Physician Business Associate

Opportunities at WellMed, part of the Optum family of businesses. We believe all patients are entitled to the highest level of medical care. Here, you will join a team who shares your passion for helping people achieve better health. With opportunities for physicians, clinical staff and non-patient-facing roles, you can make a difference with us as you discover the meaning behind Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The Physician Business Associate plays a critical role in supporting submarket leaders (dyads) by driving and maintaining functional operations within their assigned region. This includes ensuring the accuracy of provider network data, supporting the Physician Business Manager, and acting as a direct liaison between the organization and the contracted or affiliated physician network.

This role provides ongoing support, troubleshooting, and process management for submarket partners, including the Market Medical Director, Associate Director, Physician Business Manager, and/or VP of Contracted Operations. Additionally, it serves as a key link between the organization’s central departments and the Physician Business Department to achieve short- and long-term operational and strategic goals.

Team members in this position are also responsible for engaging physicians and clinic staff across their assigned region as needed.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Service Excellence:
  • Serves as a primary point of contact for the Submarket Dyad and/or Physician Business Manager
  • Demonstrates knowledge of incentive programs, contract reimbursement, practice, and network profitability, ACOs, and other enterprise initiatives, as applicable
  • Responds promptly to internal and external inquiries, collaborating with other groups and central departments to resolve issues
  • Keeps submarket leaders and Physician Business Managers informed throughout the resolution process. Engages with the Associate Director as needed to gain insights and identify best practices for issue resolution
  • Proactively identifies issues, analyzes root causes, and ensures timely and complete resolution. Collaborates with the Associate Director to address and troubleshoot unresolved issues
  • Builds collaborative relationships with between the Organization and Contracted and Affiliated physicians and their office staff as needed
  • Works to prioritize and organize assigned workload while still meeting deadlines and delivering the best outcome possible
• Presence & Visibility:
  • Facilitates weekly submarket meetings under the guidance of submarket dyads
  • Maintains a consistent cadence for touchpoints, ensuring agendas are followed, action items are documented, and progress is tracked
  • Supports their assigned leader in planning and coordinating external physician engagement events, such as Physician Advisory Board meetings or Pool Performance Collaborative dinners
  • Manages Regional Provider Inquiry inbox and collaborates with appropriate submarket leader to address incoming inquiry appropriately
  • Attends external office staff meetings and community/town hall meetings, as required, and completes any action items that may arise from those meetings
  • Represents the organization by holding company sponsored provider events (Provider Dinners, Summits, Learning Sessions)
  • Maintains awareness of providers interested in further engaging with the Organization on new business opportunities (contracts and business combinations), and on shifting market/competitive dynamics that would impact the Organization

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:

• 2+ years of healthcare experience 
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams)
• Proven ability to develop long-term positive working relationships
• Proven solid people skills with ability to interface effectively both externally and internally with a wide range of people including physicians, office staff and other health plan staff
• Proven excellent critical thinking skills with effective follow through
• Proven solid verbal and written communication skills. 
• Proven ability to work independently, use good judgment and decision-making processes
• Proven ability to adapt quickly to change in an ever-changing environment
• Proven ability to work evenings and weekends on occasion based on business need

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in group presentations and training
• Face-to-face sales or customer service experience
• Experience working with Tableau and Smartsheet
• Professional provider relations experience involving physicians and administrative staff
• Knowledge of Managed Care and Medicare programs
• Risk Adjustment knowledge related to CMS reimbursement models
• Bilingual proficiency in English/Spanish 

Physical & Mental Requirements:

• Ability to lift to twenty-five pounds
• Ability to push or pull heavy objects using up to twenty-five pounds of force
• Ability to sit for extended periods of time
• Ability to stand for extended periods of time
• Ability to use fine motor skills to operate office equipment and/or machinery
• Ability to properly drive and operate a company vehicle
• Ability to receive and comprehend instructions verbally and/or in writing
• Ability to use logical reasoning for simple and complex problem solving

The salary range for this role is $59,500 to $116,600 annually based on full-time employment. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. UnitedHealth Group complies with all minimum wage laws as applicable. In addition to your salary, UnitedHealth Group offers benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with UnitedHealth Group, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives.

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.