Front Office Manager

Job Title: Front Office Manager
Salary: $80,000/year at 1.0 FTE
FSLA Status: Exempt
In Person Expectation: 100% In Person
Primary Location: Lyon-Martin Community Health Services
Address: 1735 Mission Street                             
Reports To:Director of Clinic Operations

Benefits: Employees regularly scheduled for 16 hours or more per week are eligible for full benefits, which include 100% employer paid Platinum level medical plans for both employees and their minor dependent(s), Premium dental, vision, life and acupuncture/chiropractic plans, as well as an up to 3% 403b match and access to pre-tax health, dependent care and commuter benefits.

Available Pay Differentials: $1.00 per hours worked for employees certified bilingual in Spanish, Chinese, or Tagalog. ($2080/year at 1.0 FTE)  

Organization Mission

The mission of Lyon-Martin Community Health Services is to provide high quality, compassionate and trauma-informed medical, gynecological, and mental health care services to trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and intersex communities and cis-gender women with specific sensitivity to LGBQ sexual orientation, disability, size, race, ethnicity, and language, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. 

We aim to eliminate health inequities for our communities by rooting our clinical practice in core foundational intersectional frameworks of anti-racism, self-determination, harm reduction, and reproductive and disability justice. As a community clinic, we believe our communities are best served by and for us; that’s why community engagement and leadership development are central to our mission of community care and mutual aid. Lastly, we commit to increasing access to culturally responsive care beyond our walls through provider training and education and address systemic inequity through policy advocacy.

Job Summary

The Front Office Manager is responsible for overseeing all front office operations at Lyon-Martin, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Look Alike Clinic, overseeing clinic-wide eligibility and billing operations in partnership with the Director of Clinic Operations and Clinic Manager. The Front Office Manager supervises all Community Access Coordinators and Remote Communication Associates who handle all aspects of front-line reception duties (phone, text, faxes, email, snail mail), insurance eligibility and enrollment, appointment check-in and check-out, troubleshoot billing issues in collaboration with the Revenue Cycle Manager and billing contractor, OCHIN. This role ensures that the front office functions efficiently and effectively, providing excellent customer service to patients and supporting the smooth operation of the health center. 

Key Responsibilities

Front Office Management

• Supervision: Oversee all Community Access Coordinators and Remote Communication Associates who are responsible for patient reception, scheduling, eligibility checks, insurance enrollment, intake, prior authorization submission and follow-up, appointment check-in and check-out processes, records requests and releases of information. Along with Management Team, oversee triaging and re-scheduling of appointments due to provider absences or schedule changes. Interview, hire, on-board, train, support, monitor performance, and terminate Community Access Coordinators as needed.
• Scheduling: Manage front office staffing schedules to ensure coverage during all operational hours, covering for absences as needed. 
• Customer Service: Ensure that all patients receive a warm and welcoming experience, addressing any issues or concerns promptly, including supporting clients in filing grievances, provider change requests, and/or participating in client restorative justice processes as needed.
• Clinic Operation Meetings: Participate in Clinic Operations Meetings with Management Team.
• EHR (Epic): Complete EHR Support Analyst Training, reviewing continuum updates that affect front office operations, maintain schedule with Management Team, develop smartphrases and letters to support front office workflows.
• Patient Transportation: Oversee procedures for supporting patients with appointment transportation including Muni tokens, taxi vouchers, and Lyft.
• Office Supply Inventory: Track inventory of office supplies and request approval for orders.
• Equipment: Troubleshooting any equipment issues with phones, RICOH copiers, check in iPads, liaising with IT Contractor as needed.

Demographic Data Collection, Insurance Eligibility and Enrollment

• Insurance Web Portal Admin: Ensure appropriate staff have access to insurance verification and enrollment systems and are trained to use appropriate web portals including Covered California, Medicare, Medi-Cal, Availity, SF Health Plan, Contra Costa Health Plan, Alameda Alliance, Partnership, Healthy San Francisco, Cigna, United.
• Demographic and Eligibility Verification: Ensure that all patients' demographic and insurance information is accurately verified and updated in the EHR system, Epic, scanning documents as needed in a timely manner.
• Enrollment Assistance: Train Community Access Coordinators to assist patients through the insurance enrollment process, including Medi-Cal, Medicare, commercial insurance, Healthy San Francisco, FPACT, and other applicable programs.
• Sliding Scale: Oversee the front office assistance with sliding fee scale application completion and review completed applications for approval and entry into Epic EHR.
• Training: Provide ongoing training for front office staff on clinic procedure updates, including scheduling workflows and insurance eligibility processes.

