Billing associate vs medical billing clerk

The differences between billing associates 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 a billing associate and a medical billing clerk. Additionally, a billing associate has an average salary of $34,612, which is higher than the $33,566 average annual salary of a medical billing clerk.

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

Billing associate vs medical billing clerk overview

	Billing Associate	Medical Billing Clerk
Yearly salary	$34,612	$33,566
Hourly rate	$16.64	$16.14
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	23,835	164,870
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Associate Degree, 30%
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 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.

Billing associate vs medical billing clerk salary

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

	Billing Associate	Medical Billing Clerk
Average salary	$34,612	$33,566
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $42,000	Between $27,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	San Leandro, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	Washington
Best paying company	Huron Consulting Group	iCare
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between billing associate and medical billing clerk education

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

	Billing Associate	Medical Billing Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Associate Degree, 30%
Most common major	Business	Health Care Administration
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Billing associate vs medical billing clerk demographics

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

	Billing Associate	Medical Billing Clerk
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 20.6% Female, 79.4%	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%
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, 10.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between billing associate and medical billing clerk 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.

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.

Billing associate vs medical billing clerk skills

Common billing associate skills

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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