Director, Patient Financial Experience

About Us

As a not-for-profit organization, Mass General Brigham is committed to supporting patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community by leading innovation across our system. Founded by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Mass General Brigham HealthCare supports a complete continuum of care including community and specialty hospitals, a managed care organization, a physician network, community health centers, home care and other health-related entities. Several of our hospitals are teaching affiliates of Harvard Medical School, and our system is a national leader in biomedical research.

We're focused on a people-first culture for our system's patients and our professional family. That's why we provide our employees with more ways to achieve their potential. Mass General Brigham HealthCare is committed to aligning our employees' personal aspirations with projects that match their capabilities and creating a culture that empowers our managers to become trusted mentors. We support each member of our team to own their personal development-and we recognize success at every step.

Our employees use the Mass General Brigham HealthCare values to govern decisions, actions and behaviors. These values guide how we get our work done: Patients, Affordability, Accountability & Service Commitment, Decisiveness, Innovation & Thoughtful Risk; and how we treat each other: Diversity & Inclusion, Integrity & Respect, Learning, Continuous Improvement & Personal Growth, Teamwork & Collaboration.

The Opportunity

Provides leadership, efficient, effective oversight of patient financial experience activities and teams. In partnership with key stakeholders, the Director, Patient Financial Experience plans and contributes to enterprise financial counseling and patient financial estimates strategy, and continuously works to improve people, process, and technology across the function. The Director, Patient Financial Experience guides a team of leaders who oversee on-site and off-site financial counselors and patient financial assistance specialists, in supporting patients in understanding their pre-service financial responsibility for care. The Director leads all aspects of the management of CAC certified financial counseling, financial assistance application processing, estimate creation and finalization, and pre-service collections. The Director will ensure that our team facilitates the necessary administrative procedures to ensure a compassionate, accurate, and timely patient financial experience.

In partnership with key stakeholders, the Patient Financial Experience Leaders supports the implementation of Patient Financial Experience strategy, and continuously works to improve people, process, and technology across the function. Additionally, they will work to oversee the provision of Financial Support, Medicaid Application Processing, Patient Liability Estimates, Payment Plan Management, and Pre-Service Collections and Technologies.

Leadership Impact & Problem Solving

• In collaboration with the Executive Director, Patient Access & Experience, sets the strategic direction for Patient Financial Counseling and collaborates with direct reports and entity leaders to drive alignment.
• Participates at a national and local level as a SME (Subject Matter Expert). Communicates relevant changes in performance, market trends, health care delivery systems, and legislative initiatives impacting execution of team goals to team(s).
• Aligns MGB Financial Counseling deployment with Mass General Brigham's enterprise strategy, standardizing processes across all enterprise facilities.
• Drives focus, efficiency, and role clarity across teams focused on patient financial experience and pre-service estimates/collections activities.
• Foresees and mitigates any significant risks in financial counseling (Ex. work queue backlog, Medicaid conversion delays, etc...).
• Analyzes trends and root causes and solves complex operational issues (i.e., escalated customer calls, pre-service screening, identifies optimizations).
• Develops strategy for integration with facility financial counseling activities, and monitors execution; influences stakeholders broadly within and outside of the enterprise.
• Identifies, recommends and develops opportunities to expand scope of services delivered to practices and patients.

Financial Performance

• Actively leads, monitors and drives financial planning strategies to support a cost-effective patient financial experience program.

Operational Performance

• Develops and implements efficient and effective operational policies, processes, best practices, and technologies.
• Manages groupings of Patient Financial Experience teams, including identification and monitoring of team success metrics and activities related to Patient Financial Experience.
• Facilitates projects and conversations with outside health care organizations to share and develop best practices.
• Recommends and engages with third party vendors where business case for performance exists.
• Establishes infrastructure for pre-service payment collection, and tracks / benchmarks patient satisfaction.
• Works to optimize patient call triaging workflows and improve accuracy of estimates.
• Facilitates effective implementation and training regarding state and federally funded health programs to enhance patient engagement and mitigate disparities.
• Oversees staff volume management, flexing resources across facility-based work queues based on volume demands.

