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Medical billing, receptionist vs insurance coordinator

The differences between medical billings, receptionist and insurance coordinators 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, receptionist, becoming an insurance coordinator takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a medical billing, receptionist has an average salary of $34,622, which is higher than the $32,788 average annual salary of an insurance coordinator.

The top three skills for a medical billing, receptionist include patients, medical billing and data entry. The most important skills for an insurance coordinator are patients, customer service, and insurance verification.

Medical billing, receptionist vs insurance coordinator overview

Medical Billing, ReceptionistInsurance Coordinator
Yearly salary$34,622$32,788
Hourly rate$16.65$15.76
Growth rate-3%-3%
Number of jobs115,714108,509
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 26%Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age4644
Years of experience24

What does a medical billing, receptionist do?

A medical billing receptionist serves as the main point of contact in a hospital. Their responsibilities revolve around greeting patients and attending to their needs, gathering and maintaining records, and checking-in patients. They also have administrative support tasks such as answering calls and responding to inquiries, arranging appointments and schedules, producing reports, keeping documentation, and handling billing processes, including insurance. Moreover, a medical billing receptionist must be alert and proactive as the conditions in a hospital can be very unpredictable.

What does an insurance coordinator do?

An insurance coordinator is responsible for evaluating and validating insurance information to verify claims and process the necessary claims resolutions for parties. Insurance coordinators submit claims statements timely to the insurance officers for review, coordinate with the clients for inquiries and updates, and reach out to medical institutions for accurate filing of payments. An insurance coordinator must have excellent communication and analytical skills to assess reports, resolve claims discrepancies, and escalate high-level complaints to the officers for immediate action.

Medical billing, receptionist vs insurance coordinator salary

Medical billings, receptionist and insurance coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Medical Billing, ReceptionistInsurance Coordinator
Average salary$34,622$32,788
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $41,000Between $25,000 And $41,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MAOakland, CA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsNew Hampshire
Best paying companyUniversity of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
Best paying industryTechnologyPharmaceutical

Differences between medical billing, receptionist and insurance coordinator education

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

Medical Billing, ReceptionistInsurance Coordinator
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 26%Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common majorHealth Care AdministrationBusiness
Most common collegeStanford University-

Medical billing, receptionist vs insurance coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between medical billings, receptionist' and insurance coordinators' demographics:

Medical Billing, ReceptionistInsurance Coordinator
Average age4644
Gender ratioMale, 9.5% Female, 90.5%Male, 9.9% Female, 90.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 6.8% White, 56.4% 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 Percentage7%11%

Differences between medical billing, receptionist and insurance coordinator duties and responsibilities

Medical billing, receptionist example responsibilities.

  • Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
  • Revise CPT codes and ICD-10 codes before submitting to insurance for chiropractic services and durable medical equipment.
  • Review and research ICD-9 and CPT codes that are denied by payers, and contact physician offices to assist with correction.
  • Submit secondary insurance claims with primary insurance EOB.
  • Facilitate medical billing and coding by interfacing with insurance companies and patients to ensure proper billing procedures.
  • Discuss physicians' choice of E/M level when in question.
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Insurance coordinator example responsibilities.

  • Verify patient dental insurance coverage and limitations with major private and business dental insurance providers as well as Medicaid and Medicare.
  • File to record patient demographics in numerous EMR systems and paper charts if applicable.
  • Prepare providers and staff for ICD-10 transition.
  • Post and reconcile all daily insurance, patient payments and transactions within the EMR system.
  • Experience in registration in healthcare, business office and physician billing, with reimbursement and collections.
  • Process all Medicare claims, explaining HMO changes to patients in detail and accurately documenting all benefits.
  • Show more

Medical billing, receptionist vs insurance coordinator skills

Common medical billing, receptionist skills
  • Patients, 21%
  • Medical Billing, 7%
  • Data Entry, 5%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • CPT, 4%
  • Medicaid, 4%
Common insurance coordinator skills
  • Patients, 26%
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Insurance Verification, 7%
  • Insurance Eligibility, 4%
  • Medicaid, 3%
  • Medical Terminology, 3%

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