Patient Account Clerk

Lewis County General Hospital•Lowville, NY

4d•$20 - $26

About The Position

The Patient Account Clerk handles non-medical matters related to payment for patients’ hospital care and treatment. The role maintains cooperative relationships with patients and their families and facilitates payment for hospital services. Work is performed under the general direction of the Patient Accounts Manager, with latitude to exercise independent judgment within established policy guidelines. Supervision of others is not normally part of the position.

Requirements

High school graduation and one year of clerical experience; or two years of full-time clerical experience; or an equivalent combination of training and experience within the stated limits.
Good knowledge of office terminology, procedures, and equipment.
Good knowledge of business arithmetic and English.
Ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions.
Ability to operate a personal computer and use common office software programs.
Clerical ability.
Ability to establish and maintain cooperative relationships with others.
Accuracy.
Physical condition commensurate with the demands of the position.

Responsibilities

Contact self-pay patients during hospitalization to answer questions about costs and billing and discuss financial arrangements.
Arrange payment by self-pay patients according to established guidelines.
Advise patients and families about available financial benefits and resources.
Collect delinquent accounts by establishing payment arrangements, monitoring payments, and following up on missed payments.
Submit primary and secondary claims electronically or on paper to insurance carriers.
Use internet websites to check claim eligibility, third-party regulations, updates, and newsletters.
Contact third-party payers about delayed payments; follow up on rejected claims and submit corrected claims as needed.
Contact insurance carriers, employers, and government agencies to verify insurance coverage or benefit eligibility.
Work with the Department of Social Services to report spend-down balances and the status of pending Medicaid applications.
Document and follow up on incorrect or denied payments.
Receive and record patient payments and reconcile patient accounts after payments and adjustments are applied.
Contact referring providers to obtain missing account information.
Reconcile aged patient and insurance accounts and follow up on outstanding balances according to department policies and payer contracts.
Check final bills for accuracy and bill patients for services; maintain electronic records of bills, payments, and payment arrangements.
Refer delinquent accounts to collection agencies and reconcile reports and payments to and from those agencies.
Offer charity care assistance to eligible patients, apply charity care adjustments to hospital accounts, and notify other providers of discounts applied.
Maintain Personal Incident Accounts for nursing home residents to access their personal funds.
Sort and file correspondence and perform clerical duties, including answering phones, correspondence, writing claim-denial appeal letters, photocopying, handling daily mail, and ordering office supplies.
Maintain quality results by following standards.
Maintain work operations by following policies and procedures and reporting compliance issues to appropriate personnel.
Report patient care or billing complaints to the compliance officer.