PATIENT ACCOUNT REP I

Covenant Health•Sevierville, TN

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Account Representative (Financial Counselor) position is responsible for assisting with increased efficiency of Revenue Cycle Management processes by maximizing patient cash collections, thus reducing bad debt, and verifying patient demographic and insurance benefits information to assist with reduction of denials. The position calculates and collects patient portion for co-pays, deductibles, and self-pay deposits and also assists customers with completion of financial arrangements and financial assistance applications as needed. Incumbent will assist in registration as needed.

Requirements

Hospital Registration or Insurance follow-up experience

Nice To Haves

Associate’s degree in a directly-related field from an accredited college or university.

Responsibilities

Verifies accuracy of patient demographic and benefits information documented at time of service.
Reviews admission records to insure that information needed for correct billing of insurance has been obtained; makes corrections as needed; obtains insurance benefits and pre-certification information as needed.
Reviews all inpatient admissions within 24 hours of admit. Calculates estimated patient and insurance portions due and enters into computer system.
Contacts patient or family while patient is in-house to obtain missing information. Assists patient & family with obtaining financial assistance from both state and federal sources. Reviews financial assistance guidelines as appropriate and assists with application process as needed.
Works closely with Utilization Management in order to monitor observation time limits.
Reviews all admissions for appropriate patient type and accommodation code and corrects as needed. Provides feedback to supervisor regarding issues requiring correction.
Collects co-payment and deductible amounts to promote positive cash flow and assists with financial arrangements as needed.
Records payments for hospital accounts, issues receipts, reconciles all payment transactions at shift end and verifies petty cash.
Cross-trained for all registration functions to provide assistance as needed.
Works closely with Utilization Management, DHS staff, physician practices and clinical units to expedite the application process.
Participates with clinical and care management areas to address opportunities to improve overall collections and cash flow.
Follows policies, procedures, and safety standards. Completes required education assignments annually. Works toward achieving goals and objectives, and participates in quality improvement initiatives as requested.
Perform other duties as assigned or requested.