Job Specifications

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

Under direction, to be responsible for the determination and verification of financial liability of individuals or families for mental health services; and to do related work as required.

This is a single-position class with responsibility for determining and verifying the financial liability of individuals or families for mental health services in accordance with State regulations and procedures. This position serves as a resource to provide information and instruction to other employees on regulations and procedures, verifies the financial resources of clients and performs the more difficult financial evaluations.

Interviews clients or their representatives to obtain required information such as income, liquid assets, allowable expenses, size of family and extent of insurance coverage; obtains required signatures and insurance forms, using standardized procedures and fee schedules, determines the amount of client's liability; explains client's liability and method of payment.

Maintains master list of pending evaluations and reevaluations; obtains additional information to complete evaluations by asking clients to bring in missing information needed to verify assets, contacting standard sources such as stock brokers to obtain data, and contacting public and private agencies to verify financial information or insurance coverage.

Receives and reviews financial evaluations completed by other staff; returns incomplete or incorrectly completed form to originator for correction or additional information or contacts clients or their representatives for additional information; assists in resolving complaints regarding clients' billings; explains regulations to clients, families and the general public; serves as a resource to other staff on State regulations and procedures; provides instruction and information to other staff to use in performing initial financial evaluations; attends periodic State meetings to obtain information on regulations and procedures; adapts standardized forms for local use.

Initiates or performs a variety of other clerical work, such as mailing of notices to obtain missing information, notifying clients of changes in fees, and obtaining information for annual re-evaluations, maintaining logs of completed evaluations, and distributing information on client liability to accounts receivable personnel. May provide vacation or other temporary relief for other classes as required.

• Thorough knowledge of standard office procedures, including record keeping practices. 
• Some knowledge of interviewing techniques for obtaining factual information to identify or verify insurance coverage, personal earnings and assets.

• Read, understand, explain and apply applicable regulations and procedures.
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with clients, families or their representatives, employees and others contacted in course of work.
• Perform difficult clerical work involving independent judgment and requiring accuracy and speed.
• Establish priorities and schedule work to meet deadlines.
• Maintain effective records. Compose correspondence.
• Spell correctly. Make arithmetic computations.
• Type at a minimal level may be required.

Training and Experience: Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain these knowledge and abilities would be:

Two years of experience, which demonstrates application or possession of the required knowledge and abilities listed above. Formal secretarial or general clerical training may be substituted for one year of the required experience on an hour-for-hour basis.