Acute Intake Manager - West Region - Remote

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.

The Acute Intake Manager provides operational leadership for the Acute Intake team and is accountable for timely patient access, referral progression, prior authorization oversight, patient onboarding, workforce performance, quality, and cross-functional execution. The role drives a consistent, accountable patient journey while advancing workflow simplification, technology adoption, and continuous improvement.

A successful Chronic Intake Manager is a patient-centered, data-informed leader who builds accountable teams, removes barriers to treatment, strengthens cross-functional partnerships, and improves the reliability of the patient journey. The role balances employee development, operational performance, compliance, continuity of care, and sustainable process improvement.

Schedule: Anytime between 7am-7pm but preferred is 10:30am-7pm MST.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Primary Responsibilities: 

• Lead daily Acute Intake operations, including referral prioritization, workload balancing, staffing coverage, and start-of-care readiness
• Provide direct leadership to supervisors and/or Intake Coordinators through hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance management, and development
• Monitor referral aging, authorization progress, onboarding status, and barriers to care; ensure timely escalation and resolution of complex cases
• Partner with Prior Authorization, Pharmacy, Nursing, Sales, Revenue Cycle, Clinical Liaisons, providers, and payer partners to advance referrals and reduce avoidable delays or cancellations
• Ensure accurate, timely documentation and adherence to HIPAA, company policies, departmental SOPs, quality standards, and applicable regulatory requirements
• Use operational reporting to identify trends, manage capacity, improve accountability, and support leadership decisions
• Lead root cause analysis, corrective actions, workflow redesign, automation, and other process-improvement efforts supporting patient access and continuity of care
• Serve as the operational subject matter expert for Chronic Intake and represent the function in leadership forums, cross-functional initiatives, and change-management activities

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: 

• 5+ years of healthcare operations, infusion, specialty pharmacy, intake, patient access, reimbursement, or related experience
• 2+ years of leadership experience with responsibility for direct reports, team performance, or operational outcome
• Proven working knowledge of referral management, benefits verification, prior authorization, payer requirements, and patient access workflows
• Proven knowledge of ICD-9/10, HCPCS and CPT codes
• Demonstrated solid people leadership, analytical, communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder-management skills

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Infusion pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, home health or acute therapy intake leadership experience
• Experience leading remote or multi-site teams and operational transformation initiatives
• Familiarity with CareLink Cloud, CPR+, payer portals, workflow automation, and process-improvement methods
• Reside in the West Coast/Moutain Time Zone

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter Policy

Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, we offer 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 us, you'll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives. The salary for this role will range from $72,800 - $130,000 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.

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.