Billing associate vs billing specialist

The differences between billing associates and billing specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a billing associate and a billing specialist. Additionally, a billing specialist has an average salary of $35,624, which is higher than the $34,612 average annual salary of a billing associate.

The top three skills for a billing associate include patients, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for a billing specialist are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Billing associate vs billing specialist overview

	Billing Associate	Billing Specialist
Yearly salary	$34,612	$35,624
Hourly rate	$16.64	$17.13
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	23,835	55,205
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	2	2

What does a billing associate do?

A billing associate is responsible for processing payments and invoices for customers and ensuring accurate financial reports for auditing purposes. Billing associates utilize the business' accounting systems to monitor billing transactions and resolve account discrepancies accordingly. They also update customer records in the database, post payments timely, and escalate outstanding bills to the supervisor for resolution. A billing associate reaches out to the clients and customers for payment responsibility and respond to the inquiries and concerns they may have.

What does a billing specialist do?

Billing specialists are accounting or finance employees who are responsible for sending out billing invoices to clients. They calculate charges that their clients have incurred. They then write bills, ensure that all details are correct, and send these out to clients. They also manage payment due dates and ensure that clients are duly reminded of such deadlines. Billing specialists also manage client accounts and ensure that they are paying on time. They help identify clients who have outstanding payables and send out collection notices to them. At times, billing specialists also manage the receipt of payments to manage account records better.

Billing associate vs billing specialist salary

Billing associates and billing specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Billing Associate	Billing Specialist
Average salary	$34,612	$35,624
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $42,000	Between $27,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Washington	Delaware
Best paying company	Huron Consulting Group	TIBCO Software
Best paying industry	Technology	Manufacturing

Differences between billing associate and billing specialist education

There are a few differences between a billing associate and a billing specialist in terms of educational background:

	Billing Associate	Billing Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Billing associate vs billing specialist demographics

Here are the differences between billing associates' and billing specialists' demographics:

	Billing Associate	Billing Specialist
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 20.6% Female, 79.4%	Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 7.6% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 7.4% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between billing associate and billing specialist duties and responsibilities

Billing associate example responsibilities.

Manage the submission and reimbursement of claims bill to insurance companies using ICD-9 coding.
Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Verify correct ICD-9 and CPT codes for a variety of specialties submission of electronic claims to clearinghouse.
Ensure appropriate medical terminology and HIPAA compliance for all claims entry/online submissions, payment posting, insurance and patient aging.
Help office transition from patient charts to new EMR system.
Scan in all documents to EMR routing reports and labs to ordering physicians.

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Billing specialist example responsibilities.

Use of QuickBooks to manage vendors' accounts, set up filing system to maintain files and supporting billing documents.
Manage the daily correspondence with keeping doctor/patient confidentiality under consideration along with HIPPA regulations.
Use independent judgment, manage and impart confidential information appropriately per HIPAA regulations and company requirements.
Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Provide additional information/clarification for insurance claims using knowledge of CPT, ICD-9, and HCPCS codes, as well as modifiers.
Assist staff with proper billing for patients, ensure proper coding using ICD-10, ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding.

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Billing associate vs billing specialist skills

Common billing associate skills

Patients, 15%
Customer Service, 12%
Data Entry, 11%
Medical Billing, 5%
Insurance Billing, 3%
Billing Inquiries, 3%

Common billing specialist skills

Patients, 16%
Customer Service, 10%
Data Entry, 9%
Medical Billing, 7%
Medicaid, 6%
CPT, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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