Admitting clerk vs medical billing clerk

The differences between admitting clerks and medical billing clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an admitting clerk and a medical billing clerk. Additionally, a medical billing clerk has an average salary of $33,566, which is higher than the $31,833 average annual salary of an admitting clerk.

The top three skills for an admitting clerk include patients, customer service and medical terminology. The most important skills for a medical billing clerk are patients, medical billing, and healthcare.

Admitting clerk vs medical billing clerk overview

	Admitting Clerk	Medical Billing Clerk
Yearly salary	$31,833	$33,566
Hourly rate	$15.30	$16.14
Growth rate	-	-3%
Number of jobs	106,698	164,870
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	Associate Degree, 30%
Average age	42	46
Years of experience	2	2

What does an admitting clerk do?

The job of an admitting clerk is to register and admit patients to a hospital. Admitting clerks interview patients in getting the necessary financial and medical information for the admission. They verify the insurance of patients and make sure that their registration forms are accurately signed. Usually, they work on the medical profession and hospital front lines. They welcome and face customers and need to understand medicine. Also, they are expected to manage doctors, nurses, patients, and hospital policies.

What does a medical billing clerk do?

A medical billing clerk is primarily in charge of processing payments and creating billing arrangements in clinics and hospitals. Among their responsibilities include gathering and verifying patient identification, handling insurance information, coding, updating databases, and maintaining records. It is also their responsibility to assist patients by filling out forms, answering their inquiries, and referring them to other services. Moreover, a medical billing clerk must monitor patient accounts and follow-up on delinquent patient accounts, coordinating with collection agencies as needed.

Admitting clerk vs medical billing clerk salary

Admitting clerks and medical billing clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Admitting Clerk	Medical Billing Clerk
Average salary	$31,833	$33,566
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $27,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	San Leandro, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	iCare
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between admitting clerk and medical billing clerk education

There are a few differences between an admitting clerk and a medical billing clerk in terms of educational background:

	Admitting Clerk	Medical Billing Clerk
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	Associate Degree, 30%
Most common major	Business	Health Care Administration
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Admitting clerk vs medical billing clerk demographics

Here are the differences between admitting clerks' and medical billing clerks' demographics:

	Admitting Clerk	Medical Billing Clerk
Average age	42	46
Gender ratio	Male, 9.3% Female, 90.7%	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 4.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between admitting clerk and medical billing clerk duties and responsibilities

Admitting clerk example responsibilities.

Manage confidential patient information according to HIPPA guidelines.
Assist patients with benefit verification, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Perform online verification of Medicaid and Medicare admissions to insure eligibility.
Schedule patients for special procedures and radiology exams, obtain prior authorizations and referrals.
Release medical records upon request and maintain confidentiality of patients information under HIPPA law.
Process paperwork for various departments including insurance, surgery, radiology, laboratory and the emergency room.

Medical billing clerk example responsibilities.

Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Interact with patients as part of the quality assurance process (follow-up, EHR confirmation, billing confirmation).
Reconcile insurance and patient payments while researching and resolving incorrect payments, EOB rejections, and assort issues with outstanding accounts.
Utilize medical terminology and follow HIPAA guidelines.
Bill Magellan through Nextgen system.
Double checked CMS-1500 form before posting it out to the insurance companies.

Admitting clerk vs medical billing clerk skills

Common admitting clerk skills

Patients, 40%
Customer Service, 10%
Medical Terminology, 5%
Data Entry, 5%
Computer System, 3%
Phone Calls, 3%

Common medical billing clerk skills

Patients, 18%
Medical Billing, 10%
Healthcare, 7%
Data Entry, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Medicaid, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Admitting Clerk
Admitting Clerk vs Medical Billing Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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