Sara Benoit
Newport News,VA
Summary
As seasoned healthcare professional, bringing substantial experience in optimizing reimbursement strategies. Known for strong focus on team collaboration and consistently achieving impactful results. Dependable and adaptable, skilled in financial analysis and regulatory compliance to meet organizational goals.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Healthcare Reimbursement Manager
The Department of Medical Assistance Services
05.2023 - Current
- Has served as the unit manager when staffing levels have been as low as 25% for extended periods of time. The unit has been able to consistently deliver high quality work products on time and support other units while short staffed due to strategic resource allocation, project automation, prioritization, and process optimization.
- Created project automation. Has automated or streamlined several projects within provider rate development to increase productivity by at least 79%
- Served as the Interim FFS Rate Setting Manager from 2022 until 2023 when I was permanently placed in the position.
- All items listed under Healthcare Reimbursement Analyst position are relevant to this position as well.
- Has developed project tracking systems, training plans, policy/procedure documentation, and project templates for the unit to optimize efficiency.
- Implemented new software solutions to automate aspects of the reimbursement workflow, increasing overall productivity.
- Monitored industry trends and regulatory changes to stay current on best practices for reimbursement management.
- Held weekly staff meetings and implemented team building exercises, which promoted positive working environment.
Healthcare Reimbursement Analyst (2 Positions)
The Department of Medical Assistance Services
01.2015 - 01.2023
- Managed several Medicaid rate redesign projects and new rate development projects from inception to end such as but not limited to the Developmental Disabilities Waivers, Project BRAVO (Behavioral Health Enhancement), RUG-IV implementation, tribal FQHC implementation, Optional State Assessment (OSA) to better serve Individuals in the State of Virginia in compliance with the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). I managed multi-year rate development projects from beginning to end and identified several critical errors that were corrected prior to implementation.
- Managed several large-scale, high-stakes technical projects end to end on behalf of the Provider Rate Development Division. Responsibilities included defining requirements, developing test cases, testing, defect identification, defect resolution, project management for division, cross-division collaboration, and final deliverable sign off. Two example projects include transition from Virginia Medicaid Management Information System to Medicaid Enterprise System (MES) and Behavioral Health MES System Integration. All Rate Development targets were delivered on time or early, under budget, and with zero unknown defects.
- Analyses rate setting methodologies and develops rates in accordance with state and federal law for nursing facility, hospitals, home and community based waivers, FQHC/RHCs, behavioral health, home health, hospice, 115 waivers, customized rates, and negotiated rates.
- Develops and maintains standard operating procedures (SOP) and policy documents within scope of work. Performs self audits to identify and mitigate risk.
- Drafts, reviews, and edits formal communication such as Medicaid Memos, Provider Manuals, Virginia Administrative Code, and the Virginia State Plan in accordance with existing state and federal regulations.
- Analyzes highly complex financial modeling and performs technical calculations using qualitative and quantitative methodologies in compliance with Virginia Administrative Code, federal law, and the Virginia Acts of the General Assembly.
- Prepares technical reports with recommendations and fiscal impacts used by the General Assembly to create the Virginia State Budget and make policy changes.
- Engages with stakeholders, lobbyist, managed care organizations, cross-divisional teams, and intergovernmental agencies to promote positive relationships and achieve a common goal.
- Manages several high-stakes, technical projects simultaneous using project management skills.
- Contract administrator for Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and University of Virginia (UVA) from 2015 – 2017, contract administrator for Global Insight from 2020- current, contract administrator for Guidehouse from 2022-2025, and Contract administrator for MDS data from 2022-2024. Contract administrator tasks include managing budgets, resources, individual participants, defining project scope, competitive bid process, contract negotiation, reviewing work products, corrective action when needed, and contract evaluation.
- Successfully completed several concurrent rebasing projects during my tenure from beginning to end.
Founder and CEO
Hopeful Housing
01.2016 - 01.2018
- Filed all necessary paperwork, developed all business documents/bylaws, and led board meetings for Hopeful Housing 501(c)(3). The mission of the non-profit was to provide temporary housing for individuals in facing housing instability due to abuse or youths with a need. Placements were made confidentially and in a non-institutional setting.
- Built a positive organizational culture that fostered creativity, innovation, and employee engagement.
