Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by diversity and inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The goal of the Behavioral Health Care Advocate (BHA) 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. 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.

The Behavioral Health Care Advocate position is also designed to be a direct clinical liaison between providers and the health plan and works in conjunction with the Quality and Network team to assist providers with technical support, including education in clinical managed care and education in clinical best practices.

This is a field-based position with approximately 50% of the week is spent in the community in the Hinds County / Jackson, MS area meeting in-person with members. The remaining 50% is spent working remotely from home. The schedule is Monday - Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.

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, in-person and telephonically
• Meet with consumers in-person at facilities, provider offices, and in homes as appropriate
• Partner with designated external providers, programs, entities to address the needs, gaps in care, and recovery goals of complex and high-risk consumers
• Identify and address the needs of members who are consistently high utilizers of services through case conferences and informal communications
• Participate in standing meetings to review performance, identify areas of opportunity, and oversee course for improvements (Supervision)
• 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
• Meet all contractual requirements; collaborate early and frequently with other teams in the management of cases stratified as having intensive, complex, and high-risk needs
• Comply with all policies, procedures and documentation standards in appropriate systems, tracking mechanisms and databases
• 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
• Collaborate with providers to determine acuity of mental health concerns, barriers and progress; coordinate appropriate services

Required Qualifications:

• Licensed Master’s degree in Psychology, Social work, Counseling, or Marriage or Family Counseling; or Doctorate-degreed Psychologist
• An active, unrestricted license to practice independently in the State of Mississippi:
  • Licensed Psychologist (LP)
  • Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW)
  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
  • Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
• 2+ years of experience in a behavioral health setting
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite programs (Word, Outlook, Internet)
• Access to install secure, high-speed internet and a dedicated, distraction-free workspace at home
• Access to reliable transportation and ability to accommodate up to 50% local travel
• Reside in the Jackson, Mississippi area
• 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:

• Experience in an inpatient setting
• Experience in a community mental health setting
• 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 in a managed care environment
• Experience with the Medicaid/Medicare population
• Bilingual skills (fluency in Spanish/English)