Mail and Correspondence Management

• Incoming and Outgoing Mail: Oversee the handling of all incoming and outgoing mail, ensuring timely scanning, distribution and processing and outgoing mail is delivered to post office box at end of each day. Ensure Quadient postage machine has sufficient funds and liaise with Quadient as needed. Ensure all mailed checks are logged, documented and scanned before routing to CEO for deposit. Ensure virtual credit card payments are scanned, processed and directed appropriately. Ensure all incoming mail related to billing, claims, or credentialing is scanned and directed to OCHIN OBS, Credentialing, or Director of HR as appropriate. 
• Packages: Ensure any frozen or refrigerated packages are routed to back-office staff for handling or if no other staff available, place in appropriate temperature-controlled location for handling later, communicating with appropriate team members. For all other incoming large packages, ensuring package routed to appropriate department or individual. For outgoing large packages, alert Clinic Manager or Director for transport to post office.
• Patient Communication: Ensure that all patient correspondence, including appointment reminders, communications from care teams, in-reach calls, records requests, and billing issues, is handled efficiently and in compliance with clinic documentation and follow-up timeline policies.

Billing Oversight

• Billing Processes: Monitor and support the prior authorization and billing processes handled by front office staff, ensuring accuracy and timeliness in patient billing issues. 
• Patient Payments: Oversee patient payment collection to ensure payment appropriately documented in Epic, that payment (cash or check) are routed to the CEO for deposit on the last day of each month, and confirming any credit card payments were processed correctly.
• Coordination: Work closely with the Revenue Cycle Manager and/or OCHIN Billing to address any billing discrepancies or issues. 

Liaison with Key Stakeholders

• Revenue Cycle Manager & OCHIN: Collaborate regularly with Lyon-Martin’s Revenue Cycle Manager and OCHIN Billing to optimize billing and revenue processes.
• Lyon-Martin Management: Liaise with the Lyon-Martin Management to ensure payor contracts are updated as needed if systemic issues with particular payors arise.

Operational Efficiency

• Process Improvement: Identify and implement improvements in front office operations to enhance efficiency and patient satisfaction.
• Policy Development: Develop and enforce policies and procedures related to front office and eligibility functions. Develop and maintain applicable manuals, guides, forms and handouts as needed.
• Emergency Procedures: Assisting Management Team to train staff on emergency procedures, conducting fire, earthquake, and other emergency drills on a routing basis. Monitor attendance and adherence to sign-in/sign-out procedures.

And, other duties as assigned.

Competencies:

Communication, Written: Delivers written communications that have clarity and impact including emails.

Communication, Verbal: Effective listener; clearly and thoughtfully communicates with others in person and on the phone.

Reliability: Accountable; maintains focus; punctual; good attendance record; meets deadlines.

Time Management: Organizes and establishes priorities; gets the job done in a timely manner.

Customer Service: Persists in efforts to solve issues even when faced with internal barriers; takes personal responsibility for customer service outcomes; responds quickly and effectively to requests for assistance and support whether internal or external.

Computer Literacy: Skilled computer-based work tasks; uses technology to enhance job performance. 

Teamwork: Accountable to team; participates effectively in group- and teamwork; collaborates positively with other team members; giving and accepting constructive criticism.

Tolerance for Stress, Ambiguity, and Change: Maintains composure even while under great pressure; handles complex problems and change with minimal supervision; demonstrates flexibility and versatility in achieving key goals and priorities.

Attention to Detail: Strives to eliminate errors; makes accurate work a priority; seeks opportunities to improve performance.

Decision Making: Collects, organizes, and analyzes information before making decisions. Takes a thoughtful approach when considering options; may seek supervision and/or input from others.

Integrity and Ethics: Actively models the highest ethical standards; is honest and accountable; maintains confidentiality and appropriate boundaries at all times; handles sensitive information and issues with discretion and tact. 

Relationship Orientation: Establishes rapport easily with others; listens attentively to others' perspectives; uses good judgment when sharing information and maintaining confidentiality; appropriately expresses empathy.

Presentation Skills: Adapts presentation techniques to fit audience level and technical needs; develops and delivers communications that have clarity and impact; conveys confidence, presence, and professionalism; uses appropriate visual aids to illustrate key points and enhance learning.

Interpersonal Skills: Uses active listening and discussion skills to identify issues, ensure understanding, and facilitate problem solving; works cooperatively with diverse groups; deals with others in a pleasant and professional manner; accurately assesses verbal and non-verbal cues.

Accountability: Makes and meets commitments; accepts responsibility for behavior and outcomes.

Follow Through: Monitors status of projects and tasks; thoroughly deals with project details; delivers clear, accurate depiction of status.

Cultural Sensitivity: Ability to work with a diverse population while withholding judgment. Willingly open to learn and understand different perspectives.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in a healthcare front office or administrative role. 
• Strong leadership and team management skills, excellent communication abilities, strong proficiency with EHR and health tech systems, and thorough knowledge of insurance eligibility and enrollment processes, especially Medi-Cal.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills, strong communication and training abilities, and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Commitment to the mission of Lyon-Martin and to community-based primary care
• Experience working with lesbian, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and intersex communities, populations with varying disabilities, racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds and economic statuses, clients who do sex work, those experiencing homelessness, people who have challenges with mental illness, people who use drugs, those of with a history of incarceration, people of varying ages.
• Commitment to working in an environment offering abortion services and the full-scope of pregnancy options counseling.

Preferred:

• 2 years or more in a supervisory capacity.
• Experience in an FQHC or similar setting, especially in health center operations.
• Experience with San Francisco Health Network, Bay Area based resources.
• Experience with Epic.
• Spanish proficiency.

Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.