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What does a billing assistant do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

A billing assistant is primarily in charge of performing support tasks to maintain smooth billing operations in an establishment. Their responsibilities typically include preparing and processing invoices for clients, sending billing adjustments, printing and reviewing invoices and billings, receiving payments, and monitoring delinquent invoices, sending reminders as necessary. They may also close and balance payments, calculate discounts, and maintain records of all transactions. Moreover, a billing assistant must be alert and proactive for any errors and inconsistencies, dealing with them accordingly.

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Billing assistant responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real billing assistant resumes:

  • Manage all billing accounts including Medicare/Medicaid, HMO and individual accounts.
  • Post insurance payments, explain patient what the EOB is about, collect payments from patients.
  • Communicate annual contracting, CPT, and ICD-9 yearly changes to doctor's offices by creation of formal notification.
  • Experience with billing systems and practices with CPT coding, ICD-9, and usages of coding for productive billing.
  • Bill insurance companies using ICD-9 coding.
  • Used denial reason codes on paper & electronic EOB in EMR/EHR software to examine denials.
  • Maintain patient confidentiality for both HIPAA and financial regulations.
  • Maintain confidentiality of clinic materials in accordance to HIPAA guidelines.
  • Assist the billing department in prior-authorizations and billing for primarily Medicaid patient encounters.
  • Review and entry of Medicaid documentation into state-wide database system for billing purposes.
  • Maintain confidential information on a daily basis with patients in a manner which shows sensitivity and professionalism.
  • Work directly with patients answering billing questions, accommodating scheduling requests and providing medical documentation to insurance companies.
  • Perform complex general accounting functions, including preparation of journal entries, account analysis and balance sheet reconciliations.
  • Discuss services as well as upselling to meet monthly quota.
  • Contribute to sales of the insurance and upselling for better offers and deals.

Billing assistant skills and personality traits

We calculated that 21% of Billing Assistants are proficient in Patients, Data Entry, and Medicaid. They’re also known for soft skills such as Writing skills, Math skills, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Billing Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 21%

    Fostered communication and payment arrangements with insurance companies and acted as customer service liaison for patients.

  • Data Entry, 11%

    Assist Billing Specialist with data entry-Assist front patient reception desk-Manage Parent Conferences and Orientations-Administer and score vision tests ordered by Doctor

  • Medicaid, 5%

    Used Third Party Billing databases to assess Medicaid data received from related service providers and classroom teachers/case managers.

  • Patient Accounts, 4%

    Conduct monthly Account Receivable meetings with assigned facilities on patient account status with Office Managers Customer Service Representative Pathology Laboratory

  • CPT, 3%

    Communicated annual contracting, CPT, and ICD-9 yearly changes to doctor's offices by creation of formal notification.

  • Front Desk, 3%

    Provide coverage for front desk reception area occasionally.

"patients," "data entry," and "medicaid" are among the most common skills that billing assistants use at work. You can find even more billing assistant responsibilities below, including:

Math skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling billing assistant duties is math skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "the job duties of financial clerks includes calculating charges and updating financial records." According to a billing assistant resume, here's how billing assistants can utilize math skills in their job responsibilities: "conducted daily and month end processing, monthly patient billing and reported provider productivity and revenue statistics. "

Organizational skills. billing assistants are also known for organizational skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to billing assistant responsibilities, because "financial clerks must be able to arrange files so they can find them quickly and efficiently." A billing assistant resume example shows how organizational skills is used in the workplace: "utilized customer service, computer and organizational skills. "

Communication skills. For certain billing assistant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a billing assistant rely on this skill, as "financial clerks should be able to explain policies and procedures to colleagues and customers." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what billing assistants do: "generated invoices, communication with attorney to coordinate the bill process managed and organized legal billing documentation prepared and processed client invoices. "

All billing assistant skills

The three companies that hire the most billing assistants are:

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Compare different billing assistants

Billing assistant vs. Accounts payable/administrative assistant

An accounts payable/administrative assistant works alongside the department head. This position focuses on the administrative side of a budgeting department. They are responsible for organizing a company's financial records, which include all documentation of financial transactions, such as invoices and receipts. They also manage all paperwork needed by their department.

