Medical billing clerk vs insurance clerk

The differences between medical billing clerks and insurance clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a medical billing clerk, becoming an insurance clerk takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a medical billing clerk has an average salary of $33,566, which is higher than the $33,089 average annual salary of an insurance clerk.

The top three skills for a medical billing clerk include patients, medical billing and healthcare. The most important skills for an insurance clerk are patients, insurance verification, and data entry.

Medical billing clerk vs insurance clerk overview

	Medical Billing Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Yearly salary	$33,566	$33,089
Hourly rate	$16.14	$15.91
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	164,870	147,755
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 30%	High School Diploma, 29%
Average age	46	44
Years of experience	2	4

What does a medical billing clerk do?

A medical billing clerk is primarily in charge of processing payments and creating billing arrangements in clinics and hospitals. Among their responsibilities include gathering and verifying patient identification, handling insurance information, coding, updating databases, and maintaining records. It is also their responsibility to assist patients by filling out forms, answering their inquiries, and referring them to other services. Moreover, a medical billing clerk must monitor patient accounts and follow-up on delinquent patient accounts, coordinating with collection agencies as needed.

What does an insurance clerk do?

An insurance clerk usually works to process insurance, reinstatement, changes, or cancellations for a company or an individual account. They are responsible for monitoring, processing, and organizing different insurance claims for a client. They usually work closely with the company's insurance agent to provide necessary information to process the clients' application. This career requires a broad knowledge of local and state insurance policies, good attention to detail, excellent communication skills, customer service skills, and administrative skills.

Medical billing clerk vs insurance clerk salary

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

	Medical Billing Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Average salary	$33,566	$33,089
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $40,000	Between $27,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	San Leandro, CA	Henderson, NV
Highest paying state	Washington	New Hampshire
Best paying company	iCare	Lenoir Memorial Hospital
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between medical billing clerk and insurance clerk education

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

	Medical Billing Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 30%	High School Diploma, 29%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	-

Medical billing clerk vs insurance clerk demographics

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

	Medical Billing Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Average age	46	44
Gender ratio	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%	Male, 8.3% Female, 91.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 13.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 3.9% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	11%

Differences between medical billing clerk and insurance clerk duties and responsibilities

Medical billing clerk example responsibilities.

Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Interact with patients as part of the quality assurance process (follow-up, EHR confirmation, billing confirmation).
Reconcile insurance and patient payments while researching and resolving incorrect payments, EOB rejections, and assort issues with outstanding accounts.
Utilize medical terminology and follow HIPAA guidelines.
Bill Magellan through Nextgen system.
Double checked CMS-1500 form before posting it out to the insurance companies.

Insurance clerk example responsibilities.

Manage front office check-in, insurance verification and certifications from doctors.
Establish and implement procedures for completion of patient super bills with proper diagnostic coding utilizing ICD-9 and CPT code manuals.
Maintain patient medical records insuring diagnosis codes (ICD-9) are itemized correctly and name and address of insurance carriers record.
Schedule and obtain authorization for outpatient procedures for patients via private insurance, worker's compensation, and Medicare/ Medicaid.
Complete several ICD-10 training courses.
Perform medical coding with most accurate and descriptive HCPCS code.

Medical billing clerk vs insurance clerk skills

Common medical billing clerk skills

Patients, 18%
Medical Billing, 10%
Healthcare, 7%
Data Entry, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Medicaid, 5%

Common insurance clerk skills

Patients, 25%
Insurance Verification, 7%
Data Entry, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Insurance Coverage, 5%
Computer System, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Medical Billing Clerk
Medical Billing Clerk vs Insurance Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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