Financial Counselor - Orthos

Position Summary: As a Financial Counselor, this position is responsible for providing professional and friendly financial counseling to all patients concerning all financial needs. Discuss anticipated patient balances for scheduled procedures. Review patient accounts.

Work Location: This is full-time position with work completed onsite at a client location, located in South Bend, Indiana.

Essential Functions & Job Responsibilities:

• Patient Financial Counseling: Assist patients with insurance questions or concerns.  Provide patient with counseling to help them understand their financial responsibility.  Review payment options to help them meet their financial obligations.   Assist patients with account questions.
• Support for Billing Call Center, Patient Account Reps and Front Desk for RCM related questions
• Inform patient of their payment options including budget plan, care credit, credit card, cash, check etc. that best fits the patient’s need.
• Setup new budget/payment plans.
• Review and process patient hardship applications
• Pre-Collect: Prepare estimates for all procedures, notify patient of financial responsibility, and collect payment prior to procedure. Notify practice when efforts to pre-collect have been unsuccessful.
• Maintains patient confidentiality standards for both medical and financial information.
• Communicates patient information to assure confidentiality (includes proper documentation, discussing patient information with other staff in an appropriate environment and documents patient’s or family’s response to teaching interventions)
• Interacts with all patients, families, visitors and fellow employees in a mature, responsible manner to ensure a positive and professional facility environment (maintains confidentiality, fosters positive and professional environment, diffuses/resolves conflicts through communication, accepts constructive criticism and gives suggestions in a professional manner, considers age specific needs in communication.)
• Effective communication (internally and externally) to ensure proper handling of the patient’s account.  Excellent communication skills are required when dealing with the patient or patient’s family
• Ability to review all patient account information in systems and explain to patient in a concise manner
• Keeps job related skills current through facility and other training programs.
• Participates in any facility compliance program.
• Participates in loss prevention by protecting company assets and maintaining a safe environment.
• Adheres to established facility safety requirements and procedures to ensure a safe working environment. Identifies potentially unsafe situations and notifies supervisor.
• Adheres to facility standards of business conduct.

Education & Position Requirements:

• High school diploma or equivalent. 
• Medical office financial counseling, collections, or billing experience
• Must be self-directed and able to work with minimal direction.
• Must be detail oriented with good organization skills and able to maintain accuracy while meeting daily deadlines.
• Ability to organize time well.
• Effective communication skills, both oral and written.
• Able to work well with numbers.
• Effective positive interpersonal and customer relation skills via telephone and face-to-face interaction. 

Physical Requirements: Physical requirements for the position include the ability to frequently hear and communicate orally, see up close and at a distance, read and comprehend, stand, sit, walk, reach, handle, and/or feel objects.  Maximum unassisted lift = 25 lbs.  Average lift less than 10 lbs.