Job Information
UnitedHealth Group Licensed Senior Behavioral Health Care Advocate - San Diego - Hybrid in San Diego, California
For those who want to invent the future of health care, here's your opportunity. We're going beyond basic care to health programs integrated across the entire continuum of care. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.
Due to our ongoing business relationship with the County of San Diego, Optum Behavioral Solutions has an immediate need for a CA licensed Senior Care Advocate. As a Senior Care Advocate you will focus on authorizations for psychiatric and chemical dependency patients and supporting the larger Utilization Management (UM) team with data entry and questions. There are multiple clinical sub teams within UM, that work collaboratively to ensure business needs are met: Inpatient, Crisis Residential, Outpatient, Long Term Care (LTC), and Substance Use Disorder (SUD). This is primarily an administrative position with no patient contact.
This position is Monday-Friday from 10:30am to 7pm mainly working from home and will require working at least one day in the San Diego office.
Primary Responsibilities:
Based on documentation, determining appropriate levels of patient care
Obtaining information from providers on authorization requests for treatment
Determining if documentation meets medical necessity requirements for payment through Medicaid or the County of San Diego
Managing mental health and/or SUD cases throughout the treatment episode
Administering benefits and reviewing treatment documentation
Coordinating benefits and transitions between various areas of care
Identifying ways to add value to treatment plans and consulting with facility staff or outpatient care providers on those ideas
Data entry of clinical documentation submitted into the County’s Electronic Health Record or Designated Database
Assist other teammates and/or other sub teams within Utilization Management as needed with questions, data entry, guidance, and support
Monitor and oversee sub team workload and arrange coverage as needed and/or cover as needed
Support implementation of any new requirements and current policies, procedures, and processes or assist in updating current processes and creation of new processes
Assist leadership with projects, running reports and updates as needed
Attend weekly leadership meetings
Take initiative to assist other team members with their workloads and support the team
Assist Supervisor with various tasks for business needs and serve as liaison with other departments
Assist in interviewing, onboarding and training of new hires
Ensure all work products are covered and turnaround times met for the sub team and/or the larger Utilization Management team
Assist with problem resolution as needed
Participate in Quality Assurance activities as needed and delegated
Provide feedback to Manager or Supervisor on opportunities for improvement of the department or operations
Knowledge of outcome focused clinical models and interventions in mental health and SUD
Proven solid written and verbal communication and customer services skills
Ability to work autonomously
May serve as back up to other Senior Care Advocates across the larger team
Serve as key point of contact for external stakeholders, providers and County staff as needed
Support Access and Crisis Line as needed
Model positive, professional and solution-oriented attitude
Other duties as assigned
You’ll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.
Required Qualifications:
Licensed, Master's degreed Clinician in Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, or Marriage / Family Counseling, a Licensed Ph.D., or an RN with experience in behavioral health
Licenses must be independent, active and unrestricted in the State of California
2+ years of experience in mental health / behavior health environment
Intermediate level of computer proficiency (including MS Word/Excel/Office)
Proven solid computer skills, must be able to type and talk at the same time in addition to navigating a Windows environment
Willing or ability to work onsite one day a week in the San Diego, CA office
You will be required to be granted and maintain access to the County of San Diego’s electronic health record Cerner Community Behavioral Health and/or WITS and other electronic databases
Preferred Qualifications:
1+ years of Leadership, Subject Matter Expert or Team Lead experience
Cerner or WITS experience
Experience in a managed care setting
Dual diagnosis experience with mental health and substance use treatment
Medi-Cal system experience
Experience working in an environment that requires coordination of benefits and utilization of multiple resources for patients
Experience in telephonic roles
Experience in Utilization Management
Experience with high risk psychiatric or SUD patients working in community settings such as psychiatric inpatient, LTC, or SUD treatment
Proven solid data entry and presentation skills
California Residents Only: The salary range for this role is $70,200 to $137,800 annually. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. UnitedHealth Group complies with all minimum wage laws as applicable. In addition to your salary, UnitedHealth Group offers benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with UnitedHealth Group, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives.
At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. We believe everyone–of every race, gender, sexuality, age, location and income–deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Today, however, there are still far too many barriers to good health which are disproportionately experienced by people of color, historically marginalized groups and those with lower incomes. We are committed to mitigating our impact on the environment and enabling and delivering equitable care that addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes — an enterprise priority reflected in our mission.
Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: OptumCare is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employers and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.
OptumCare is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.
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