Financial Counselor

Northwestern Memorial Healthcare • Chicago, IL

5d • $20 - $28

About The Position

The Financial Counselor supports Northwestern Medicine’s patient-first mission by providing financial counseling and customer service to patients. The role identifies potential financial risks and insurance coverage issues, counsels patients about payment options and financial assistance, helps patients complete financial assessment applications, determines eligibility, and communicates outcomes. The counselor may interview patients in person or follow up by phone, request deposits from self-pay patients, facilitate payment arrangements, accept payments, and provide price estimates. The position works with clinical, registration, scheduling, insurance verification, case management, and physician practice teams to resolve patient accounts promptly and appropriately. It also documents patient interactions in the billing system, meets departmental goals and quality standards, and participates in process improvement.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• 2–3 years of customer service or medical office experience.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Ability to read, write, and communicate effectively in English.
• Proficiency in computer data entry and basic computer skills.
• Ability to type 40 words per minute.
• Ability to multitask.
• Customer-service orientation.
• Excellent organizational, time-management, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Additional language skills.
• Healthcare finance and/or healthcare insurance experience.
• Knowledge and experience in a healthcare setting, especially patient scheduling and/or registration.

Responsibilities

• Provide patient-first customer service and foster a collaborative team atmosphere.
• Respond to patient questions and concerns, and escalate extraordinary issues to the Team Lead or Operations Coordinator.
• Maintain patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA regulations.
• Identify and work to minimize potential financial risk in patient accounts.
• Identify financially unsecured patients and counsel them about payment options and financial assistance programs.
• Assist patients with financial assessment applications, determine eligibility, and promptly communicate outcomes.
• Request and collect deposits from self-pay patients receiving future services.
• Collaborate with facility management representatives, insurance verification, case management, scheduling, registration, admitting, and physician practice teams to resolve patient accounts.
• Identify potential insurance coverage issues, including limited coverage and out-of-network status, and follow department procedures for deposits and communication with patients and clinical teams.
• Provide walk-in assistance to patients with financial concerns, facilitate payment arrangements, and accept payments as appropriate.
• Handle phone calls within the role’s scope and provide service price estimates when appropriate.
• Conduct in-person interviews with patients when applicable and follow up by telephone with unsecured patients who were not interviewed during their visit.
• Communicate with unsecured patients about identified patient liabilities.
• Comply with financial counseling and collection guidelines, including applicable 501R Regulations, the Fair Billing Act, and the Hospital Uninsured Discount Program.
• Report activities, issues, and action items to management and staff, and respond to inquiries accurately and within defined time frames.
• Document all patient interactions in the billing system.
• Meet or exceed departmental, divisional, and institutional goals and adhere to quality standards.
• Identify and participate in process improvements, address barriers and errors, and produce accurate, reliable work.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Tuition reimbursement
• Loan forgiveness
• 401(k) matching
• A range of benefits intended to support employees’ physical, emotional, and financial well-being and provide protection for unexpected life events

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: High school or GED