Healthcare Access Associate

Ocean Beach Health•Ilwaco, WA

About The Position

The Healthcare Access Associate is a key first point of contact for patients across Ocean Beach Health clinics, hospital departments, and rehabilitation services. The role provides a professional, welcoming, patient-centered experience through registration, scheduling, insurance verification, authorization coordination, and customer service. The associate supports providers, therapists, clinic staff, and patients by handling front-desk and registration duties, answering and routing calls, coordinating appointments, and ensuring documentation is complete before visits. Associates may work across multiple Ocean Beach Health locations and departments based on operational needs.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Public contact or customer service experience in a fast-paced environment.
Ability to use a computer efficiently and enter data accurately.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to multitask, prioritize, and work with frequent interruptions.
CPR/BLS certification required within six months of hire.

Nice To Haves

Prior healthcare registration, clinic reception, scheduling, authorization, or billing experience.
Knowledge of medical terminology, insurance plans, Medicare/Medicaid, and referral or authorization processes.
Experience demonstrating good judgment and problem-solving skills.
Ability to work effectively in a team environment.

Responsibilities

Create a welcoming, professional environment for patients, families, visitors, and staff; greet patients, communicate delays and wait times, and assist with questions and service navigation.
Serve as a liaison between patients, therapists, nursing staff, providers, and other departments, escalating concerns appropriately.
Answer multi-line phones, respond to inquiries, route calls, and handle calls, messages, and requests promptly and accurately.
Register patients for clinic visits, outpatient services, imaging, laboratory, rehabilitation services, emergency department visits, and hospital admissions.
Verify and update demographic and insurance information, copy and scan documentation, obtain required legal signatures, and prepare ID bands when applicable.
Follow Ocean Beach Health policies and regulatory standards, including consent requirements, HIPAA, and Patient Rights.
Accurately cancel no-show appointments or registrations, maintain daily census for hospital-based roles, and prepare registration packets when assigned.
Schedule, reschedule, and confirm appointments; coordinate appointment types and timeframes with providers, therapists, and departments.
Maintain call lists and waitlists, fill schedule gaps by contacting patients, check patients in and out, collect payments, and provide receipts.
Ensure patient charts are complete, scan documentation according to workflow, and communicate scheduling changes, provider availability, and clinic updates to appropriate teams.
Verify insurance benefits, eligibility, referral requirements, and coverage; determine patient out-of-pocket responsibilities.
Contact patients to discuss financial responsibilities and payment options, identify potential financial-assistance eligibility, and provide guidance or forms.
Obtain or coordinate prior authorizations, track authorization periods, visit counts, and expirations when applicable, and process incoming fax correspondence promptly.
Follow up on missing orders, unsigned documentation, and incomplete information.
Communicate with therapists, providers, clinic staff, ancillary departments, and external offices; notify appropriate staff in urgent situations and follow emergency protocols.
Retrieve medical charts or documentation as needed and coordinate records requests, referrals, and scheduling with external healthcare entities.
Maintain contact lists for commonly used clinics, insurers, and providers.
Collect payments, copayments, and deposits according to policy; balance cash drawers at the end of shift when applicable.
Initiate financial-assistance discussions for uninsured or underinsured patients and accurately document conversations and arrangements in patient accounts.
Maintain an organized workspace and support cleanliness of shared areas; participate in meetings, trainings, workflow updates, and department improvement initiatives.
Assist with training new staff, support a safe work environment, follow safety protocols, maintain reliable attendance, and perform other duties as assigned.