Medical coding technician vs medical billing clerk

The differences between medical coding technicians and medical billing clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a medical coding technician, becoming a medical billing clerk takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a medical coding technician has an average salary of $35,307, which is higher than the $33,566 average annual salary of a medical billing clerk.

The top three skills for a medical coding technician include medical billing, data entry and front desk. The most important skills for a medical billing clerk are patients, medical billing, and healthcare.

Medical coding technician vs medical billing clerk overview

	Medical Coding Technician	Medical Billing Clerk
Yearly salary	$35,307	$33,566
Hourly rate	$16.97	$16.14
Growth rate	11%	-3%
Number of jobs	67,197	164,870
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 30%	Associate Degree, 30%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	12	2

What does a medical coding technician do?

The job of a medical coding technician is to assist in the management of insurance claims, payments, and invoices. Your day-to-day duties may include reviewing claims data to ensure that the assigned codes meet the insurance and legal rules, understanding the diagnosis of patients and medical procedures that have been performed, and extracting information from documentation such as the name of the physician and the date of the procedure. Additionally, abmedical coding technician also follows up with patients and insurance firms regarding outstanding bills.

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.

Medical coding technician vs medical billing clerk salary

Medical coding technicians and medical billing clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Coding Technician	Medical Billing Clerk
Average salary	$35,307	$33,566
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $43,000	Between $27,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	San Leandro, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	iCare
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between medical coding technician and medical billing clerk education

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

	Medical Coding Technician	Medical Billing Clerk
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 30%	Associate Degree, 30%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Health Care Administration
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Medical coding technician vs medical billing clerk demographics

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

	Medical Coding Technician	Medical Billing Clerk
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7%	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	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%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between medical coding technician and medical billing clerk duties and responsibilities

Medical coding technician example responsibilities.

Manage health records while applying ICD-10 coding to update and process insurance claims for time and accuracy to various insurance companies.
Assign appropriate ICD-9-CM and CPT-4 codes in compliance with recognize coding principles and department policies.
Remain current on medical coding guidelines and HIPAA laws and regulations.
Reconcile clinical notes, patient encounter form, and health information for compliance with HIPAA rules.
Audit ROI program quarterly to ensure deadlines are completed and proper procedures for legal and personal requests are followed.
Train team members in all ROI processes, make independent decisions base on the provisions of these privacy laws and regulations.

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.

Medical coding technician vs medical billing clerk skills

Common medical coding technician skills

Medical Billing, 14%
Data Entry, 12%
Front Desk, 10%
CPC, 9%
ICD-10-CM, 7%
Transcription, 6%

Common medical billing clerk skills

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

Medical Coding Technician vs. similar jobs

Medical Coding Technician related careers

Medical Coding Technician related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Medical Coding Technician
Medical Coding Technician vs Medical Billing Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs