Head of Payer Relationships Strategy

Head of Payer Relationships Strategy

Marvin Behavioral Health | Full-Time | Remote

Position Overview

The Head of Payer Relationships Strategy is a senior leader responsible for driving Marvin's payer strategy, contract performance, fee schedule management, and provider credentialing function. This role serves as the primary owner of all payer relationships and is the internal expert on how Marvin gets paid. While the Director provides strategic oversight of the broader revenue cycle operation and partners closely with the RCM Manager, their core focus is external: negotiating contracts, managing fee schedules, resolving complex payer issues, and ensuring every provider is credentialed and enrolled before a single claim is submitted.

This is a player-coach role. The Head of Payer Relationships Strategy sets strategy and builds systems, but also personally engages payers when it matters most — picking up the phone on a wrongful denial, leading a contract renegotiation, or stepping in on a credentialing escalation. The ideal candidate is a seasoned RCM professional who has deep payer contracting expertise and takes pride in both strategic thinking and hands-on execution.

This is a hybrid role with an expectation of 1-2 days per week in our LA , NYC or Denver Office, the remainder of the days remote work.

Key Responsibilities

Payer Relations & Contract Management — Primary Focus

Own the full lifecycle of all payer contracts: negotiation, execution, renewal, and ongoing performance monitoring

Analyze payer fee schedules and reimbursement rates across all contracts; identify underpayment gaps and drive renegotiation to improve rates

Maintain and update the practice's chargemaster and fee schedules in the EHR/practice management system (AdvancedMD); ensure rates are accurate and current across all payers and service lines

Conduct annual fee schedule reviews in partnership with Finance to ensure contracted rates remain strategically aligned with the cost of care

Ensure compliance with payer policies, mental health parity laws, and applicable state and federal billing regulations

Serve as the primary point of contact for all payer representatives; maintain direct, active relationships and know who to call to get things done

Personally escalate and resolve complex payer disputes, wrongful denials, and underpayment issues that require direct payer intervention

Write and oversee escalated appeal letters; ensure appeals are clinically supported, accurate, and submitted within timely filing requirements

Monitor payer policy changes and communicate impacts to clinical, compliance, and billing teams proactively

Fee Schedule Oversight

Own fee schedule management end-to-end: negotiation, loading, maintenance, and reconciliation

Ensure fee schedules are correctly loaded in AdvancedMD for every payer and updated promptly when contracts change

Audit reimbursements against contracted rates to identify systematic underpayments; initiate recovery and corrective action

Track fee schedule performance across payers and present findings and recommendations to executive leadership

Partner with Finance on chargemaster strategy to ensure billed charges reflect the appropriate markup above contracted rates

Provider Credentialing & Enrollment

Oversee the credentialing function with a dedicated credentialing team member handling day-to-day execution; own the standards, timelines, and outcomes

Ensure all providers are credentialed and enrolled with relevant payers accurately and on time; hold the process to turnaround benchmarks that protect billing continuity

Maintain an accurate credentialing database tracking licensure, certifications, DEA, malpractice coverage, and all expirables; manage renewals proactively, never reactively

Coordinate credentialing timelines with recruiting, onboarding, and partner launch schedules to prevent credentialing gaps from becoming billing gaps

Personally step in on complex enrollment issues, payer rejections, or credentialing disputes that require escalation

Manage re-credentialing cycles and oversee responses to payer audits or corrective action requests related to provider enrollment

Partner & Plan Launch Support

Own revenue readiness for every new partner or plan launch: ensure the right contracts are in place, providers are credentialed, and systems are configured before the first claim is submitted

Partner with Business Development, Operations, and Clinical teams during onboarding to map out the full billing setup: payer mix, covered services, fee schedules, authorization requirements, and billing rules

Lead system configuration in AdvancedMD for new payers and partners: fee schedule loading, payer enrollment linkage, and claim routing

Build and maintain a launch readiness checklist and timeline; flag risks early and drive cross-functional accountability to close gaps

Serve as the RCM subject matter expert in partner implementation conversations, translating payer and billing requirements into plain language for operational and clinical stakeholders

RCM Oversight & Cross-Functional Leadership

Serve as a strategic partner to the RCM Manager, providing guidance on denial trends, payer-related billing issues, and revenue performance

Review RCM KPIs and dashboards regularly — clean claims rate, days in AR, denial rate, collection rate, net collection rate — and identify issues requiring payer-level intervention

Escalation point for billing team on complex denials, payer disputes, and contract interpretation questions

Collaborate with Clinical, Compliance, Legal, and Finance teams to align revenue cycle practices with organizational strategy and regulatory requirements

Serve as the internal subject matter expert on behavioral health reimbursement, payer policy, and revenue cycle best practices

Deliver regular reporting and strategic updates to the CEO and executive leadership on payer performance, contract outcomes, and revenue risks

Qualifications

Required

Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration, Finance, Business, or related field

7+ years of progressive RCM experience in healthcare, with at least 3 years in a leadership role

Deep, hands-on experience in behavioral health payer contracting, fee schedule management, and payer relations

Demonstrated track record of negotiating payer contracts and improving reimbursement rates

Direct ownership of provider credentialing and payer enrollment processes

Proficiency with EHR/practice management systems (AdvancedMD preferred) and clearinghouses

Strong command of CPT, HCPCS, and ICD-10 coding in a behavioral health context

Experience supporting partner or plan launches: contracts, credentialing, and system setup prior to go-live

Comfort engaging payers directly — including making calls, writing appeals, and attending payer meetings

Preferred

Master's degree (MBA, MHA, or related)

CRCR, CHFP, CPAM, or equivalent RCM certification

Experience with multi-state telehealth or virtual-first behavioral health organizations

Experience with denial analytics platforms and RCM automation tools

Experience building or scaling payer relations functions in a high-growth or startup environment

Core Competencies

Technical

Payer contract negotiation and lifecycle management

Fee schedule management and chargemaster strategy

Provider credentialing and payer enrollment

Behavioral health coding and compliance

Denial management and complex appeals

EHR/billing platform proficiency (AdvancedMD)

Financial reporting and KPI analysis

Leadership & Soft Skills

Strategic thinking with hands-on execution instincts

Direct payer engagement and relationship management

Executive communication and reporting

Cross-functional collaboration and partnership

Process improvement and operational discipline

Team oversight and staff development

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