- Appeals Management & Denial Resolution
- Manage end-to-end appeals operations from denial intake through resolution, including prioritization, workload allocation, quality oversight, and timely execution of initial and second-level appeals, reconsiderations, and external reviews when applicable.
- Personally handle complex medical necessity, investigational/experimental, noncovered service, coding, and reimbursement-related denials.
- Build case-specific appeal strategies supported by clinical records, research, payer policies, coding guidance, and applicable appeal requirements.
- Assess deadlines, documentation needs, appeal merit, escalation options, and case closure decisions; ensure timely and accurate submissions.
- Payer Investigation & Escalation
- Communicate directly with payer claims, provider relations, medical policy, utilization management, and clinical review teams as appropriate.
- Ask probing questions to identify the actual basis for denials or upheld decisions and determine what evidence, review, or corrective action could change the outcome.
- Distinguish benefit exclusions and coverage-policy restrictions from administrative errors, coding problems, documentation gaps, and pricing disputes.
- Document payer contacts, reference numbers, policy citations, findings, commitments, and follow-up actions; escalate systemic policy issues to Market Access leadership.
- Operations & Process Development
- Build standardized operating procedures for intake, triage, appeal drafting, submission, follow-up, escalation, quality review, and closure.
- Maintain complete case records covering denial rationale, appeal history, evidence, correspondence, deadlines, and final disposition.
- Manage operational capacity, workload prioritization, productivity expectations, provider communication standards, and quality controls to ensure timely resolution and prevent missed appeal deadlines.
- Coordinate with providers and cross-functional partners to obtain complete supporting documentation and resolve exceptions.
- AI-Enabled Appeals Operations
- Serve as operational owner for AI-supported appeals workflows, including draft generation, document review, tracking, and routine payer follow-up.
- Independently review AI-produced outputs for factual accuracy, evidence quality, completeness, and payer-specific requirements.
- Retain human responsibility for appeal submission, complex payer engagement, judgment-intensive exceptions, and quality assurance.
- Identify workflow improvements while adhering to privacy, security, and compliance requirements.
- Performance, Reporting & Leadership
- Track appeal overturn rates by payer, denial reason, and level; case aging; cycle times; reimbursement recovered; workload; and recurring root causes.
- Translate payer findings into recommendations that improve operational performance and inform the broader access and reimbursement strategy.
- Provide regular reporting to Market Access leadership and work closely with Clinical, Legal, Finance, and provider-facing teams.
- Serve as the operational leader and primary subject-matter expert for appeals and denial resolution, accountable for team readiness, performance standards, training, and oversight of additional resources as the function scales.
- Own operational performance against defined KPIs, identify resource and staffing needs, and recommend improvements to support scalability and business objectives.