Precertification Specialist

• Precertification Specialist, Patient Access, Days, 80 Hrs / 2 wks
• Location: MercyHealth - Janesville

Verification/certification of patient care services to ensure financial reimbursement. Responsible for insurance benefit verification and provision of clinical information for pre-certification for surgeries and other procedures and services as required by insurance companies. Review and interpret medical record documentation for patient history, diagnosis, and treatment options to facilitate authorizations. Communicates effectively and professionally with many stakeholders. Utilize various technologies and workflows to initiate and obtain authorizations for scheduled procedures prior to the date of service. Perform all necessary follow-up with insurance companies and providers to ensure scheduled procedures are authorized to ensure reimbursement for services. Process patient referrals to other specialties, both within Mercy Health System and to outside providers, if necessary. Utilizes excellent customer service by demonstrating written and oral communication skills. Documents thoroughly and according to department and health system expectations. This position requires moderate understanding of healthcare Revenue Cycle and the importance of evaluating and securing all appropriate financial resources to maximize reimbursement to the health system. This position assumes clinical and financial risk of the organization when collecting and documenting information on behalf of the patient. Performs other duties as assigned.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Identify all scheduled patients requiring pre-certification or pre-determination through various systems.
• Identify all relevant patient data elements and information from the various systems to acquire precertification.
• Contacts insurance companies or employer groups to obtain pre-certifications, predeterminations, and determine eligibility and benefits for necessary services.
• Make necessary contact to follow up if there are insurance issues in order to obtain financial resolution.
• Obtain necessary clinical documentation to use in the pre-certification process.
• Coordinates follow-up timely to ensure procedures are authorized and documented prior to the date of service while ensuring all payor requirements are met to ensure payment.
• Communicates with designated Mercy Partners, Patient Financial Counselors regarding outcome of pre-certifications, benefits and patient financial responsibility.
• Obtains insurance information to complete payor requirements.
• Maintains current knowledge of payor payment provisions and regulations.
• Keep current of ICD-9/ICD-10 and CPT coding requirements.
• Ability to utilize computer software to complete pre-certification processes.
• Meets department productivity and accuracy expectations.
• Understands and follows patient confidentiality policies.
• Ability to determine network status, eligibility, and coverage for patients to ensure reimbursement for services. Maintains current knowledge of payor payment provisions and regulations.
• Communicate in a professional, respectful manner with provider offices regarding peer to peer information for follow-up ensuring authorizations can be obtained for procedures pended for medical review.
• Follows documentation standards on all patient encounters on appropriate patient account utilizing notes. Ensures account is updated to accurately reflect the current status.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and be result oriented.
• Provide training and mentoring
• May be required to work alternate shifts, weekends and overtime during peak periods.
• Participates in educational programs to meet mandatory requirements and identified needs with regard to position and personal growth.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Education and Experience
High school diploma or equivalent preferred.
One year of pre-certifications, medical billing, registration, healthcare experience, or other business or healthcare related education preferred.

Special Physical Demands

The Special Physical Demands are considered Essential Job Functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodations.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit and work at a computer for long periods of time. The employee is occasionally required to stand. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. While performing the duties of this job, the employee must have good manual dexterity to operate keyboard and telephone; repetitive finger/wrist movement associated with use of keyboard; prolonged sitting. The employee must be able to lift or move office related objects

Mercyhealth offers a generous total rewards package to eligible employees including, but not limited to:

* Comprehensive Benefits Package: Mercyhealth offers a retirement plan with competitive matching contribution, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance options, life and disability coverage, access to flexible spending plans, and a variety of other discounted voluntary benefit options.

* Competitive Compensation: Mercyhealth offers market competitive rates of pay and participates in various shift differential and special pay incentive programs.

* Paid Time Off: Mercyhealth offers a generous paid time off plan, which increases with milestone anniversaries, to allow employees the opportunity for a great work-life balance.

* Career Advancement: Mercyhealth offers a number of educational assistance programs and career ladders to support employees in their educational journey and advancement within Mercyhealth.

* Employee Wellbeing: Mercyhealth has a focus on wellbeing for employees across the organization and offers a number of tools and resources, such as an employer-sponsored health risk assessment and a Wellbeing mobile application, to assist employees on their wellbeing journey.

* Additional Benefits: Mercyhealth employees have access to our internal and external employee assistance programs, employee-only discount packages, paid parental and caregiver leaves, on-demand pay, special payment programs for patient services, and financial education to help with retirement planning.