Bianca Ernest, Certified Medical Biller
Bianca is a key Administration staff member in our behind-the-scenes but incredibly important Billing Department, helping to keep up with claims so that the whole agency can function like a well-oiled machine.
How long have you been here, and what did you do before?
I’ve been here for 2.5 years. Before coming to The Child Center, I worked at Phoenix House for Sofya Badalbayeva for about a year. She is who brought me on board at The Child Center and is currently my supervisor. I’ve worked in billing in some capacity since 2013.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My daily responsibilities include: batching and submitting claims to the insurance companies for payment; receiving daily payments from the insurance companies and applying them to the appropriate client accounts; following up on any denied claims to find out why they were denied and how I can fix or get them paid; and following up on open claims which were neither paid nor denied, or underpaid.
What motivates you? What brought you or drew you here?
Sofya is who brought me here. What’s keeping me here is seeing the change this company makes in children’s lives. I believe seeking services for mental health has been taboo for way too long.
Another thing that keeps me here is the treatment of the employees. There aren’t many places where you get a yearly raise to keep up with the cost of living. There aren’t many places where the “higher-ups” will acknowledge a job being done well. Here they do.
The morals of a company mean a lot to me; and to work for a company, no matter the role I play, is an honor.
This organization has gone through a lot of growth and positive changes over the past 4-5 years. How has that affected your work?
Our speedy growth did result in some pressure to “produce,” and sometimes that’s hard and a little scary, but with cooperation from all parties, things usually go smoothly. I have great support from Sofya and my colleagues. Claims have to be done according to very specific guidelines – for example, all services provided must be on one claim. I generally turn about 90 percent of them around in 2-3 weeks.
Could you share some personal goals?
As far as the job goes, my goal is to give it my all and to do my job well.
I want to make myself proud in this life. I want to be in a position where I look back and I’m happy about every decision I made in life, knowing that it all got me to where I am.
