Revenue Cycle Specialist (Contract)

Position Summary

The Revenue Cycle Specialist (Contract) plays a critical role in supporting and optimizing end-to-end revenue cycle operations, from eligibility and benefits verification through claims resolution, patient financial support, and accounts receivable management. This role goes beyond traditional billing to encompass payer interaction, patient advocacy, compliance, and continuous process improvement within a fast-growing telehealth environment.

The ideal candidate brings strong analytical thinking, communication skills, and revenue cycle expertise, with the ability to partner across clinical, finance, customer experience, and operations teams to ensure accurate reimbursement and a positive patient financial experience.

Responsibilities:

Patient Support & Communication

• Respond to patient billing and insurance inquiries via Zendesk within defined SLAs, resolving financial responsibility questions, statement disputes, and payment arrangement requests accurately and empathetically.
• Place outbound calls to patients to resolve open billing issues, clarify account questions, and follow up on unresolved inquiries or disputes.
• Educate patients on healthcare billing and insurance concepts — coverage, copays, deductibles, EOBs, and how telehealth services are billed — in clear, plain language.
• Set up and document payment plans and arrangements in Athena in accordance with company financial policies.
• Manage patient AR follow-up, including statement review, balance research, and issuing corrections, refunds, or rebills when discrepancies are identified.
• Execute the patient financial discharge process, including account review, final balance resolution, and required documentation and communication steps.
• Document all patient interactions in Athena and Zendesk to maintain complete, accurate account histories.

Claims & Revenue Operations

• Work Athena claim hold and denial queues within defined timeframes, prioritizing aged and high-value accounts to meet team resolution targets.
• Research claim status, eligibility, benefits, and denial details in payer portals and Availity to resolve billing questions and support claim follow-up.
• Place outbound calls to insurance payers to follow up on claim status, denials, and billing questions, documenting outcomes and reference numbers in Athena.
• Coordinate with clinical teams and providers to complete documentation addendum requests from coders, tracking requests through resolution to release held claims.
• Partner with credentialing to resolve claim holds tied to provider enrollment status.
• Monitor and respond to payer and patient correspondence in Athena correspondence dashboards to ensure timely resolution.
• Collaborate with clinical staff to identify documentation gaps and support timely note updates that enable accurate claim submission and reimbursement.

Internal Support & Collaboration

• Serve as the billing and insurance subject matter expert for the Patient Experience team, answering internal questions and resolving escalations routed through Zendesk, Slack, and email.
• Identify root causes of recurring denials, claim holds, and patient billing confusion; recommend corrective actions and process improvements.
• Participate in testing and adoption of AI-assisted claim management and patient communication tools, including automation-driven workflow changes.
• Support special projects related to claims, patient support, internal tools, and partnerships.

Qualifications:

• 2–3+ years of experience in medical billing and revenue cycle operations, preferably in a telehealth or high-growth healthcare environment.
• 2–3+ years of experience managing patient and insurance accounts receivable.
• Hands-on experience using billing platforms such as Athena, including claims troubleshooting and patient support.
• Strong understanding of healthcare reimbursement methodologies and coding guidelines (CPT, ICD-10, HCPCS).
• Experience working remotely in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a strong customer service mindset.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities independently.

Who you are:

You are a detail-oriented revenue cycle professional who understands that billing is only one part of the patient's financial journey. You are comfortable navigating payer rules, root causing complex claims issues, and supporting patients with empathy and clarity. You thrive in a collaborative, remote environment and bring a mindset of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement to your work.