Associate Director, Access Reimbursement Management- North Texas/Oklahoma

Sage Therapeutics is currently recruiting for an Associate Director Access Reimbursement Management to join their National Access Reimbursement Manager (ARM) team within the Market Access field organization.

General Scope and Summary 

Sage Therapeutics is currently recruiting for an Associate Director Access Reimbursement Management to join their National Access Reimbursement Manager (ARM) team within the Market Access field organization.

Roles and Responsibilities (Essential Functions)

The Associate Director, Access Reimbursement Management will provide education, assistance, and issue resolution to healthcare providers (HCPs) and their office staff in response to patient access challenges for Sage in-line products. Outreach may be telephonic as well as in-person. Stakeholders include HCPs and office staff that are writing prescriptions for in-line Sage products, other healthcare settings utilizing Sage products, Sage Sales colleagues (NAMs and RBDs), Patient Support Coordinators, National Account Directors, and Specialty Pharmacies. In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Equipping HCPs and their staff, through education, to navigate the patient-level payer access requirements and approval process for ZURZUVAETM (zuranolone) CIV within a specified geographic region.

• Demonstrate an advanced understanding of public and private payers and how to research to determine specific coverage barriers and communicate effectively to internal stakeholders and external HCPs regarding education on Medicaid (FFS and Managed Care), commercial plans, PBM designs, policy changes, and formulary status.

• Knowledge of pharmacy benefit reimbursement practices, compliance, billing and coding processes, and utilization management / prior authorization process.

• Confidently reference reimbursement and access materials to educate HCPs on access related questions.

• Embraces Sage’s culture of compliance and ensures that all activities are fully compliant with Sage policies and procedures, applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards, aligning all activities with Our Values, including putting patients and their families first.

• Implementing and supporting the strategic tactical plan for the execution of product access and reimbursement through partnership with internal and external stakeholders.

• Analyzing data and reports to determine potential outreach efforts needed to educate HCPs regarding access related issues with specialty pharmacies and payers.

• Traveling to HCP sites on a limited basis when in person educational efforts are required Understanding of key stakeholders within an HCP office and how to navigate relationships in a manner that anticipates and adapts to customer reimbursement support needs and any market access challenges.

Experience, Education and Specialized Knowledge and Skills

Must thrive working in a fast-paced, innovative environment while remaining flexible, proactive, resourceful, and efficient. Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to develop important relationships with key stakeholders, good conflict management and negotiation skills, and ability to analyze complex issues. Demonstrated ability to analyze complex situations and communicate a path forward in a simple, streamlined manner.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required.

• Minimum of 6 years experience in payer marketing, patient support programs, or field reimbursement support.

• Advanced understanding of the healthcare environment specifically around delivering services to Health Care Professionals.

• 5 years experience with products that utilize specialty pharmacies.

• 5 years experience with educating health care providers on product access questions and researching coverage for pharmacy benefit products within commercial and        government payers.

• Ability to communicate effectively payer coverage criteria, payer policy, and prior approval processes.

• Ability to communicate and manage process expectations effectively across internal and external customer bases.

• Ability to manage multiple internal cross functional touch points and effectively prioritize the support of field service requests within a large geographical region.

• 5 years experience navigating through complex access challenges specific to specialty pharmacy in multiple regions / states.

• Understanding of national and state legislative, Medicare, Medicaid, and private payer and pharmacy coverage initiatives affecting reimbursement of pharmaceutical and biotechnology products.

• Compliance with all Sage corporate policies, internal procedure