Key Interactions

• Patient Access and Experience Team | Collaborate closely with department L1 leader, to help shape PA&E strategy development.
• Ambulatory Operations Management | Collaborate with Ambulatory Ops to ensure seamless patient experience.
• Entity Patient Access Leaders | Communicate approach to and coordinate oversight of provision of comprehensive financial counseling support across the Enterprise.
• Financial Clearance, Physician, & Billing Staff | Serve as a resource to financial clearance, physicians and billing staff who have questions regarding cost estimates and patient financial assistance.
• Partner Business Units | Work with business units to optimize patient call triaging workflows and improve accuracy of estimates.
• Business Support Colleagues | Form and maintain strategic alliances with peer colleagues in operations, IT, HR, Facilities, Practices, Physician Groups and Hospitals.
• Quality, Education, & Training Lead | Collaborate to build effective training strategies regarding state and federally funded health programs to enhance patient engagement and mitigate disparities.

Accountable

• Develop Facility Level Patient Access & Experience Strategies & Approach.

Responsible

• Work collaboratively with Patient Access leaders across the system to standardize financial counseling procedures, metrics and policies.
• Identify and Monitor Patient Access & Experience Key Performance Indicators (within Patient Financial Experience).
• Prioritize Patient Access & Experience Resources (within Patient Financial Experience).
• Design Patient Access & Experience Strategy (within Patient Financial Experience).
• Develop Patient Financial Experience Operational Budgets.

Consulted

• Define Patient Access & Experience Goals.
• Define Policies and Practices for the Patient Access & Experience Team.
• Develop Revenue Cycle Operational Budgets.

Informed

• Develop Enterprise-Wide Revenue Cycle Strategy.

Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree preferred with discipline in Healthcare Administration, Management, Finance, Business Administration, or related field.

Work Experience

• Minimum of 5 years prior relevant healthcare experience, financial counseling and/or patient access experience required.
• Minimum of 3-5 years in leading people.

Skills/Abilities/Competencies

• Demonstrates competency and leadership experience in a large, complex organization with multiple locations.
• Strong operational management and process/technology optimization skills.
• Drives DE&I (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) and recognizes the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization.
• Excellent personnel management and organizational management skills - including written and oral communication, relationship management, customer service, and organization.
• Comprehensive knowledge of financial counseling regulations, certification programs and requirements, health insurance practices, and industry standards.
• Strong working knowledge of insurance reimbursement methodology and patient cost sharing.
• Familiarity with various call center technologies, including but limited to; workforce management, ACD call routing and reporting and quality monitoring.
• Ability to:
  • Communicate and operate effectively within and between system functions.
  • Undertake an enterprise-wide perspective with respect to their role.
  • Manage upwards, elevating key risks and opportunity areas to Patient Access & Experience.
  • Build consensus and lead change within a large matrix organization with multiple stakeholder groups.
  • Exercise judgement in dealing with sensitive, confidential information.
  • Recognize and analyze the impact of regulatory changes on the financial performance of revenue.

EEO Statement

Mass General Brigham is an Equal Opportunity Employer. By embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

Primary Location: MA-Boston-MGB Remote See Posting for Details

Work Locations: MGB Remote See Posting for Details, 399 Revolution Drive, Somerville 02145

Job: Finance/Accounting/Billing-Management

Organization: Mass General Brigham

Schedule: Full-time

Standard Hours: 40

Shift: Day Job

Posted Shift Description: Remote with onsite presence once a month (travel will be reimbursed). After hours/on-call responsibilities may be required on occasion.

Employee Status: Regular

Recruiting Department: MGB Revenue Cycle Operations

Job Posting: Oct 7, 2024