Billing coder vs billing consultant

The differences between billing coders and billing consultants 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 coder and a billing consultant. Additionally, a billing consultant has an average salary of $94,948, which is higher than the $37,554 average annual salary of a billing coder.

The top three skills for a billing coder include patients, ICD-10 and data entry. The most important skills for a billing consultant are patients, medicaid, and billing procedures.

Billing coder vs billing consultant overview

	Billing Coder	Billing Consultant
Yearly salary	$37,554	$94,948
Hourly rate	$18.05	$45.65
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	55,376	25,943
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	2	2

Billing coder vs billing consultant salary

Billing coders and billing consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Billing Coder	Billing Consultant
Average salary	$37,554	$94,948
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $45,000	Between $75,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Maryland
Best paying company	-	Slalom
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between billing coder and billing consultant education

There are a few differences between a billing coder and a billing consultant in terms of educational background:

	Billing Coder	Billing Consultant
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Billing coder vs billing consultant demographics

Here are the differences between billing coders' and billing consultants' demographics:

	Billing Coder	Billing Consultant
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 8.8% Female, 91.2%	Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 6.8% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 7.7% White, 56.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between billing coder and billing consultant duties and responsibilities

Billing coder example responsibilities.

Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Review documentation to assign or confirm E/M, CPT, HCPCS, modifiers and ICD-9 codes.
Process insurance claims to various carriers like Medicare, Medicaid, commercial, and private insurances.
Verify patient insurance and/or Medicaid eligibility status and produce 'no insurance' letters for non establish patients.
Use EMR to submit claims.
Correct coding of CPT, HCPCS and ICD-9 codes necessary to ensure appropriate reimbursement.

Billing consultant example responsibilities.

Manage software programs for MSP accounts, monthly billing and EMC file transfers to Medicare.
Register incoming patients, verify demographics as well as insurance verification.
Research and determine the viability of collections on all Medicaid accounts receivables.
Audit EMR system and correct ICD-9 coding errors.
Review EOB's, and apply payments to the patient's accounts, making applicable adjustments.
Contact insurance carrier directly, review eob's, reviewing medical records, denials, write appeals.

Billing coder vs billing consultant skills

Common billing coder skills

Patients, 18%
ICD-10, 9%
Data Entry, 7%
Medical Terminology, 5%
Home Health, 5%
HCPCS, 5%

Common billing consultant skills

Patients, 13%
Medicaid, 10%
Billing Procedures, 8%
Medical Claims, 5%
Patient Accounts, 4%
Medical Billing Software, 3%