Prior Authorization Specialist I

Position: Prior Authorization Specialist I

Department: Patient Access Services

Schedule: Full Time; 40-hours/week
POSITION SUMMARY:

This position can support Boston Medical Center Heath System departments at BMC, Good Samaritan, and St Elizabeth’s Hospitals.

This position works out of Epic, and various payor portals to verify patient’s insurance and obtain authorizations.

Responsible for screening prior-authorization and coordination of specialized services requests in the medical care management program, including a broad range of requests for inpatient, outpatient and ancillary services. Adheres to policies and procedures in order to comply with performance and compliance standards and to ensure cost effective and appropriate healthcare delivery. Maintains current knowledge of network resources for referral and linkage to member’s and provider’s needs. Authorizes certain specified services, under the supervision of the manager, according to departmental guidelines. Per standard workflows, forwards specified requests to the clinician for review and processing. Answers ACD line calls from providers and other departments and redirects, as needed.

The Prior Authorization Specialist role belongs to the Revenue Cycle Patient Access team and is responsible for coordinating all financial clearance activities by navigating all pre-registration (to include acquiring or validating patient demographic, insurance, and other required elements along with insurance verification activities), obtaining referral authorization, or precertification number(s). The role ensures timely access to care while maximizing BMC hospital reimbursement. This role requires adherence to quality assurance guidelines as well as established productivity standards to support the work unit’s performance expectations. This position reports to the Patient Access Supervisor and requires interaction and collaboration with important stakeholders in the financial clearance process including but not limited to insurance company representatives, patients, physicians, Boston Medical Center (BMC) practice staff, case management and Patient Financial Counseling. This is a Remote Position.
JOB REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION :

- High school diploma or GED required.

- Associate’s Degree or higher preferred.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS REQUIRED :
None.

EXPERIENCE :

- 4-5 years of office experience, specifically in either a high volume data entry office, customer service call center or health care office or hospital administration is required.

- Meditech experience is strongly preferred

- Experience using Insurance payer websites(i.e. Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medicare, etc.)

- Customer service experience preferred.

- Experience with insurance verification, prior authorization, pre-certification and financial clearance process. ​

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES (KSAs) :

- Bilingual preferred

- Ability to process high volume of requests with a 95% or greater accuracy rate

- Ability to prioritize work load when processing referrals and authorization requests per guidelines and within specified Turn Around Timeframes

- Effective collaboration skills

- Strong oral and written communication skills

- Thorough knowledge of financial clearance process is a must. Familiarity with insurances, referral authorizations and third party billing procedures.

- Knowledge of basic medical terminology and ICD-9/CPT coding is helpful.

- Excellent interpersonal skills to build and maintain strong relationships with managers, colleagues, and third party payers.

- Must be self-directed and highly organized with the ability to multitask, manage complex processes, and maintain fair sense of urgency.

- Requires ability to make independent decisions under pressure.

- Requires excellent judgment, diplomacy, collaboration, partnering, teamwork, and customer service skills.

- Ability to maintain confidentiality of all personal/health sensitive information.

- Must be