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The differences between claims support specialists and office 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 support specialist, becoming an office specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a claims support specialist has an average salary of $37,033, which is higher than the $33,477 average annual salary of an office specialist.
The top three skills for a claims support specialist include data entry, dictation and claims support. The most important skills for an office specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.
| Claims Support Specialist | Office Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $37,033 | $33,477 |
| Hourly rate | $17.80 | $16.09 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 120,650 | 98,760 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
Claims support specialists are the ones who make sure that the right amount of reimbursement rates is paid based on their client's contracts. Their job includes processing medical record requests and reviewing the secondary and tertiary claims for legitimacy. Working with physician and billing office employees to find resolutions for outstanding claim issues is a part of their responsibilities as claim support specialists. They also make follow up calls about unprocessed or denied insurance claims. And having good communication skills and knowledge in healthcare receivables and collections will help them succeed.
An office specialist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the organization's daily operations. Office specialists must be highly organizational, as well as having excellent time-management skills to handle work units. They have duties including data entry procedures, greeting visitors, responding to customers' inquiries through phone calls and e-mails, and filing and sorting documents. Office specialists are responsible for creating meeting reports, scheduling appointments, evaluating financial statements, coordinating with other staff for event planning, and assisting the senior management with complex functions.
Claims support specialists and office specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Claims Support Specialist | Office Specialist | |
| Average salary | $37,033 | $33,477 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $47,000 | Between $25,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Rancho Cordova, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | W. R. Berkley | Brookhaven National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a claims support specialist and an office specialist in terms of educational background:
| Claims Support Specialist | Office Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between claims support specialists' and office specialists' demographics:
| Claims Support Specialist | Office Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7% | Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 6.8% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 8.4% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |