Patient Accounts Clerk (1637) - Dept. of Public Health

The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the importance of diversity in its workforce. All employees at the Department of Public Health work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status.

Application Opening – Friday, September 26, 2025

Application Deadline – Application filing will close on or after Friday, October 10, 2025

Salary :  $88,322 - $107,354 () Annually

Appointment Type : Permanent Civil Service ()

Recruitment ID :  CBT-1637-H00171

The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans. SFDPH strives to achieve its mission through the work of two main Divisions - the San Francisco Health Network and Population Health. The San Francisco Health Network is the City’s only complete system of care and has locations throughout the City, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, and over 15 primary care health centers.

The eligible list resulting from this recruitment may be utilized to fill future and current vacancies in this class at other locations within the DPH for the duration of the eligible list.

Under general supervision, the 1637 Patient Accounts Clerk collects payments on delinquent accounts for services that have been rendered to patients of the Department of Public Health.

Essential duties include :

Reviews and edits bills and claims to make sure the information is accurate and complete;

Collects payments on outstanding accounts for which tracers have already been sent according to predetermined schedules

Performs the more technically difficult or complicated billing, accounts receivable, or collections work of the unit, including preparing spreadsheets on more difficult accounts

Compiles information and prepares all documents for transferring outstanding accounts to the Bureau of Delinquent Revenue of the Tax Collector's Office following procedures as specified in the City Charter

Handles specialized accounts, such as the "full bill" accounts in which payments are made directly by the patient rather than by a third-party payor and accounts involving lawsuits and estates

Communicates with patients, physicians, insurance representatives and other for the purpose of collecting payments.

The 1637 Patient Accounts Clerk also performs other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications - Required

EXPERIENCE : Eighteen (18) months (equivalent to 3,000 hours) of experience billing, claims processing and / or collecting healthcare service reimbursements or medical claims from Medi-Cal (Medicaid), Medicare, insurance, third-party payors, and individual payors in a hospital, healthcare agency, or healthcare billing organization.

Substitution : Completion of fifteen (15) semester units or twenty-two (22) quarter units of medical billing-related coursework from an accredited college or university may substitute for six (6) months of qualifying experience.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirements by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week).

Important Note : Please make sure it is absolutely clear in your application exactly how you meet the minimum qualifications. Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. Please be aware that any misrepresentation of this information may disqualify you from this recruitment or future job opportunities.

Selection Procedures :

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following.

Written Examination (Weight : 100%) :

Candidates that meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to participate in multiple-choice exam that is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities in job related areas which may include but not be limited to : knowledge of complex government and commercial regulations applicable to billing for reimbursement; knowledge of priority of billing Medicare and Medi-Cal based on the patient's types of coverage; knowledge of accounts receivable procedures; knowledge of credit interviewing techniques; ability to perform accurate mathematical calculations; ability to interpret complex laws and regulations; ability to exercise judgment in determining follow-up actions; ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing; and ability to establish effective working relationships.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the multiple-choice exam in order to continue in the selection process and will be placed on the confidential eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

Certification

The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be the Rule of 10 Scores.

Eligible List / Score Report :

A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list / score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission. For more information, visit

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be 12 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

How to apply :

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit careers.sf.gov and begin the application process.

Our e-mail communications may come from more than one department, so please make sure your email is set to accept messages from all of us at this link.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment; therefore, it is their responsibility to contact the Analyst if they update their email address.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights :

Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state, or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note : The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at  The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at

Additional information regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco :

Information About the Hiring Process ()

Conviction History ()

Employee Benefits Overview ()

Equal Employment Opportunity ()

Disaster Service Worker (~ : text=a%20later%20date.-,Disaster%20Service%20Workers,-By%20State%20law)

ADA Accommodation ()

Veterans Preference ()

Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams ()

Right to Work (~ : text=Identification / Right%20to%20Work)

Copies of Application Documents (~ : text=Copies%20of%20Application%20Documents)

Diversity Statement (~ : text=Learn%20more-,Diversity%20Statement,-The%20City%20and)

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Herbert Chau, at herbert.chau@sfdph.org or (628) 271-6707.

We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. The first message will ask you to opt in to text messaging.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV / AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.