Lead-Denial Mitigation Correspondence

Overview

Job Summary

The DMU Team Lead – Correspondence provides day-to-day leadership and oversight of the inventory and assignments pertaining to the Denial Mitigation Unit correspondence team. The function of the Team Lead role works to support timely and accurate review, routing, documentation, and resolution of incoming and outgoing payer correspondence to include denial letters, medical record requests, appeal responses, refund or recoupment notices, and other payer communications among Correspondence team members.  The Team Lead coordinates daily assignments and workflows, provides training and cross training, submits training documents for approval, monitors productivity and quality if needed, assists with process standardization, identifies trends or barriers impacting denial mitigation, and escalates complex issues to leadership as appropriate. Performs other duties or special projects as assigned.  Provides work direction, workflow coordination, training support, quality review, and first-level issue escalation for the Correspondence Team. This role supports team performance and operational consistency but does not replace formal management authority unless designated by leadership.

Job Responsibilities

•    Provides daily Correspondence team oversight and gives direction to the DMU Correspondence Team to ensure timely completion of correspondence-related tasks within Correspondence work queues, and other correspondence related duties.
•    Monitors incoming and outgoing correspondence workflows, including denial letters, payer requests, appeal responses, medical record requests, refund or recoupment notices, and other payer communications.
•    Coordinates work assignments, balances daily workload, and helps prioritize high-impact correspondence that may affect cash flow, aging, appeal deadlines, or denial resolution.
•    Reviews correspondence documentation for accuracy, completeness, appropriate routing, and compliance with departmental standards and payer requirements.
•    Serves as a first-level resource for team questions, workflow clarification, payer correspondence issues, and escalation of complex or time-sensitive items.
•    Assists with denial and financial data analysis by identifying correspondence trends, recurring payer issues, workflow gaps, and opportunities for denial prevention or process improvement.
•    Maintains data integrity within denial mitigation databases, correspondence trackers, work queues, and applicable financial or patient accounting systems.
•    Demonstrates proficiency with applicable revenue cycle, patient accounting, electronic medical record, document management, and Microsoft Office systems required to perform job duties.
•    Develops, updates, and maintains correspondence processing plans, standard work instructions, job aids, and training materials.
•    Supports onboarding, cross-training, and ongoing education for correspondence team members to promote consistency, accuracy, and timely task completion.
•    Monitors productivity, turnaround time, quality, aging, and other correspondence-related metrics; prepares or supports daily, weekly, and monthly reporting as requested.
•    Partners with leadership and internal stakeholders to resolve workflow barriers, improve communication, and support denial mitigation goals.
•    Promotes a collaborative, accountable, internal and external customer-focused team environment while modeling professionalism, confidentiality, and adherence to organizational standards.
•    Completes assigned goals and performs correspondence or denial mitigation duties as needed to support departmental operations.
•    Other duties as assigned

Minimum Required Experience

3-5 years of business experience in a healthcare environment with 3 of those years working in a hospital, physician office, revenue cycle, denial management, patient accounting, or payer environment performing activities such as correspondence processing, denials, appeals, billing, collections, registration, scheduling, medical record requests, payer follow-up, or administrative support.

Preferred/Desired Experience

5-7 years of business experience in a healthcare revenue cycle with at least 5 years in authorization, denials, billing correspondence and/or appeals within a multi-hospital system; prior team lead, senior representative, trainer, or workflow coordination experience preferred. Experience training staff, developing standard work, monitoring team performance, conducting quality review, or supporting process improvement initiatives preferred.

Minimum Required Education

High school diploma or equivalent required. Associate or Bachelor’s degree in related field or 4 years’ experience in the healthcare specific area. Computer literacy and medical terminology knowledge required.

Preferred/Desired Education

Associate or Bachelor’s degree in related field preferred. RHIT, LPN, CRCR, or other healthcare revenue cycle-related credential preferred.

Minimum Required Training

Ability to communicate clearly and effectively using standard English in written, oral, and verbal formats. Must be able to document information accurately, provide clear direction to team members, and communicate professionally with internal departments, leadership, and payer contacts as needed. Strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and workflow management skills with the ability to understand and troubleshoot interconnected correspondence, denial, payer, and revenue cycle processes.

Preferred/Desired Training

Strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and workflow management skills with the ability to understand and troubleshoot interconnected correspondence, denial, payer, and revenue cycle processes.

Minimum Required Special Skills

Working knowledge of Microsoft Office products, including Excel, Outlook, and Word. Comfort with data entry, work queue management, document management, revenue cycle software, patient management systems, payer portals, and Windows-based applications required. Familiarity with electronic medical records, patient accounting systems, claims or practice management systems, payer portals, correspondence workflows, and denial mitigation processes.

Preferred/Desired Special Skills

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including filtering, sorting, grouping, pivot tables, data validation, and tracking tools. Experience creating reports, monitoring productivity, analyzing correspondence trends, and supporting workflow dashboards preferred.