Teaching Associate & Teaching Assistant (two Positions)
Eastern Virginia Medical School
01.2013 - 01.2017
- Selected by faculty to be the Teaching Assistant for the Health Management and Administration course in the Fall of 2014 and Policy and Politics course in the Fall of 2015. The courses focused on Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, Tricare, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), health ethics, leadership, formal policy analysis, and healthcare law.
- Tracked and analyzed student data by using Microsoft Excel and Blackboard for statistical analysis.
- Case management for students by tracking student success, student/instructor communications, negotiated individual student accommodations, and grade dispute resolution.
- Developed informal Individual Education Plans for students with special needs due to an Intellectual Disability, health concern, or other challenge.
- Analyzed itemized statistical data form examinations and graded assignments to validate grading quality assurance.
- Liaison between students and professors to ensure effective communication, improve quality processes, and foster positive student/client-facing relationships.
- Teaches, tracks, and improves skills for professional communication, client-facing relationship building, motivational interviewing, and conflict negotiation using case-specific checklists and personal judgement for EVMS students and external clientele in the healthcare industry such as Sentara, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Georgetown, EVMS Medical Group, and Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD).
- Provide learners/clients with immediate verbal and written feedback with customized suggested solutions to improve patient satisfaction, patient compliance, health outcomes, provider efficiency, and patient education.
- Contributes to leadership and management workshop trainings for healthcare administrators to help reduce employee turnover and improve employee productivity.
- Utilizes medical terminology and abbreviations while interacting with clientele.
- Selected by management to actively participate in strategic planning and briefing sessions to provide high-level input to continually improve program quality.
Intern
Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD)
01.2014 - 01.2014
- This position was a 200-hour practicum project to demonstrate mastery of acquired knowledge and skills obtained while enrolled in school. The internship was equivalent to an Independent Quality Improvement Consultant position for the Pediatric Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit (ARU).
- Ensured regulatory compliance with governmental agencies and Medicaid Integrity Contractors such as: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), Virginia Department of Health (VDH), and Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS).
- Examined Medicaid Auditing records and recommended a formal risk assessment to systematically determine where quality improvements could be made. Auditing methodology was researched using case law and peer-reviewed health actuary articles to gain a better understanding of how to improve charting errors.
- Researched laws, regulations and policies that were applicable to the Pediatric Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit (ARU) to help draft policy documents and recommend suggestions. Because the ARU falls under several exceptions and serves a unique patient population, each law, regulation, and policy was evaluated for its relevancy to the ARU through interpretation. For laws that were ambiguous, interpretations were verified by contacting the governing agency by telephone. The interpretation that was the most restrictive was utilized to mitigate unnecessary risk to the hospital. The ARU's policies were updated to reflect current changes in healthcare, and a document supporting the validity of appropriate laws, regulations, and governing agencies was submitted to hospital administration.
- Analyzed the unit's financial solvency and developed a pro forma for the upcoming fiscal year using advanced Microsoft Excel formula functions.
- Analyzed the unit's strategic planning and provided recommendations to improve quality.
- Created a policy brief for administration of a risk-benefit analysis to continue or discontinue the ARU's operational status.
Physical Science Instructor
Saint Lucie County School District
01.2011 - 01.2013
- Achieved learning outcomes to produce an 82% average grade from a 25% average grade for approximately 175 students of all learning abilities using district benchmark.
- Tracked, collected and analyzed student data quantitatively and qualitatively. Data was obtained by teacher generated student assessments and standardized tests from the state and school district. Data from standardized tests were harvested from the district's databases for evaluation.
- Effectively taught and managed diverse student populations including special needs, low-income, and at-risk students.
- Participated in case management for Individual Education Plans (IEP), Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIP), and provided social support for students in need by identifying available resources. Case management involved coordinating with students, parents/guardians, social workers, school administration, Department of Children and Families (DCF), community resources, and professional specialists to determine an appropriate improvement plan for each individual student. All meetings, phone calls, official reports, tests results, pertinent behaviors, and interactions were recorded.
- Designed metrics driven goals for each student to improve Behavioral Health and academic achievement.
- Coordinated with behavioral analysts and psychologists to identify antecedents and reduce triggers in students.
- Coordinated with a team members daily during meetings to improve student learning gains and behavioral health.
- Designed and presented engaging lessons to meet the educational needs of all students in the classroom and to facilitate active learning for all educational requirements and suggested curriculum.
- Project management for Science Research Projects and the Robotics Competition League.
- Chosen by the teacher's union to mentor new teachers.
- Asked by school administration to be the district model classroom for High School Exceptional Student Education (ESE) in Science due to student success.
