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Billing coder vs insurance billing clerk

The differences between billing coders and insurance 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 coder and an insurance billing clerk. Additionally, a billing coder has an average salary of $37,554, which is higher than the $27,713 average annual salary of an insurance billing clerk.

The top three skills for a billing coder include patients, ICD-10 and data entry. The most important skills for an insurance billing clerk are patients, scheduling appointments, and CPT.

Billing coder vs insurance billing clerk overview

Billing CoderInsurance Billing Clerk
Yearly salary$37,554$27,713
Hourly rate$18.05$13.32
Growth rate-3%-3%
Number of jobs55,376118,444
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 32%Associate Degree, 32%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

Billing coder vs insurance billing clerk salary

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

Billing CoderInsurance Billing Clerk
Average salary$37,554$27,713
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $45,000Between $20,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between billing coder and insurance billing clerk education

There are a few differences between a billing coder and an insurance billing clerk in terms of educational background:

Billing CoderInsurance Billing Clerk
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 32%Associate Degree, 32%
Most common majorHealth Care AdministrationBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Billing coder vs insurance billing clerk demographics

Here are the differences between billing coders' and insurance billing clerks' demographics:

Billing CoderInsurance Billing Clerk
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 8.8% Female, 91.2%Male, 4.7% Female, 95.3%
Race ratioBlack 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, 13.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between billing coder and insurance billing clerk 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.
    • Show more

Insurance billing clerk example responsibilities.

  • Manage the patient education program, responsible for ensuring patients are fully educate regarding medical conditions and prescribe medications.
  • Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
  • Receive knowledge of CPT and ICD-9 codes used for insurance billing purposes.
  • Verify Medicaid insurance eligibility prior to dispensing patient's orders.
  • Maintain direct responsibility for contacting both patients and insurance carriers in a timely matter regarding ineligibility.
  • Submit secondary insurance after primary has paid and submit EOB's with insurance forms.
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Billing coder vs insurance billing clerk skills

Common billing coder skills
  • Patients, 18%
  • ICD-10, 9%
  • Data Entry, 7%
  • Medical Terminology, 5%
  • Home Health, 5%
  • HCPCS, 5%
Common insurance billing clerk skills
  • Patients, 28%
  • Scheduling Appointments, 6%
  • CPT, 6%
  • Patient Appointments, 5%
  • Medicaid, 5%
  • Patient Registration, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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