We looked at the average billing assistant salary and compared it with the wages of an accounts payable/administrative assistant. Generally speaking, accounts payable/administrative assistants are paid $7,637 higher than billing assistants per year.Even though billing assistants and accounts payable/administrative assistants are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require data entry, front desk, and computer system in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, billing assistant responsibilities require skills like "patients," "medicaid," "patient accounts," and "cpt." Meanwhile a typical accounts payable/administrative assistant has skills in areas such as "purchase orders," "customer service," "credit card," and "expense reports." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Accounts payable/administrative assistants really shine in the construction industry with an average salary of $45,929. Comparatively, billing assistants tend to make the most money in the technology industry with an average salary of $36,753.The education levels that accounts payable/administrative assistants earn slightly differ from billing assistants. In particular, accounts payable/administrative assistants are 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a billing assistant. Additionally, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Billing assistant vs. Front desk administrative assistant

A front desk administrative assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties to support daily business functions and operations. Front desk administrative assistants assist guests, respond to their inquiries and concerns, and direct them to the appropriate personnel for their needs. They also monitor office inventories, write purchase requests, and distribute mails across the departments. A front desk administrative assistants review business and financial transactions to generate reports, update information on the company's database, and sort documents for reference.

On average, front desk administrative assistants earn a $708 lower salary than billing assistants a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both billing assistants and front desk administrative assistants have skills such as "patients," "data entry," and "patient accounts. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real billing assistant resumes. While billing assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "medicaid," "cpt," "front desk," and "scheduling appointments," front desk administrative assistants use skills like "customer service," "phone calls," "front desk operations," and "check-in."

Front desk administrative assistants may earn a lower salary than billing assistants, but front desk administrative assistants earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $34,812. On the other hand, billing assistants receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $36,753.In general, front desk administrative assistants achieve similar levels of education than billing assistants. They're 0.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Billing assistant vs. Administrative assistant/scheduler

Administrative assistants/schedulers schedule company appointments and meetings, answer phone calls, and forward them to relevant staff members. They take meeting minutes and notes, order and take office supplies stock, and prepare documents for business trips and meetings. Besides finding methods to enhance administrative processes, administrative assistants/schedulers also help senior staff or other teams to write and issue emails to team members and company departments. Moreover, these professionals research and book the staff's travel arrangements.

An average administrative assistant/scheduler eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of billing assistants. The difference in salaries amounts to administrative assistant/schedulers earning a $4,279 higher average salary than billing assistants.By looking over several billing assistants and administrative assistant/schedulers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "patients," "data entry," and "medicaid." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, billing assistants are more likely to have skills like "scheduling appointments," "billing system," "eob," and "insurance billing." But a administrative assistant/scheduler is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "hr," "excellent interpersonal," and "patient care."

Administrative assistant/schedulers earn the best pay in the construction industry, where they command an average salary of $39,696. Billing assistants earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $36,753.Most administrative assistant/schedulers achieve a similar degree level compared to billing assistants. For example, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Billing assistant vs. Billing and insurance coordinator

A billing and insurance coordinator is responsible for coordinating with employees from different departments of an organization for billing and insurance processing purposes. Billing and insurance coordinators sort mail for distribution to appropriate personnel, performing administrative and clerical duties as needed, managing and releasing of invoices under the manager's supervision, and responding to employees' inquiries and concerns. A billing and insurance coordinator must be highly analytical, as well as have excellent knowledge of the insurance disciplines and processes to assist the employees with their payments and benefits.

Billing and insurance coordinators average a higher salary than the annual salary of billing assistants. The difference is about $7,396 per year.While both billing assistants and billing and insurance coordinators complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, data entry, and medicaid, the two careers vary in some skills.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A billing assistant uses "scheduling appointments," "payroll," "billing statements," and "administrative tasks." Billing and insurance coordinators are more likely to have duties that require skills in "customer service," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "appeals. "The professional industry tends to pay the highest salaries for billing and insurance coordinators, with average annual pay of $58,069. Comparatively, the highest billing assistant annual salary comes from the technology industry.billing and insurance coordinators reach similar levels of education compared to billing assistants, in general. The difference is that they're 0.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of billing assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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