Senior Behavioral Health Care Advocate - San Diego County Area

Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. 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 requires working a schedule of Monday-Friday, 10 : 30am - 7 : 00pm Pacific Time. Partial Remote (telecommute) / work from home opportunities will be allowed based on business needs

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

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)

Ability to work onsite Monday - Friday in the San Diego, CA office if required by business needs

Proven solid computer skills, must be able to type and talk at the same time in addition to navigating a Windows environment

You will be required to be granted and maintain access to the County of San Diego’s electronic health record 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

• All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy

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.

UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer under applicable law and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

UnitedHealth Group is a drug - free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.