U

UCSF

Public health sciences university in San Francisco

Patient Navigator 2

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026
$67.3k - $108.3k
Junior
Bachelor's
San Francisco, CA, USA
In PersonMust be flexible to orient and work at all UCSF Medical Center locations.
Medical, Clinical & VeterinaryClinical Support & Patient Administration

About the job

Requirements
  • One year of related experience.
  • A bachelor's degree in a related area or equivalent experience or training.
  • Flexibility to orient and work at all UCSF Medical Center locations.
Responsibilities
  • Provide reception, registration, insurance coverage verification, financial information, financial need applications, and patient processing for intensive inpatient and outpatient services.
  • Support the Utilization Review Coordinator with analyzing patient records to determine admission legitimacy, length of stay, and compliance with insurance reimbursement.
  • Serve as a clinical resource and liaison for patients and families, assisting them with navigating the healthcare system.
  • Communicate administrative and financial policies to patients, answer account questions, and refer patients to financial counseling, billing partners, patient relations, or other support departments as appropriate.
  • Identify and interpret patient insurance benefit packages, including pharmacy and mental health carve-outs.
  • Address patient billing complaints, including complaints referred by Patient Relations.
  • Explain managed care and individual managed care plan requirements to patients and staff.
  • Manage front desk inquiries in person and by telephone, answering questions about insurance benefits and coverage.
  • Obtain and document insurance authorizations for established patient visits, referrals, procedures, and ancillary services; communicate clinical information from medical records to insurers for authorization requests.
  • Work queues to secure estimate letters and information for accurate billing submissions and respond to denials, including retroactive authorizations, clinical documentation requests, and addended authorizations with additional CPT codes.
  • Secure prior authorization for procedures, specialty visits, and ancillary testing, coordinating with the Hospital Admissions Department as needed.
  • Collect and verify insurance, referral, and authorization information for appointments, ensuring referral records and Hospital Accounts Records are created and assigned to appointments.
  • Secure complex insurance authorizations and track renewals based on insurer limits for time frames, visits, or services.
  • Manage patient expectations by providing mental health-specific insurance estimates of benefits guidelines for services and visits.
  • Obtain appropriate consents, patient acknowledgment forms, and signed documents at the first visit.
  • Maintain patient confidentiality and comply with HIPAA guidelines, including distributing Notices of Privacy Practices and Patient Financial Responsibility forms.
  • Coordinate care among the services of Langley Porter Hospital and UCSF Health, liaising between patients and the services they receive.
  • Interact by telephone and in person with adult clinical populations.
  • Triage urgent matters to appropriate resources in collaboration with patients, family members, primary care providers, mental health providers, insurance companies, and medical groups.
  • Follow up with patients and stakeholders as needed.
  • Prioritize multiple tasks and maintain working relationships with staff, patients, and providers.
  • Communicate with third-party payers to obtain authorization for care and facilitate clinical denial and appeal processes as necessary.
  • Document communications with payers and clinicians promptly, keeping patient-care teams informed of changes and updates in processes, technology, regulations, and quality standards.
  • Report issues to the appropriate provider or department manager and solicit feedback from peers and managers on patient and family interactions.
  • Coordinate clinical and non-clinical resources based on patients' diagnoses, insurance coverage, and community programs.
  • Review medical records to understand patients' circumstances and explain treatment options; identify patient preferences and barriers to implementing treatment plans.
  • Serve as backup to the inpatient registration coordinator.
  • Cover front desk duties as needed.
  • Follow UCSF Medical Center's service standards, including professional communication and behavior, patient and family greetings, introductions, service recovery, managing delays and expectations, telephone standards, electronic communication, teamwork, cultural sensitivity, and competency.
  • Use effective communication with patients and staff, proper telephone techniques and etiquette, escort patients or family members who need directions, and model supportive interactions and teamwork.
  • Maintain professionalism in difficult situations in accordance with PRIDE values and practices.
  • Follow privacy, confidentiality, and security policies concerning protected health information and other sensitive personal information.
  • Follow safety and infection-control policies and procedures.
  • Be accountable for improving department or unit quality metrics and meeting organizational and departmental targets.
  • Keep work areas, hallways, and facility spaces neat and orderly; follow cleaning processes, return items to their proper places, and remove or report broken equipment and furniture.
  • Dispose of litter throughout the facility.
  • Post flyers and posters only in designated areas.
  • Know where the Environment of Care Manual is kept and correct or report unsafe conditions to appropriate departments.
  • Protect the physical environment and equipment from damage and theft.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

About the company

UC San Francisco is a public research university in San Francisco focused solely on health sciences, combining professional education with biomedical research and patient care. Its schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy train clinicians and scientists, while teams investigate cancer, immunology, genomics and neuroscience. UCSF Medical Center and Benioff Children's Hospitals connect clinical care with faculty research and training, and university clinics serve patients across Northern California. Founded in 1864, UCSF is the University of California campus dedicated to graduate and professional education and biomedical research, based in San Francisco.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

N/A

Founded

1864

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