Lead, Patient Financial Services, Billing and Follow up

At NorthBay Health, the Lead, Patient Financial Services Billing and Follow-up provides advanced operational oversight and subject matter expertise supporting Supervisors and staff responsible for billing, follow-up, and collections of hospital patient accounts.

This role serves as a senior escalation resource and workflow leader, ensuring timely, accurate billing and follow-up activities across all major payer groups, including Medi-Cal, Medicare, and Commercial payers.

The Lead is responsible for helping with daily performance, resolving complex accounts, ensuring regulatory compliance, and supporting revenue cycle outcomes including cash collections, denial prevention, and A/R reduction.

Acts as a liaison between frontline staff, Supervisors, and leadership to optimize workflows, standardize processes, and improve overall team performance.

Provide day-to-day operational leadership and support to supervisors and staff across billing and A/R follow-up functions.

Serve as the primary subject matter expert (SME) for Medi-Cal, Medicare, and Commercial payer billing and follow-up, including payer-specific rules, reimbursement methodologies, and escalation pathways.

Review and resolve complex or high-dollar accounts, including denials, underpayments, and aged A/R across all payer types.

Monitor work queues and ensure timely billing, follow-up, and account resolution in alignment with departmental KPIs and regulatory requirements.

Partner with supervisors to drive staff productivity, quality, and accountability for A/R performance, cash collections, and denial resolution.

Analyze payer trends (Medi-Cal, Medicare, Commercial) to identify root causes of denials, delays, and underpayments; recommend and implement corrective actions.

Ensure compliance with all federal and state regulations, including CMS guidelines, Medi-Cal requirements, and payer contract terms.

Provide advanced training, education, and real-time coaching to staff and supervisors on billing processes, payer requirements, and system workflows.

Assist supervisors with auditing staff performance, accounting quality, and documentation standards.

Support the development and standardization of workflows, policies, and procedures related to billing and A/R follow-up.

Collaborate with internal departments (coding, HIM, case management, customer service) and external stakeholders (payers, vendors) to resolve issues and improve revenue cycle performance.

Function as escalation point for payer issues requiring advanced research, including appeals, reconsiderations, and payment discrepancies.

Assist leadership in preparing reports, dashboards, and performance summaries related to A/R, denials, and cash collections.

Support system optimization efforts (Epic, clearinghouses, payer portals) to improve efficiency and automation.

Lead or participate in special projects focused on revenue cycle improvement, denial reduction, and cash acceleration.