Deputy Manager - Collections

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 Deputy Manager - AR Collections is responsible for managing Accounts Receivable operations, ensuring timely follow-ups on unpaid claims, maximizing collections, and reducing AR aging. The role demands solid expertise in denial management, payer interaction, and team leadership in a US healthcare environment

Primary Responsibilities:

• AR Collections Management
  • Oversee end-to-end AR follow-up for unpaid/underpaid claims (Insurance & Patient AR)
  • Ensure timely resolution of:  Open AR accounts, denied/rejected claims, underpayments 
  • Drive reduction in aging buckets (30+, 60+, 90+, 120+ days)
• Denial & Appeals Management
  • Analyze denial reasons (coding, eligibility, authorization, etc.)
  • Ensure timely filing of appeals and reconsiderations
  • Reduce repeat denials through root cause analysis (RCA)
  • Work with coding & billing teams to fix upstream errors
• Team Leadership & Operations 
  • Manage a team of 20-70 AR callers / analysts / team leads.
  • Track: Daily productivity (calls/claims worked)Quality scores, Attendance & adherence
  • Conduct: Daily huddles, performance reviews, skip-level meetings
• Client & Payer Interaction 
  • Act as SPOC for client communication
  • Participate in client calls: Weekly performance reviews, Monthly/Quarterly business reviews
  • Handle escalations related to aging accounts or revenue loss
  • Coordinate with US insurance payers via calls, portals, and emails
• KPI & Performance Management 
  • Monitor key AR metrics: Days in AR (DAR), Aging distribution, Net collection rate, Denial rate, First-pass resolution 
  • Drive action plans to improve collections and meet SLAs
• Process Improvement 
  • Identify improvement opportunities in: AR workflows, Follow-up strategies
  • Drive automation, productivity improvement, and cost optimization
  • Implement Lean / Six Sigma-based improvements
• Quality & Compliance 
  • Ensure adherence to: HIPAA compliance,Payer-specific regulations 
  • Partner with QA team to maintain high audit scores (>98%)
  • Ensure documentation accuracy in systems (notes, actions, etc.)
• Key KPIs 
  • AR Days (target: < 35-45 days depending on account) 
  • Aging >90 days reduced consistently 
  • Collection rate / cash acceleration 
  • Denial rate < 5-8% 
  • Productivity > 95% 
  • Quality score > 95%
  • SLA adherence: 100%
• Comply with the terms and conditions of the employment contract, company policies and procedures, and any and all directives (such as, but not limited to, transfer and/or re-assignment to different work locations, change in teams and/or work shifts, policies in regards to flexibility of work benefits and/or work environment, alternative work arrangements, and other decisions that may arise due to the changing business environment). The Company may adopt, vary or rescind these policies and directives in its absolute discretion and without any limitation (implied or otherwise) on its ability to do so

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years in US Healthcare RCM 
• 2+ years in team handling role in BPO/KPO 
• Hands-on exposure to: Epic, Cerner, Athena, NextGen, etc.
• Experience handling high-value / complex AR accounts
• Solid experience in AR Follow-up / Collections 
• Solid knowledge of: US healthcare payer systems (Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial), AR follow-up workflows & denial handling
• Advanced MS Excel (reports, dashboards, performance tracking)
• Proven solid communication (especially for payer calls & client meetings) 
• Proven analytical thinking & problem-solving 
• Proven leadership & people management skills
• Proven ability to work in high-pressure, target-driven environment
• Proven ability to work in a high-volume calling & productivity-driven setup
• US shift / night shift

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.