Senior Financial Clearance Specialist

Essential Duties & Responsibilities including but not limited to:

• Accesses work queues and reports and reviews patient accounts to determine the financial clearance status of specific patient services. Takes action on those services without financial clearance.

• Ensures demographic and patient contact information is complete and verified with the patient or patient representative.

• Verifies the guarantor type and information and ensures it is assigned to the account correctly. This includes personal/family relations, workers' compensation insurance, third parties, behavioral health, or others as required.

• Ensures all possible coverages are created and verified, through electronic or manual methods, and all discrepancies are resolved. Validates that coverages are assigned to appropriate visits.

• Collects and validates visit-related registration information including MSPQ, occurrence codes, and attending and referring providers.

• Verifies Primary Care Physician (PCP) information and ensures appropriate PCP referrals are in place for the provider and service by checking electronic systems and calling PCP offices. Enters and links referrals in the system.

• Processes referrals when necessary, assuring proper tracking and redirection when appropriate. Understands each clinical department’s referral certification protocols and ensure referrals are certified at the appropriate level.

• Using system activities and functions, identifies non-covered services and prepares proper Advance Notice Beneficiary (ABN) or waiver for the registration team. Documents account for registrar action.

• Analyzed clinical documentation in support of ordered procedure(s) and submitted precertification requests through various insurance fax lines, phone systems, and web portals. Follow up on pending accounts and involve ordering provider offices as needed to obtain approvals.

• Escalates challenging accounts to provider representative to ensure accounts are approved at least two weeks prior to patient appointment/surgery.

• Collaborates with clinical departments to facilitate scheduling of approved procedures and rescheduling of no-urgent non-certified cases. Professionally communicates outcomes to patients when needed.

• Escalates non-certified urgent cases to appropriate clinical departments and leadership for approval to proceed or reschedule.

• Verifies covered benefits, including remaining hospital days, carve out coverages, and benefit limits of visit and/or timeframe.

• Contacts patients, providers, and insurance companies to validate data, collect missing information, and resolve information discrepancies,

• Understands clinical guidelines for payors requiring authorization to better build cases for authorization requests and provide feedback to clinical departments on required notes.

• Communicates with patients and discusses their financial clearance status when necessary. Explains the status of any services not financially cleared and advise patients of the proper resolution steps, including self-payment. Directs patients to Lahey Financial Counselors when appropriate.

• Works with the Financial Counselors, clinical departments, outside providers, third-party insurers, and any other individual or entity to assist in resolving patient financial clearance questions or problems in the most effective and positive manner possible.

• Researches claim edits and payment denials related to financial clearance and works closely with the Lahey Patient Financial Services staff to resolve these denials. Communicates resolution to patients.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education:

High School Diploma or equivalent

Experience:

• At least two years prior experience in a business/health care setting is required.

• Knowledge of insurance coverage and/or reimbursement required.

• Experience providing customer service, while processing and verifying electronic demographic, financial, or other business-related information and data.

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities:

Able to work successfully in a fast-paced, multi-task environment, where some independent decision-making is necessary. Able to process electronic information and data accurately and efficiently.

For safety and quality reasons, must be able to read, write, and communicate effectively in English with patients, visitors, and fellow members of the hospital