Job Overview
Combine two of the fastest-growing fields on the planet with a culture of performance, collaboration and opportunity and this is what you get. Leading edge technology in an industry that’s improving the lives of millions. Here, innovation isn’t about another gadget, it’s about making health care data available wherever and whenever people need it, safely and reliably. There’s no room for error. Join us and start doing your life’s best work.(sm)
You’re looking for something bigger for your career. How about inventing the future of health care? UnitedHealthcare is offering an innovative new standard for care management. We’re going beyond counseling services and verified referrals to behavioral health programs integrated across the entire continuum of care. Our growth is fueling the need for highly qualified professionals to join our elite team. Bring your skills and talents to a role where you’ll have the opportunity to make an impact on a huge scale.
The overall purpose of the Field Behavioral Health Advocate (FBHA) role is to help individuals live their lives to the fullest by promoting recovery and resiliency via coordination and collaboration with multiple internal and external partners including consumers and their families/caregivers, medical, behavioral health and clinical network teams.
Field Behavioral Health Advocates work with complex and high-risk needs with a goal of engaging the consumer in the treatment process, decreasing their reliance on higher levels of care, helping them to access appropriate community services, and assisting them in improving community tenure. FBHAs work to increase stabilization and help consumers to improve life satisfaction.
What makes your clinical career greater with UnitedHealth Group? You can improve the health of others and help heal the health care system. You will work within an incredible team culture; a clinical and business collaboration that is learning and evolving every day. And, when you contribute, you’ll open doors for yourself that simply do not exist in any other organization, anywhere.
Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm
If you are located in Massachusetts, you will have the flexibility to telecommute* as you take on some tough challenges. This position could require up to 50% travel in the field – could be to provider offices or the home setting.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Utilize advanced clinical skills to engage and motivate Consumers via a recovery, health and wellness-oriented approach
- Assist consumers and their families/caregivers with connections to appropriate psychiatric, medical, and psychosocial referrals and services.
- Identify and remove barriers to procurement, delivery, participation in and success of services.
- Provide supportive follow-up, monitoring and education as indicated.
- Meet with consumers in-person at facilities, provider offices, and in homes as appropriate for market.
- Serve as OBHS liaison and subject matter expert for applicable UnitedHealth Care Medical Partners; establish and foster positive relationships with medical team, participate in medical-behavioral integration activities and discussions
- Identify high-risk, co-morbid needs of consumers.
- Accept referrals via designated processes, collaborate in evaluating available services, and coordinate necessary psychiatric and community referrals as needed.
- Contribute to treatment plan discussions; routinely attend clinical rounds and other meetings with medical partner or external entities when applicable.
- Partner with internal Optum Behavioral Health Services Teams to coordinate a seamless transition for consumers from an inpatient setting to community based services
- Coalesce FBHA role and relationships within context of established Care Advocacy Operating Model and customer/contractual requirements; collaborate early and frequently with other teams in the management of cases stratified as having intensive, complex, and high-risk needs.
- Participate jointly in rounds, discussions, supervision and staffing.
- Assist in the development of a relevant and consumer-specific aftercare plan.
- Comply with all policies, procedures and documentation standards in appropriate systems, tracking mechanisms and databases.
- For specific markets, conduct focused facility-based or outpatient clinical utilization review activities.
- Establish a cooperative relationship with Optum Behavioral Network Services and the Provider community in order to improve access to services and ensure that consumers are served within proper standards of care
- Identify new programs, services and gaps in market; share information with network teams.
- Maintain knowledge of provider availability and barriers to access.
- Collaborate with providers to determine acuity of mental health concerns, barriers and progress; coordinate appropriate services.
- Conduct provider networking visits or attend consumer care conferences as determined by market.
- Attend state, professional and association and conference call meetings as needed.
- Other activities as assigned, including but not limited to:
- Partnership with Account Management and Sales departments to provide best level of customer service to market accounts.
- Participate in committees, educational opportunities and trainings.
- Maintain approved workload and support metrics and outcomes.
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:
- Licensed master’s degree in Psychology, Social Work (LCSW), Counseling (LPC) or Marriage or Family Counseling (LMFT), or Licensed Ph.D., or an RN with 2+ years of experience in behavioral health
- Licenses must be active and unrestricted in the state of Massachusetts
- 2+ years experience in a related mental health environment working in the local community
- Access to reliable transportation
- Ability to travel up to 50% of the time within the MA area
- Full COVID-19 vaccination is an essential requirement 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
Preferred Qualifications:
- Medical/Behavioral setting experience (i.e. hospital, managed care organization, or joint medical/behavioral outpatient practice)
- Dual diagnosis experience with mental health and substance abuse
- Experience working in an environment that required coordination of benefits and utilization of multiple groups and resources for patients
- Experience working with low-income populations
- Experience working with the aged, blind or disabled
- Clinical training experience
- Managed care and utilization management experience a plus
- Excellent customer service, interpersonal and problem-solving skills
- Strong team player and team building skills
- Able to function independently and responsibly with minimal supervision
- Maintain direct and open communication with all levels of the organization
- Able to handle sensitive issues with peer, members and providers in a confidential manner
- Demonstrate initiative in achieving individual, team, and organizational goals and objectives
- Ability and flexibility to assume responsibilities and tasks in a constantly changing work environment
- Solid oral and written communication skills – specifically telephone skills
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 Optum . Here’s the idea. We built an entire organization around one giant objective; make the health system work better for everyone. So when it comes to how we use the world’s large accumulation of health-related information, or guide health and lifestyle choices or manage pharmacy benefits for millions, our first goal is to leap beyond the status quo and uncover new ways to serve. Optum, part of the UnitedHealth Group family of businesses, brings together some of the greatest minds and most advanced ideas on where health care has to go in order to reach its fullest potential. For you, that means working on high performance teams against sophisticated challenges that matter. Optum, incredible ideas in one incredible company and a singular opportunity to do your life’s best work.(sm)
*All Telecommuters will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy.
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.
UnitedHealth Group is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.
