Certified professional coder vs biller

The differences between certified professional coders and billers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a certified professional coder, becoming a biller takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a certified professional coder has an average salary of $52,683, which is higher than the $38,333 average annual salary of a biller.

The top three skills for a certified professional coder include CPC, medical terminology and AAPC. The most important skills for a biller are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Certified professional coder vs biller overview

	Certified Professional Coder	Biller
Yearly salary	$52,683	$38,333
Hourly rate	$25.33	$18.43
Growth rate	11%	-3%
Number of jobs	86,465	35,740
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Associate Degree, 28%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	12	2

What does a certified professional coder do?

A certified professional coder oversees the daily medical coding operations of a medical facility, ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations. They usually have the responsibility to provide coding to facilities, update databases, and conduct reviews and assessments to identify missing details or inconsistencies and perform corrective measures. Moreover, as a certified professional coder, it is essential to coordinate with external parties such as insurance providers and communicate with patients, assisting them by answering inquiries, explaining procedures, and solving issues and concerns if any would arise.

What does a biller do?

Billers are medical professionals who are responsible for translating health care services into medical claims to be submitted to insurance companies. These billers are required to obtain patient medical records and interpret them to determine the billable units and services. They must manage all aspects of the medical billing process and make necessary contacts with insurance payers or patients to ensure maximum reimbursements. Billers must also provide services that are associated with internal and external customer billing and payment processing operations.

Certified professional coder vs biller salary

Certified professional coders and billers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Professional Coder	Biller
Average salary	$52,683	$38,333
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $73,000	Between $29,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Alaska	Washington
Best paying company	Morgan Stanley	UC Merced
Best paying industry	Technology	Manufacturing

Differences between certified professional coder and biller education

There are a few differences between a certified professional coder and a biller in terms of educational background:

	Certified Professional Coder	Biller
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Associate Degree, 28%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Health Care Administration
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Certified professional coder vs biller demographics

Here are the differences between certified professional coders' and billers' demographics:

	Certified Professional Coder	Biller
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 8.9% Female, 91.1%	Male, 11.6% Female, 88.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 8.3% White, 62.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.8% Asian, 6.8% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between certified professional coder and biller duties and responsibilities

Certified professional coder example responsibilities.

Manage the outsourced transcription company.
Apply ICD-10-CM, CPT-4 codes and modifiers in accordance with federal regulations.
Validate DRG's for inpatient and inpatient RAC appeals as well as validating DRG changes.
Assist with insurance verification and registration, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Review, analyze, and code all ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM diagnoses.
Work all age reports for all Medicaid.

Biller example responsibilities.

Manage payer requirements, regulatory compliance requirements, HIPAA privacy and security requirements, medical terminology and general revenue cycle procedures.
Ensure all ICD-9 and CPT coding are correct and forward any errors to the appropriate departments to correct.
Prepare forms for CPT-4 and ICD-9 coding.
Acquire a working knowledge of revenue codes and HCPCS codes.
Answer phones, review, verifying insurance and ICD-9 coding of service reports.
Maintain confidentiality of all pertinent client information in compliance with HIPAA laws and regulations.

Certified professional coder vs biller skills

Common certified professional coder skills

CPC, 20%
Medical Terminology, 9%
AAPC, 8%
Patients, 7%
ICD-10-CM, 5%
E/M, 4%

Common biller skills

Patients, 18%
Customer Service, 10%
Data Entry, 6%
CPT, 5%
Medicaid, 4%
Patient Accounts, 4%

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Certified Professional Coder vs Biller

Updated January 8, 2025

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