• Job Type: Support Staff - Union
• Bargaining Unit: SSA
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range:

Position Summary

The Senior Secretary is responsible for managing self-pay balances including installment accounts, receiving payments, and processing collection accounts. This position will establish payment arrangements per guidelines. The individual will also be responsible for answering inquiries and providing explanations or solutions to patient concerns and questions regarding charging. In this role, the individual is responsible for conducting financial assessments of patients in order to determine their ability to pay and reviewing patient registrations to ensure communication of patient out of pocket expense has occurred. In addition, analyze and resolve items in multiple work queues. 

Responsibilities

• Responsible for managing and reviewing self-pay accounts.

• Attempt to collect full payments and post amount to customer's account.

• Establishes payment arrangements per guidelines. Document terms in billing system.

• Handle customer inquiries, disputes, and complaints in a professional and courteous manner.

• Escalate contentious complaints to supervisor or higher management.

• Analyze multiple work queues require review including but not limited to Charge Review, Return Mail, Accounts, Denials.

• Execute edits within charge review to achieve account resolution.

• Conforms to all applicable HIPAA, Billing Compliance and safety policies and guidelines.

• Performs other job duties as required and assigned including, but not limited to, job functions within the self-pay collections, customer service units and open account receivables follow-up.

• Obtain all insurance, demographic, guarantor information and update patient profile as well as bill third party payers as appropriate.

• Develop solutions to help address patient financial needs in accordance with policies and procedures.

• Determine financial clearance for a patient's visit or referral.

• Apply problem solving skills to help address the concerns and needs of the patients that the Financial Counselors serve.

• Work on complex cases that spread across multiple departments. Act as a liaison between departments.

Minimum Qualifications

• Two years of college or completion of secretarial school or equivalent business experience plus a minimum of one to three years related experience

Preferred Qualifications

• High school graduate or GED certificate is preferred.

• Patient financial and practice management system experience in Epic and or other of electronic billing systems is preferred.

• Knowledge of medical terminology is preferred.

• Previous experience in an academic healthcare setting is preferred.

Other Requirements

• Must successfully complete all online systems training requirements.

• A minimum of 2 year experience in a physician billing or third party payer environment.

• Candidate must demonstrate working knowledge of contracts, insurance benefits, exclusions, and other billing requirements as well as claim forms, HMOs, PPOs, Medicare, Medicaid, and compliance program regulations.

• Candidate must demonstrate the ability to understand and navigate the payer adjudication process.

• Candidate must demonstrate a strong customer service and patient focused orientation and the ability to communicate, adapt, and respond to complex situations. Including the ability to diffuse complex situations in a calm and professional manner.

• Must demonstrate effective communication skills both verbally and written.

• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and manage time effectively.

• Functional proficiency in computer software skills (e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, E-mail, etc.)

• Ability to work independently.

• The ideal candidate is a motivated individual with a positive attitude and exceptional work ethic.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.