Behavioral Care Advocate - Latham, NY - Full-time / Part-time

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.  Join us. Take this opportunity to start doing your life's best work.(sm)

 
As a Behavioral Health Care Advocate, you will be responsible for case management and utilization review of behavioral health and substance abuse cases.  You’ll have a direct impact on the lives of our members as you recommend and manage the appropriate level of care throughout the entire treatment plan.
 
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.
 
Primary Responsibilities:

Focus on initial inpatient admission for psychiatric and substance abuse disorder members
Making assessments and determining appropriate levels of care
Obtaining information from providers on outpatient requests for treatment
Determining if additional clinical treatment sessions are needed
Managing inpatient and outpatient behavioral health cases throughout the entire treatment plan
Administering benefits and reviewing treatment plans
Coordinating benefits and transitions between various areas of care
Identifying ways to add value to treatment plans and consulting with facility staff or outpatient care providers on those ideas

Required Qualifications:

Applicant must be a U.S. Behavioral Health Professional (BHP) who holds an unrestricted license to practice independently or be a registered nurse (RN, LCSW, LMFT, LMHC)
Master's degree in Psychology, Social Work, Counseling or Marriage or Family Therapy, Licensed Ph.D., or an RN,  with 2 or more years of experience in behavioral health
Licenses must be active and unrestricted in the State of New York
Experience working with adults, children and adolescents with behavioral health needs
Must live within a commutable distance (45 - 60 minutes) of Latham, NY
Ability to be on call 24 X 7 as needed
2 years of experience in a related behavioral health environment
Basic Microsoft Word skills
 
Preferred Qualifications:

Inpatient experience
Managed care experience
Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Dual diagnosis experience with mental health and substance use disorders
Experience working in an environment that required coordination of benefits and utilization of multiple groups and resources for members
Experience with transition age youth with behavioral health needs
Experience with older adults with a MH condition or SUD
Experience with high risk groups such as individuals with SMI, co-occurring major mental disorders and SUDs and those involved in multiple services systems (education, justice, medical, welfare, and child welfare)
Experience with Individuals with I/DD in need of BH services
Experience with Individuals with a MH condition or a SUD and co-occurring chronic physical health conditions
Experience with individuals with a SUD in need of medication-assisted treatment, including methadone and buprenorphine for opioid dependence
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)
 
 
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. 
 
Job Keywords: behavioral health, mental health, RN, psychology, counseling, social work, PHD, Latham, Albany, NY, substance abuse, inpatient, telephonic, behavioral care, utilization management, utilization review, dual diagnosis, discharge planning, NYHARPROS
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