Iqra Malik
Watchung
Summary
Access & Reimbursement Manager with 10+ years of progressive experience supporting providers, hospitals, health systems, specialty pharmacies, and infusion centers across multiple therapeutic areas. Extensive expertise in market access strategy, Medicare, Medicaid, commercial reimbursement, buy-and-bill, specialty pharmacy, prior authorizations, payer policy, revenue cycle, and patient support programs. Proven ability to partner with physicians, pharmacy leadership, revenue cycle teams, and executive stakeholders to remove reimbursement barriers, improve patient access, and successfully launch new sites of care. Recognized for building strong customer relationships, leading cross-functional collaboration, and delivering measurable access solutions across complex healthcare systems.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Access and Reimbursement Manager
Novartis Pharmaceuticals
New York, NY
08.2023 - Current
- Serve as the reimbursement and market access lead supporting hospitals, health systems, specialty practices, cardiology groups, and infusion centers throughout Manhattan, the Bronx, and Westchester.
- Partner with physicians, pharmacy directors, infusion leadership, revenue cycle teams, practice administrators, and executive stakeholders to optimize patient access and reimbursement.
- Provide strategic education on Medicare, Medicaid, commercial payer policies, buy-and-bill reimbursement, specialty pharmacy, coding, billing, prior authorizations, appeals, and claims resolution.
- Lead implementation of new infusion centers and injection sites by coordinating reimbursement readiness, operational workflows, and patient access strategies.
- Collaborate with Market Access, Sales, Patient Services, Specialty Pharmacy, and cross-functional teams to resolve complex reimbursement barriers.
- Support patient assistance and copay programs while providing reimbursement guidance across key health system
- Successfully supported launch and reimbursement implementation for new infusion centers and injection sites.
- Improved provider reimbursement workflows and referral processes across major health systems.
Field Reimbursement Manager
Cencora Xcenda ( Formerly AmerisourceBergen)
Edison, NJ
05.2017 - 08.2023
- Provided support for a biological specialty medication from product launch.
- Specialized in Rheumatology, Gastroenterology, and Dermatology for Janssen Biologics.
- Instructed offices on benefit investigations and prior authorizations for specialty biologics across Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial plans.
- Supported providers with denials management and appeals to facilitate timely patient access to therapy.
- Served as the primary reimbursement contact for assigned provider offices across NYC,New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware.
- Partnered with hub services to coordinate access support, alternative funding, and therapy initiation.
- Educated provider office staff on coding, billing, formulary status, and payer policy changes.
- Maintained up-to-date knowledge of payer policies, coding updates, and regulatory requirements impacting reimbursement.
- Provided field-based reimbursement education to support product launches and ongoing access initiatives.
- Coordinated with internal teams and sales partners to address access barriers and reimbursement challenges.
Patient Access Team Lead
Takeda Pharmaceuticals (formerly Shire Pharmaceuticals)
Lexington, MA
01.2015 - 05.2017
- Led training, coaching, and performance oversight for a seven-member patient support and case management team.
- Partnered with healthcare providers, reimbursement vendors, and specialty pharmacies to facilitate benefit investigations, prior authorizations, and timely patient access to therapy.
- Conducted reimbursement and patient support education for internal teams and provider offices, improving understanding of payer processes and available patient assistance resources.
- Evaluated insurance benefits and reimbursement pathways to optimize patient access across commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid plans.
- Guided patients through copay assistance, patient assistance programs (PAP), Medicare Part D enrollment, and alternative funding resources.
- Collaborated with Market Access, Field Reimbursement Managers, HUB services, Nursing Services, Specialty Pharmacies, and cross-functional stakeholders to resolve access and reimbursement barriers.
- Worked closely with Sales, Marketing, Patient Advocacy, Compliance, Pharmacovigilance, and Quality teams to ensure exceptional patient support and regulatory compliance.
- Analyzed operational metrics, prepared performance reports, and implemented process improvements to enhance case management efficiency and program outcomes.
Education
Master of Business Administration - Health Services
Keller Graduate School of Management
North Brunswick, NJBachelor of Arts - Sociology
St. John's University
Jamaica, NYSkills
- Market Access
- Access & Reimbursement
- Buy-and-Bill
- Specialty Pharmacy
- Medicare
- Medicaid
- Commercial Payers
- Prior Authorizations
- Appeals
- Revenue Cycle
- Coding & Billing
- HCPCS
- Infusion Centers
- Health Systems
- Provider Education
- SAP
Languages
English
Urdu
Hindi
Punjabi
Conversational Spanish
Awards
President's Club Award – 2025, Customer Focus Award – 2024, President's Club Winner – 2018, - Shire Recognizing Excellence Award, Community Recognition Award, Academic Achievement Award
Technical Skills
- Veeva CRM
- PrimeV
- Salesforce CRM
- Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook)
- Microsoft Teams
- Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems
- HUB portals and reimbursement platforms
Timeline
Access and Reimbursement Manager
Novartis Pharmaceuticals
08.2023 - Current
Field Reimbursement Manager
Cencora Xcenda ( Formerly AmerisourceBergen)
05.2017 - 08.2023
Patient Access Team Lead
Takeda Pharmaceuticals (formerly Shire Pharmaceuticals)
01.2015 - 05.2017
Master of Business Administration - Health Services
Keller Graduate School of Management
Bachelor of Arts - Sociology
St. John's University