Do you have compassion and a passion to help others? Transforming healthcare and millions of lives as a result starts with the values you embrace and the passion you bring to achieve your life’s best work.(sm)

The Care Advocate role will engage and develop relationships with our members. This role focuses on proactive, best practices, consultation and improvement of quality care for members and / or their caregivers throughout the healthcare continuum. The primary responsibility for member support includes the initial engagement, coordination with our providers, connecting member with various care teams, educating member on pending/current hospitalizations, supporting member through next site of care as well as a 30-day discharge from a facility. As a Care Advocate, you will act as a resource and advocate for members and their caregivers to ensure an optimal member experience. This position is also responsible for coordination and communication to members, physicians and other care management teams serving as a liaison with external departments to ensure consistent member care. Includes but not limited to managing outgoing / incoming calls, scheduling provider appointments, providing information on available services, managing referral process and transferring members as appropriate to clinical staff.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Establishes a trusting relationship with identified members, caregivers, clinic staff and physicians (may be completed face-to-face or virtual with member)
• Proactively engages the member to coordinate their care needs
• Keeps member actively engaged with their primary care physician and assists member with any scheduling medical appointments / transportation; clinical issues or concerns will be directed to a nurse / clinical professional
• Partners with the member’s care team (community, providers, internal staff); serving as a liaison between member and/or caregiver and all health services / processes
• Connects members who need guidance and assistance with any specific barriers to healthcare identified through telephonic outreach with an appropriate care team to assist in solving the member’s needs
• Conduct Social Determinants of Health assessments to identify member needs and connect member with an appropriate care team to assist
• Plans, prioritizes, organizes and completes work to meet established objectives
• Review care history documentation (e.g., case notes); includes navigation between computer screens and platforms to research information (e.g., medical, clinical, or benefits information)
• Serves as primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders
• Conducts in-bound and out-bound calls including, but not limited to member touch-points, clinical staff coordination, member scheduling, and/or surveys / screenings
• Enters timely and accurate data into the electronic medical record to communicate member needs and ensure complete documentation of member visits and phone calls
• Periodically may visit members / patients in facility or next site of care, requiring ability to travel reliably to and from location
• Performs all other related duties as assigned

This position is a hybrid role and will allow you to office from home (telecommute) but you will be required to make visits to provider offices and the WellMed home office for onboarding, meetings, training and member visits and provider visits as needed.

Hours for this position are Monday - Friday 8am to 5pm

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:

• High School Diploma or GED
• 4+ years of experience in customer service support and/or engagement
• Proficient computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and Outlook
• Ability to reliably travel locally where / when necessary
• This position requires Tuberculosis screening as well as proof of immunity to Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Varicella, Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis through lab confirmation of immunity, documented evidence of vaccination, or a doctor's diagnosis of disease
• Full COVID-19 vaccination is an essential job function of this role. Candidates located in states that mandate COVID-19 booster doses must also comply with those state requirements. UnitedHealth Group will adhere to all federal, state and local regulations as well as all client requirements and will obtain necessary proof of vaccination, and boosters when applicable, prior to employment to ensure compliance. Candidates must be able to perform all essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation

Preferred Qualifications:

• Health care experience
• Experience working with Medicare and Medicaid populations
• Knowledge of medical terminology
• Basic understanding of Medicare and Medicaid health plans
• Bilingual in English and Spanish language proficiency
• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills
• Excellent verbal and written skills
• Ability to interact productively with individuals and with multidisciplinary teams
• Ability to comprehend and retain detailed information

Physical & Mental Requirements:

• Ability to lift up to 10 pounds
• 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 vehicle
• Ability to receive and comprehend instructions verbally and/or in writing
• Ability to use logical reasoning for simple and complex problem solving
  

To protect the health and safety of our workforce, patients and communities we serve, UnitedHealth Group and its affiliate companies require all employees to disclose COVID-19 vaccination status prior to beginning employment. In addition, some roles and locations require full COVID-19 vaccination, including boosters, as an essential job function. UnitedHealth Group adheres to all federal, state and local COVID-19 vaccination regulations as well as all client COVID-19 vaccination requirements and will obtain the necessary information from candidates prior to employment to ensure compliance. Candidates must be able to perform all essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation. Failure to meet the vaccination requirement may result in rescission of an employment offer or termination of employment

Careers with WellMed. Our focus is simple. We're innovators in preventative health care, striving to change the face of health care for seniors. We're impacting 550,000+ lives, primarily Medicare eligible seniors in Texas and Florida, through primary and multi-specialty clinics, and contracted medical management services. We've joined Optum, part of the UnitedHealth Group family of companies, and our mission is to help the sick become well and to help patients understand and control their health in a lifelong effort at wellness. Our providers and staff are selected for their dedication and focus on preventative, proactive care. For you, that means one incredible team and a singular opportunity to do your life's best work.(sm)

WellMed was founded in 1990 with a vision of being a physician-led company that could change the face of healthcare delivery for seniors. Through the WellMed Care Model, we specialize in helping our patients stay healthy by providing the care they need from doctors who care about them. We partner with multiple Medicare Advantage health plans in Texas and Florida and look forward to continuing growth.

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.

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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