Claims collector vs billing specialist

The differences between claims collectors and billing specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a claims collector, becoming a billing specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a claims collector has an average salary of $36,591, which is higher than the $35,624 average annual salary of a billing specialist.

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

Claims collector vs billing specialist overview

	Claims Collector	Billing Specialist
Yearly salary	$36,591	$35,624
Hourly rate	$17.59	$17.13
Growth rate	-8%	-3%
Number of jobs	19,142	55,205
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	12	2

Claims collector vs billing specialist salary

Claims collectors and billing specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Claims Collector	Billing Specialist
Average salary	$36,591	$35,624
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $43,000	Between $27,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Delaware
Best paying company	-	TIBCO Software
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between claims collector and billing specialist education

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

	Claims Collector	Billing Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Claims collector vs billing specialist demographics

Here are the differences between claims collectors' and billing specialists' demographics:

	Claims Collector	Billing Specialist
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 15.8% Female, 84.2%	Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 3.5% White, 58.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	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	8%	7%

Differences between claims collector and billing specialist duties and responsibilities

Claims collector example responsibilities.

Monitor all assign accounts by reviewing the client's aging, manage all potential bad debit, DSO, aging.
Operate under HIPPA guidelines for all collection activities.
Maintain strict confidentiality and adhere to HIPPA policies.
Maintain high- standards of confidentiality per HIPAA guidelines.
Review and resubmits denials from Medicaid, Medicare and private health insurance.
Research and resolve denials and EOB rejections within standard billing cycle timeframe.

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.

Claims collector vs billing specialist skills

Common claims collector skills

Patients, 27%
Appeals, 11%
Medicaid, 10%
Medical Insurance Claims, 8%
EOB, 6%
Outbound Calls, 5%

Common billing specialist skills

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