient Revenue Management Organization, which is Duke Health's fully integrated, centralized revenue cycle organization that supports the entire health system in streamlining the revenue cycle. This includes scheduling, registration, coding, billing, and other essential revenue functions.

FINANCIAL CARE COUNSELOR - PRE-VISIT COLLECTIONS
Duke University Health System - Patient Revenue Management Office (PRMO) is seeking to hire a Financial Care Counselor for the Pre-visit Collections team who will support our mission of Advancing Health Together. The Financial Care Counselor is a vital part of the patient care team and is responsible for revenue cycle patient access activities, including but not limited to financial counseling, creating patient estimates, analyzing and validating these estimates, and verifying benefits; the role involves active engagement in inbound and outbound phone calls. Financial Care Counselors improve the patient experience by providing insight into insurance plan requirements, identifying and correcting insurance registration errors, and contributing to registration quality improvements.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Research to ensure patient information is complete and to identify services being provided to create accurate estimates.
• Verify and complete insurance benefit information using current eligibility vendors or other available online tools; verify by phone if online resources are exhausted.
• Update patient registration details when demographics, new insurance, or insurance changes are identified.
• Generate an estimate for identified services using the approved estimation tool.
• Enter the estimated patient liability in Maestro Care under Pre-Visit Estimate Info in the patient’s record.
• Accurately complete patient accounts according to departmental protocols, policies, procedures, and in compliance with regulatory agencies.
• Make outbound calls to patients regarding estimates for upcoming visits or appointments, using the approved script.
• Handle inbound calls from prospective patients who are price shopping, providing estimates for potential services.
• Collect estimated patient liabilities and offer financial counseling, including explaining coverage and insurance benefits, how benefits relate to estimated liabilities, informing patients of all account balances, collecting liabilities, or noting if follow-up is needed at the point of service.
• Educate patients about financial assistance and available payment options.
• Record all patient interactions in Epic under Pre-Visit Estimate Info/Pre-Payment notes and update the Estimate Call Result field to indicate if follow-up at arrival is required.
• Participate in team meetings and work culture initiatives.
• Review and ensure compliance with PRMO and departmental policies and procedures.
• Identify and communicate opportunities for team process improvements.
• Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong verbal and written communication skills are essential.
• Basic PC skills and data entry experience.
• Knowledge of medical terminology.
• Ability to organize and prioritize tasks.
• Ability to interact, tactfully and courteously with the public.
• Ability to apply departmental policies, rules, and regulations regarding patient information verification, payment collection, and record maintenance.
• Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships.
• Knowledge of general accounting principles.
• Ability to interpret insurance carrier guidelines and plans.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education:
Work requires knowledge of basic grammar and mathematical principles generally obtained through a high school education, with some postsecondary education preferred. Additional training or relevant work experience is advantageous.

Experience:
Two years of experience working in hospital service access, clinical service access, a physician's office, or billing and collections. Alternatively, an associate's degree in a healthcare-related field with one year of experience working with the public, or a bachelor's degree with one year of experience in similar settings.
Degrees, Licenses, Certifications:
None required.