What does a bill collector do?
A bill collector is responsible for reaching out to the customers to collect overdue payments, negotiate repayment plans, and update account information upon settling of payments. Bill collectors monitor the contact details of the customer, utilizing locator tools and software as required by the organization, and review contract terms to decide on credit advice or escalate the issue to a higher tier. A bill collector must have excellent communication and customer service skills, especially in explaining the customer's case and perform debt collection duties efficiently.
Bill collector responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real bill collector resumes:
- Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
- Follow HIPPA and FDCPA guidelines to ensure legal collection practices are utilized.
- Bill and collect all skil Medicare, and other insurance claims which include HMO claims denials.
- Provide patients with information and resources essential to their financial needs including payment arrangements and account reminders.
- Take payments by ACH and debit cards.
- Collect A/R payments from medical insurance companies and customers.
- Perform professional and legal acts of the FDCPA law and guidelines require as state mandate.
- Review clinical notes, patient encounter forms, and health information for compliance with HIPPA rules and JCAHO standards.
- Maintain monthly timely insurance follow up on age claims and post all accounts receivable claims payments via Meditech operating system.
- Evaluate EOB's to determine patient's liability and make certain adjustments on accounts in order to ensure precise patient billing.
- Analyze EOB's for adjustment base on contractual, enter notes and process statements stating insurance denial and patient's responsibility.
- Analyze A/R to identify areas of financial opportunity.
- Maintain strict confidentiality and adhere to all HIPAA guidelines and regulations.
- Review Medicaid remittance statements to ensure proper reimbursement, as well verifying insurance.
- Bill Medicaid secondary projects as well by manually entering claims into Medicaid portal.
Bill collector skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Bill Collectors are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Medicaid. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Negotiating skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Bill Collectors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 19%
Maximized collections by implementing a courtesy call procedure which involved contacting patients regarding outstanding balances and establish payment plans.
- Customer Service, 7%
Completed all documentation needed to secure payment on all collections Created new processes and systems for increasing customer service satisfaction.
- Medicaid, 6%
Reviewed Medicaid remittance statements to ensure proper reimbursement, as well verifying insurance.
- Medical Billing, 4%
Gathered pertinent patient medical information, provided medical billing support and supported clinical staff as necessary.
- Patient Accounts, 4%
Worked collaboratively with patient account department information to ensure accurate billing and resolve claim denials and medical-necessity issues.
- Appeals, 4%
Created excellent communication with Insurance representatives, conducted appeals to challenge insurance denials, under payments and timely filing issues.
"patients," "customer service," and "medicaid" are among the most common skills that bill collectors use at work. You can find even more bill collector responsibilities below, including:
Listening skills. One of the key soft skills for a bill collector to have is listening skills. You can see how this relates to what bill collectors do because "collectors must pay attention to what debtors say when trying to negotiate a repayment plan." Additionally, a bill collector resume shows how bill collectors use listening skills: "communicated with corporate collections department and facilitated payment arrangements to avoid outside legal collection proceedings. "
Negotiating skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling bill collector duties is negotiating skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "the main aspects of a collector’s job are reconciling the differences between two parties (the debtor and the creditor) and offering a solution that is acceptable to both parties." According to a bill collector resume, here's how bill collectors can utilize negotiating skills in their job responsibilities: "performed collections including contacting patients and negotiating acceptable payment arrangements. "
Speaking skills. bill collectors are also known for speaking skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to bill collector responsibilities, because "collectors must be able to speak to debtors to explain their options and ensure that they fully understand what is being said." A bill collector resume example shows how speaking skills is used in the workplace: "call consumers to get the bills resolved, set up payment arrangements and translate for spanish speaking costumers. "
The three companies that hire the most bill collectors are:
- Prime Healthcare12 bill collectors jobs
- Mission Regional Medical Center7 bill collectors jobs
- Universal Health Services6 bill collectors jobs
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Bill collector vs. Account representative
Account representatives are employees who manage client accounts and act as the main contact of the clients they are handling. They maintain existing accounts by updating client details regularly. They also check up on clients to see if they are still satisfied with the products or services of the company. They also create new accounts by welcoming new clients and assisting them in their needs. Account representatives manage client inquiries and process client requests. They also address complaints and ensure that any challenges are mitigated and that clients remain with the company.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a bill collector are more likely to require skills like "appeals," "insurance eligibility," "medi-cal," and "patient billing." On the other hand, a job as an account representative requires skills like "customer satisfaction," "financial assistance," "telephone calls," and "provides administrative support." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Account representatives earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $38,433. On the other hand, bill collectors are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $36,403.On average, account representatives reach similar levels of education than bill collectors. Account representatives are 2.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Bill collector vs. Accounting representative
Account representatives are in charge of making sales. Their primary duties include designing and maintaining customer accounts, as well as being a liaison between the organization and clients. They constantly communicate with clients, respond to their concerns, and monitor transactions as well as payments. Also, they develop company invoices, regularly keeping track of client's transactions, maintaining records of the client's account, and routinely auditing them. The job requirements include strong communication and negotiation skills, relevant experience in sales, and confidence.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that bill collector responsibilities requires skills like "medical billing," "appeals," "hipaa," and "insurance eligibility." But an accounting representative might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "payroll," "financial reports," "journal entries," and "general ledger accounts."
Accounting representatives may earn a higher salary than bill collectors, but accounting representatives earn the most pay in the automotive industry with an average salary of $47,306. On the other hand, bill collectors receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $36,403.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Accounting representatives tend to reach similar levels of education than bill collectors. In fact, they're 3.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Bill collector vs. Media center assistant
A media center assistant is typically in charge of performing support tasks to maintain a smooth workflow in media centers. They often participate in planning and executing media projects and programs, process documentation, answer inquiries, manage the project and team members' schedules, conduct research and analysis, disseminate information, and liaise with internal and external parties. Furthermore, as an assistant, it is essential to monitor the progress of all operations while regularly reporting to managers and supervisors.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, bill collectors are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "medicaid," "medical billing," and "patient accounts." But a media center assistant is more likely to have skills like "basic math," "cpr," "crisis intervention," and "powerpoint."
Media center assistants earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $31,738. Bill collectors earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $36,403.Most media center assistants achieve a similar degree level compared to bill collectors. For example, they're 4.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Bill collector vs. Billing representative
A billing representative assists with the overall operations of the organization's billing department. Billing representatives post payments timely on the database, update account statements, generate financial reports, release invoices, and resolve account discrepancies. They also perform client accounts reconciliation as needed, monitor account receivables, review overdated balance, and notify clients of payment updates to ensure accurate and timely billing. A billing representative must have strong analytical and communication skills to manage clients' accounts, as well as comprehensive knowledge on the accounting industry to explain the payment terms and policies of an organization to a client.
Types of bill collector
Updated January 8, 2025











