Patient Advocate Specialist; Hybrid; Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Patient Advocate Specialist (Hybrid) - Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

• Full-time
• Department:
  North Region
• Compensation: from USD 55,000 - yearly

About Patient Funding Alternatives (PFA)
At Patient Funding Alternatives (PFA), we remove the barriers that keep Medicaid-eligible and medically underserved people from getting the care they deserve. We partner with hospitals and health systems across the country to help patients secure coverage through employer-sponsored insurance, which simplifies the process for the patient, protects them financially, and improves outcomes for the hospital.

We are the only organization in the U.S. offering a full Premium Assistance Enrollment service supported by dedicated Patient Advocates working on-site inside partner hospitals.

PFA is growing quickly nationwide, and that growth rests on people who care about the patients in front of them. We believe our employees are our most valuable resource, and we work hard to protect a real work/life balance inside a culture built on empathy, teamwork, and respect.

The Patient Advocate Specialist identifies, educates, and enrolls eligible hospital patients into the Health Insurance Premium Payment (HIPP) program. HIPP lets medically complex Medicaid beneficiaries access employer-sponsored coverage alongside their Medicaid benefits, which opens up broader networks and more comprehensive care.

This is a full-time hybrid role, covering on-site as needed, based at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
. You are PFA's face inside those buildings.

Read this part carefully, because it is the part people misjudge. The day-to-day of this job looks a lot like a sales role. You work a referral list. You approach patients and families who did not ask to speak with you, often on a difficult day. You explain something unfamiliar in 3 minutes, answer the same 5 objections you heard yesterday, and follow up 4 or 5 times to get one form back.

You are measured every week on activity and results. Nothing is being sold and there is no commission pitch, but the skills that make someone good at sales are the same skills that make someone good at this: persistence, comfort with rejection, reading a room, and running your own day without someone assigning your next task.

The people who do this best pair those skills with a real belief in what the program does for patients. One without the other does not hold up.

• Identify and approach eligible patients and families from hospital referrals and daily census review.
• Explain HIPP clearly and compassionately, adapting how you communicate to each family's situation.
• Work through hesitation, confusion, and mistrust without pressuring anyone.
• Gather the authorizations and documentation needed to move an application forward.
• Build trust with patients while holding professional boundaries.

• Solve problems before they stall a case, including unresponsive employers, missing paperwork, and eligibility questions.
• Hand off cleanly to PFA's State Operations and Benefit & Advocacy teams so applications get submitted, approved, and supported after enrollment.
• Own your caseload from first contact to enrollment.

• Explain how employer coverage and Medicaid work together.
• Verify and update ongoing eligibility so families do not lose coverage.
• Help patients resolve insurance issues as they come up.

• Manage referrals and patient records in PFA's CRM.
• Upload, scan, and transmit documentation securely.
• Document every patient interaction in line with HIPAA and internal compliance standards.
• Work comfortably on an iPad and iPhone throughout the day.