Medical Billing Specialist III / IV - Behavioral Health

Salary : $52,216.65 - $73,565.49 Annually

Location : Ventura and may require travel throughout Ventura County, CA

Job Type : Full-Time Regular

Job Number : 0840HCA-25AA (NW)

Department : Health Care Agency

Division : Behavioral / Mental Health

Opening Date : 08 / 27 / 2025

Closing Date : Continuous

Description

THE POSITION

Under general direction (III, IV), performs and is responsible for billing and processing claims appropriately for timeliness in reimbursement and billing compliance with Medi-Cal, Medicare, and general insurance reimbursement requirements.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate has specialized expertise in mental health billing, including CPT, ICD-10, and HCPCS coding for Medicare and Medi-Cal. Skilled in the Medi-Cal Provider Manual and TAR process, they ensure timely, compliant submissions that support access to behavioral health services. They communicate effectively with peers, patients, and payers, resolve billing discrepancies, and address compliance issues in collaboration with the compliance office. Experienced in leading and training staff on Managed Care, Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Medicare, and Commercial Insurance, they ensure accuracy, efficiency, and regulatory adherence in all mental health billing operations.

Medical Billing Specialist III ($25.10 - $31.86 per hour) is the advanced-journey level class performing more complex work involving extensive analysis and research through the use of multiple electronic health record (EHR) systems such as Cerner, HURON, and / or Claim Source to follow up on accounts.

Medical Billing Specialist IV ($27.86- $35.37 per hour) is the lead level class and serves as technical advisors to lower-level Medical Billing Specialists. In addition to performing advanced-journey billing work, incumbents perform program administrative duties to assure that all claims are billed timely.

WHAT WE OFFER The County of Ventura offers an attractive compensation and benefits package that includes :

• Merit Increases - New employees are eligible for an initial 5% merit increase within the pay range upon completion of at least 1,040 hours (approximately 6 months) assuming work meets satisfactory standards. Subsequent merit increases within the pay range will be upon completion of each additional 2,080 hours (approximately one year) from the initial merit increase.
• Educational Incentive - An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate's degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate degree.
• Bilingual Incentive - Based on agency need, proficiency levels by exam are $.69 per hour (Level I), $1.00 per hour (Level II), or $1.32 per hour (Level III).
• Vacation Accrual - New regular, full-time employees shall accrue approximately 14 days of vacation a year for the first 10,400 hours or 5 years of service; vacation accruals increase at 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 20 years of service topping out at 26 days a year and 400 hours of vacation hours banked.
• Vacation Leave Redemption - After 14,560 hours of continuous County service an employee may elect to "cash in" or redeem up to 80 hours of vacation accrued in the same year after using 80 hours of vacation in the preceding 12 months.
• Sick Leave - Full time regular employees accrue 3.08 hours of sick leave per bi-weekly pay period with an advance at hire of 40.04 hours which will be balanced at the completion of 13 bi-weekly pay periods.
• Deferred Compensation - Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and / or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3.00% match on your 401(k) contributions.
• Health Plans -Full time employees are given a flexible credit allowance of up to $21,450 annually to offset the purchase of medical, dental, and / or vision insurance for you and your dependents.

Employee only - $497 per biweekly pay period

AGENCY / DEPARTMENT : Health Care Agency - Ventura County Behavioral Health (VCBH)

Medical Billing Specialist III / IV are represented by the Service Employees' International Union (SEIU) and are eligible for overtime compensation.

The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixed-Term), Intermittent, and Extra-Help vacancies . There are currently three (3) Regular vacancies in Ventura County Behavioral Health

NOTE : If appointed at the lower level, incumbent may be promoted to the higher level without further exam upon meeting the minimum requirements, demonstrating satisfactory performance, and in accordance with the business needs of the department.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OPENING DATE : 8 / 27 / 25

CLOSING DATE : Continuous and may close at any time; therefore, the schedule for the remainder of the process will depend upon when we receive enough qualified applications to meet business needs. It is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible.

Examples Of Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to the following :

Medical Billing Specialist IV :

In addition to Medical Billing Specialist III level duties, Medical Billing Specialist IV may also include :

Typical Qualifications

These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.

EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND EXPERIENCE

Any combination of education and experience which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. The required knowledge, skills, and abilities can typically be obtained by hands-on working knowledge and experience in a medical complex comparable to Ventura County Behavioral Health and affiliated clinics.

Medical Billing Specialist III -Three (3) years of professional billing experience including preparation of financial statements OR two (2) years as a Medical Billing Specialist II for the County of Ventura.

Medical Billing Specialist IV - Four (4) years of professional billing experience OR one (1) year as a Medical Billing Specialist III for the County of Ventura.

Desired :

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Knowledge of :

Ability to :

Recruitment Process

FINAL FILING DATE : This is a continuous recruitment and may close at any time; therefore, apply as soon as possible if you are interested. Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5 : 00 p.m. on the closing date. (Previously : Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5 : 00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.)

To apply on-line, please refer to our website at If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 677-5184 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources- Health Care Agency, 646 County Square Drive, Ventura, CA 93003.

Note to Applicants : It is essential that you complete all sections of your application and supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications. A resume may be attached to supplement your responses in the above referenced sections; however, it may not be substituted in lieu of the application.

LATERAL TRANSFER OPTION : If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency / entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible. If interested, please click here for additional information.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - qualifying : All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination at the time of filing. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire will result in the application being removed from consideration.

APPLICATION EVALUATION - qualifying : All applications will be reviewed to determine whether the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process.

TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EVALUATION - 100% : A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire. The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements. In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department. Candidates are typically scored / ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.

NOTE : The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis. For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence. Responses such as "See Resume" or "Refer to Resume" are not acceptable and may disqualify an applicant from further evaluation.

ORAL EXAMINATION - 100% : A job-related oral examination may be conducted to evaluate and compare participating candidates' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job. Candidates must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an oral examination will not be conducted. Instead, a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.

Candidates successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION : A thorough pre-employment, post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information, and driving record may be required for this position.

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Nathan Wood by e-mail at or by telephone at (805) 677-5232.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

Service Employees International Union (LOCAL 721)

(SEIU)

To learn more about Benefits, Retirement, and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), see links below.

Union Code : UPP

01

Please select which option below best describes your full-time professional medical billing experience?

NOTE : Full time is considered 40 hours per week; anything less than that must be prorated.

IMPORTANT : You must include the employer(s) where you gained this experience in the Work Experience section of your application, as well as the details outlined in that section, in order to receive credit for that experience.

02

Describe your experience with billing and processing claims for timely reimbursement and compliance with Medi-Cal, Medicare, and general insurance requirements, especially as related to behavioral health billing.Please include the following in your response :

NOTE : Do not copy and paste a response to another question. Do not refer to an attached document.

NOTE : This experience must be included in the Work History section on your application.

If you do not have this experience state, "No experience."

03

Provide an example of a situation where your knowledge of medical reimbursement programs and the complexity of payment systems helped you resolve a challenging issue or improve a process? Please include specific details about the problem, your approach, and the outcome.

04

What is your proficiency level using MS Excel?

05

Do you have experience in Managed Care and / or Commercial Insurance billing?

06

Do you have experience with multiple electronic health record (EHR) systems, such as Cerner, HURON, and / or Claim Source

Required Question