Associate Revenue Cycle Analyst - Prior Authorizations

Job Summary: Associate Revenue Cycle Analyst

The Associate Revenue Cycle Analyst is responsible for driving operational excellence and data integrity within the Prior Authorization (PA) function. This role focuses on the end-to-end health of the PA submission pipeline, ensuring inventory moves efficiently to meet established Service Level Agreements (SLAs). By collaborating with internal stakeholders – including Market Access, Genetic Counselors, Medical Records, Insurance Verification, Claims/Denials/Appeals, etc. – this analyst identifies bottlenecks, investigates systemic anomalies, and provides data-driven insights to minimize front-end friction and optimize reimbursement.

Job Responsibilities

• Inventory Diagnostic & Management: Actively monitors the PA work to identify inventory volume, aging trends, and "stuck" requests. Determines necessary interventions to move files forward and maintain SLA compliance.

• PA Submission Integrity: Serves as the operational analyst for the submission workflow, ensuring that all upstream data is complete and accurate before submission.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partners with Market Access to align on payor policies and works with Claims/Denials teams to bridge the gap between authorization feedback and actual payment outcomes.

• Anomaly Investigation: Performs deep-dive investigations into payer and vendor discrepancies (e.g., analyzing why a payer returns "PA Not Required" for a service specifically flagged for authorization) and recommends system logic or workflow adjustments.

• Requirements & Documentation Management: Identifies and documents specific PA job requirements (e.g., required clinical notes, specific forms, or portal-specific data fields) to ensure submissions are "right the first time."

• Root-Cause Trend Analysis: Conducts analysis on PA delays or submission failures, presenting actionable findings to leadership to drive continuous performance improvement.

• Workflow & Tracking Development: Assists in building and refining tracking tools and standardized workflows for the PA lifecycle, specifically focusing on the hand-offs between upstream and downstream departments.

• Vendor Monitoring: Reviews vendor performance and output, ensuring external partners accurately process actions and adhere to the organization’s high standards for reimbursement accuracy.

• KPI Reporting: Tracks and reports on key metrics, including Submission Turnaround Time (TAT), inventory "bottleneck" age, vendor error rates, etc..

• Strategic Communication: Acts as a liaison for management to explain complex operational trends, system glitches, or payer-behavior shifts affecting the revenue cycle.

• Knowledge Sharing: Serves as a technical resource for internal teams regarding PA submission nuances and best practices for process improvement.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Healthcare Administration, or a related field (or equivalent years of relevant professional experience).

• Experience: 2–4 years of experience in healthcare revenue cycle, with a specific focus on prior authorization analysis, medical billing, or inventory management.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Inventory Mastery: Advanced ability to manage high-volume inventory and identify specific points of failure or stagnation within a process.

• Technical Problem Solving: Strong critical thinking skills to troubleshoot logic errors and discrepancies between payor responses and internal routing rules.

• Data Proficiency: High proficiency in Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets (VLOOKUPs, Pivot Tables, Data Visualization).

• Collaborative Mindset: Ability to influence and work effectively across diverse teams.

• Analytical Communication: Ability to translate complex data into clear, concise reports for stakeholders at all levels.

• Nuanced Accuracy: Deep understanding of medical terminology and procedure coding as it relates to payor-specific submission requirements.

• Discretion: Strict adherence to HIPAA and confidentiality protocols regarding sensitive patient and financial data.