Billing Coordinator Ophthalmology Full-time Days

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better health care, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. We pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, our goal is to take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

The Billing Coordinator, Ophthalmology reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

The Billing Coordinator is responsible for assisting patients with billing and insurance matters related to specialized services rendered in the clinic. This person will assist patients with payment of their bills by establishing payment plans when complete insurance coverage is not available. This position will also be responsible for providing education and support to patients and staff regarding coding accuracy and optimization of reimbursement/RVUs.

Responsibilities:

• Assists patients with billing and insurance related matters including communicating with patients regarding balances owed and other financial issues and facilitating collection of balances owed.
• Educates patients about financial assistance opportunities, insurance coverage, treatment costs, and clinic billing policies and procedures.
• Collaborates closely with physicians and technicians to understand treatment plans and determine costs associated with these plans; Works closely with the staff on managed care and referral related issues; communicates findings to patients.
• Coordinates the pre-certification process with the clinical staff.
• Handles billing inquiries received via telephone or via written correspondence.
• Responsible for thoroughly investigating and understanding financial resources or programs that may be available to patients and educating staff and patients about these programs.
• Conducts precertification for appropriate tests or procedures and facilitates the process with managed care and the clinical team. Documents all information and authorization numbers in Epic and acts as a liaison for follow-up related to precertification.
• Performs activities and responds to patient inquiries related to billing follow-up.
• Requests necessary charge corrections.
• Identifies patterns of billing errors and works collaboratively with department manager and outside entity to improve processes as needed.
• Provides guidance regarding clinical documentation to optimize charges and RVUs
• Confirms coding accuracy based on clinical documentation and reviews common errors or misses with physicians and leadership.
• Performs administrative activities and projects as assigned.
• May perform other duties as assigned.

Required:

• 1-3 years of experience with physician/healthcare billing/registration/accounting and/or overallpatient financial counseling.
• High school diploma or GED equivalent.
• Knowledge of insurance billing procedures, ICD and CPT coding.
• Expertise with third party payors.
• Computer skills: Systems utilized include Microsoft Office (specifically Excel)

Preferred:

• Associate’s degree from an approved Health Information Management program or CCSP.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Experience with EPIC/EMR

Northwestern Medicine is an equal opportunity employer (disability, VETS) and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.

Background Check

Northwestern Medicine conducts a background check that includes criminal history on newly hired team members and, at times, internal transfers. If you are offered a position with us, you will be required to complete an authorization and disclosure form that gives Northwestern Medicine permission to run the background check.  Results are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and we follow all local, state, and federal laws, including the Illinois Health Care Worker Background Check Act.

Artificial Intelligence Disclosure

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used in some portions of the candidate review process for this position, however, all employment decisions will be made by a person. 

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits that provide employees with tools and resources to improve their physical, emotional, and financial well-being while providing protection for unexpected life events. Please visit our Benefits section to learn more.

Sign-on Bonus Eligibility: Internal employees and rehires who left Northwestern Medicine within 1 year are not eligible for the sign on bonus. Exception: New graduate internal employees seeking their first licensed clinical position at NM may be eligible depending upon the job family.