Manager, Financial Transplant Specialist, Transplant Cellular Therapy - Full-Time, Days

Be a part of a world-class academic healthcare system, UChicago Medicine, as a Financial Transplant Specialist Manager in the Transplant Cellular Therapy department. Here, you be responsible for all financial aspects related to transplant clearance within the Transplant and Cellular Therapy department. This includes oversight of pre-registration, insurance verification, and the maintenance of pre- and post-transplant patient accounts at UChicago Medicine, as well as managing a team of financial transplant coordinators. In this role, the manager performs financial and administrative tasks on behalf of patients, their families, and the hospital. This position will be primarily a work from home opportunity with the requirement to come onsite as needed (2-3 days a month). You may be based outside of the greater Chicagoland area.

The Financial Transplant Specialist Manager involves monitoring the flow of revenue generated by both transplant recipients and any donor-related charges, with limited supervision. The manager extensively utilizes the hospital’s revenue systems and communicates clearly about patient’s financial status with the care team, including patients, physicians, nurses, insurance companies, donors and other hospital staff, throughout every phase of care. The manager also addresses referrals, authorization, and coverage issues escalated by the financial transplant coordinators, particularly when services require temporary deferral.

The Transplant Financial Specialist Manager maintains work queue accounts, patient accounts, and workflows related to insurance coverage for both transplant recipients and donors.

Additionally, this individual oversees financial counseling workflows and provides information about the transplant process to recipients, donors, and hospital staff. Acting as a patient advocate, the manager addresses billing issues arise, and insurance coverage changes as they arise.

This role will also serve as a mentor to the financial transplant coordinators and collaborates with hospital finance teams to continuously refine and improve best practices in billing, patient communication, and EMR utilization.

Essential Job Functions

• Provides oversight of the transplant financial coordinator team, ensuring appropriate staffing levels and equitable work distribution
• Manages the Human Resources functions for direct reports, including hiring, performance appraisal, competency assessments, and ongoing performance management
• Manages account and patient work queues related to transplant and donor patients to identify and resolve potential billing errors, collaborating with the transplant financial coordinator team to correct transplant plan codes, coverage details, and effective term dates
• Develops and manages onboarding plans and training materials for all new transplant financial coordinator personnel
• Provides resources, ongoing training, and mentorship to the team focused on revenue cycle best practices
• Participates in leadership meetings, offers insight on process improvement and efficiency, and collaborates with hospital finance while carrying out financial and managerial responsibilities
• Monitors overall patient flow and manages the complete financial case management for transplant recipients, donors and related services
• Reviews the transplant calendar and verifies authorizations for upcoming recipients in collaboration with clinical teams
• Collaborates with the transplant financial coordinators and clinical teams to appeal denied services, resolve charge disputes, address billing issues, and manage patient concerns, including arranging peer-to-peer conferences. Documents all verification, pre-authorization, and communication activities promptly
• Performs other duties as requested by senior management

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• At least 8 years of experience working in medical insurance verification and/or healthcare finance areas
• Minimum of 10 years related healthcare registration, billing and/or reimbursement experience

• Advanced understanding of financial clearance in healthcare setting

• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Epic systems (EPIC training & testing), and Phoenix for solid organ candidates

• Advanced insurance authorization and registration techniques

• Background in medical terminology

• Website Insurance Training (OneSource, Availity, Connex)

• Strong communication skills and must be able to communicate courteously and effectively with physicians, payors, and staff

• Ability to prioritize and work on several projects at once while maintaining communication with all invested parties

• Ability to maintain confidentiality of patient information

• Strong analytic and financial assessment abilities as well as the ability to maintain close attention to a variety of details required to perform duties effectively

• Excellent customer service and communication skills with patients, colleagues and external customers

• Proven ability to build and maintain relationships with the financial transplant coordinators, clinical teams and insurance case managers

• Ability to problem-solve and manage conflicts independently while promoting a team-based environment

• Advanced interpersonal skills including tact, discretion and courtesy necessary to interact cordially and effectively at all times

• Effective task prioritization and decision-making in a dynamic, fast-paced environment

• Adaptable to new systems and processes to meet patient needs while maintaining changing operational priorities

• Commitment to patient-centered service, a commitment to excellence and accuracy while multi-tasking
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Revenue Cycle Representative (CRCR) certification

• Certified Transplant Financial Coordinator (CTFC) certification

• Strong coding and billing experience or financial counseling background
  

Position Details

• Job Type/FTE: Full-Time (1.0 FTE)
• Shift: Rotational Day Shift (8:00 am - 5:00 pm)
• Work Location: Flexible Remote (Onsite 2-3 days/monthly)
• Unit/Department: Transplant Cellular Therapy – Hyde Park
• CBA Code: Non-Union