Health Insurance Technician

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Postmarks are not accepted.  Applications will only be accepted on-line.

Supplemental Questionnaire:  A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application.  Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Postmarks are not accepted.  Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

QUALIFIED BILINGUAL PERSONS WHO SPEAK ENGLISH AND ARE ALSO FLUENT IN SPANISH, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, CAMBODIAN, LAOTIAN, KOREAN, MIEN, TAGALOG, AMHARIC, FARSI, DARI, TIGRIGNA, RUSSIAN, ROMANIAN OR SIGN LANGUAGE ARE ESPECIALLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.  THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL BI WEEKLY COMPENSATION FOR PERSONS IN POSITIONS DESIGNATED BILINGUAL.  Qualified candidates may be tested to demonstrate language proficiency.

THE AGENCY

Alameda County's Health Services Program is administered by the Health Care Services Agency and includes the following program areas: Behavioral Health Care, Public Health, Environmental Health, and Agency Administration/Indigent Health. The ultimate mission of Health Care Services Agency is to provide fully integrated health care services through a comprehensive network of public and private partnerships that ensure optimal health and well-being and respect the diversity of all residents.

 THE POSITION

Under general supervision, determines potential client eligibility for Federal, State or county health insurance programs; provides assistance to Alameda County residents with the application, enrollment and renewal processes for benefit programs and privately funded health insurance programs; provides on-going training and technical assistance to clients, clinics, contracted providers and community-based organizations regarding a variety of specialized Federal, State and County health insurance programs; participates in health program enrollment outreach events; acts as advocate/liaison on behalf of client and in conjunction with other agencies; reviews and processes provider transmittals for payment; and performs other related duties as assigned.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

These paraprofessional positions are located in the Health Care Services Agency and report to a Supervising Health Insurance Technician or Patient Services Supervisor. Incumbents in this position require extensive program knowledge and the ability to elicit financial information from clients’ related to various benefit and health insurance programs in possible stressful situations and convey information to medical/clinical professionals and other staff.

The Health Insurance Technician is distinguished from both the Supervising Health Insurance Technician and Patient Services Supervisor in that the two latter classes are responsible for the day-to-day supervision of Health Insurance Technicians including the coordination and delegation of work assignments, staff coverage and performance evaluations.

 

IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal candidate will have demonstrated a track record of success in the following areas:

• Assist clients with the application and enrollment processes for public and private benefit programs.
• Act as a liaison with clients, providers, staff, and Federal, State, County and private agencies.
• Ability to audit program applications for eligibility enrollment and renewal.
• Ability to maintain accurate case information, including but not limited to client demographic and financial information.
• Demonstrate excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently.

 

Experience:

The equivalent of two years full-time experience assisting clients with the application, referral and enrollment processes for federal, state or county health insurance programs, determining potential eligibility for such programs and performing health care program outreach activities in a health care or social services setting.

(Possession of an Associate of Arts Degree from an accredited college in health science, social science, or a related field may be substituted for one year of the required two years of experience.)

License:

Possession of a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator’s License.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

NOTE: The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the “Examples of Duties” section of this specification.

Knowledge of:

• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Personal Identifiable Information (PII) rules of patient/client confidentiality.
• Health benefit and/or application processes, regulations and procedures.
• Community organizations and resources for underserved populations.
• Community outreach techniques and methods.
• Interviewing methods and techniques.
• Administrative practices and procedures including records management and the operation of standard office equipment.
• Practices and techniques of administrative analysis.
• Report principles, research and preparation.
• Client-centered computer systems, applications and programs related to benefit plans.


Ability to:

• Plan and conduct administrative and operational research/studies.
• Prepare accurate/concise reports, correspondence, procedures and other written materials.
• Analyze and research complex benefit related problems, reach sound conclusions to develop appropriate courses of action.
• Interview clients to obtain appropriate eligibility and financial data and maintain accurate case information.
• Comprehend, interpret and follow instructions related to health insurance and benefit programs.
• Verify eligibility and/or screen for appropriate health insurance and benefit programs.
• Understand clients’ social, cultural and economic diversity related to health care.
• Advocate for clients to resolve discrepancies/inconsistencies related to client benefits and/or accounts.
• Work independently and collaboratively with multidisciplinary team, and community resources and organizations.
• Communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Prioritize tasks and time in order to meet all deadlines, many under tight time constraints.
• Plan, organize and conduct presentations on health and benefit programs.
• Exercise interpersonal skills, and maintain effective working relationship with clients, families, professional, paraprofessional and support staff in the department, outside agencies and with the general public.
• Provide training to peers and community based service staff on assessing benefit eligibility and enrollment.
• Make accurate calculations and computations in regards to client’s income, assets and disbursements.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF the following steps: 1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process. 2) A review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process. 3) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.  CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.  We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit.  Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position.  Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position.  Other recruitments many be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.
To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.  The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN
Deadline for Filing:                                                                                 5:00PM, Monday, July 15, 2013
Review of Minimum Qualifications:                                                                        Friday, July 19, 2013
Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for best qualified:                                 Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Panel Interviews:                                                                    Tuesday to Thursday, August 27-29, 2013

 

The Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination process to accommodate qualified individuals with mental and physical disabilities, and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and Alameda County Resolution No. R-83-773.  To request an accommodation due to a disability during this or other phases of the selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Analyst listing on the job announcement before the final filing deadline. Alameda County Human Resources Services will require documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a permanent disability pursuant to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's statute of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, as amended, and/or the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) Act.
For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.
Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.
NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Debra Robinson Harris,  Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
510-272-6437