- Interfaced with other teachers at different grade levels to reinforce and support long term student success and Behavioral Health.
Laboratory Technician, Biomedical Research
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
01.2010 - 01.2011
- Chosen Chemist for Florida Shelf Edge Exploration (FloSEE) expedition to study the BP oil (Deepwater Horizon).
- Created novel pharmaceutical drugs from marine natural products to treat cancer and analyzed new technologies.
- Selected to perform special projects due to my ability to manage several projects at once and prioritize workloads.
- Operated laboratory equipment including but not limited to: High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (Proton NMR).
- Analyzed data reports using qualitative and quantitative analysis.
- Entered data into databases using Excel, Oracle, and secure shared network drives.
- Identified processes that could be improved, developed experiments to quantitatively test new processes, and implemented changes to the standard process based on results to achieve desired metrics such as quality improvement, increase efficiency, and reduce waste.
- Recorded all results and observations in a legal laboratory notebook for each individual specimen using Visio to create process flowcharts.
- Participated in peer review for thesis defense and postdoctoral research presentations by providing feedback to the presenter.
- Trained and oriented new employees, existing employees, post doctorate fellows, and interns for laboratory procedures and equipment.
- Identified and implemented changes for suboptimal laboratory equipment performance.
- Interfaced with donors and fundraising events to secure additional funding for the team.
Quality Control Supervisor
B & W Quality Growers
01.2009 - 01.2010
- Reduced customer complaints to zero while managing Quality Control.
- Identified suboptimal quality and implemented problem solving skills to mitigate or eliminate the issue.
- Implemented corrective actions for Quality Control and Food Safety issues including executive decisions such as shutting down production for two manufacturing plants and modifying company policy.
- Coordinated with staff to improve product quality by 50%.
- Improved company policies and implemented changes for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) standard operating procedures, sanitation standard operating procedures, good manufacturing practices, and good laboratory practices to improve quality.
- Conducted periodic internal audits using Primus Lab guidelines.
- Maintained the Quality Control Department budget for the Value Added Plant.
- Managed 7 quality control technicians.
- Communicated quality process information and facilitated educational workgroups to ensure accurate and consistent data reporting. Analyzed quality reports to ensure quality targets were met for all operational sites.
- Tracked and communicated quality concerns using Microsoft Excel.
Education
Department of Medical Assistance Services
M.S. - Public Health Management and Policy
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Norfolk, Virginia01.2015
B.S. - Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences
University of South Florida (USF)
Tampa, Florida01.2008
Skills
- Complex Financial Analysis 10 years
- Regulatory Experience 11 years
- Data analysis 16 years
- Supervisory 6 years
- Client-facing relationship building 11 years
- E2E Project Management 16 years
- Policy Analysis and Development 11 years
- Procedure Development 16 years
- Adaptability and flexibility 16 years
- Critical thinking 16 years
- Medicaid 10 years
Community Service
Virginia Academy Nutrition and Dietetics (VAND), 2015, 2015, The grant integrated students from Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Environmental Science, and Public Health to provide a multidisciplinary approach for improving oral health and nutrition for children two years old and younger., Applied social and behavioral theories to design and present behavioral intervention models as a team at the VAND’s conference., Developed communication tools and behavioral contracts for providers to utilize in practice., Ensured the models were applicable to diverse populations and health disparities such as low health literacy, poor English proficiency, poor patient compliance, and low income.
Software Experience
Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Visio, Google, Teams, Zoom, JMP, Sharepoint, Adobe, SAS, SQL, and Blackboard
Timeline
Healthcare Reimbursement Manager
The Department of Medical Assistance Services
05.2023 - Current
Founder and CEO
Hopeful Housing
01.2016 - 01.2018
Healthcare Reimbursement Analyst (2 Positions)
The Department of Medical Assistance Services
01.2015 - 01.2023
Intern
Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD)
01.2014 - 01.2014
Teaching Associate & Teaching Assistant (two Positions)
Eastern Virginia Medical School
01.2013 - 01.2017
Physical Science Instructor
Saint Lucie County School District
01.2011 - 01.2013
Laboratory Technician, Biomedical Research
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
01.2010 - 01.2011
Quality Control Supervisor
B & W Quality Growers
01.2009 - 01.2010
M.S. - Public Health Management and Policy
Eastern Virginia Medical School
B.S. - Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences
University of South Florida (USF)
Department of Medical Assistance Services
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