Post job

How to hire a medical collections specialist

Medical collections specialist hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring medical collections specialists in the United States:

  • The median cost to hire a medical collections specialist is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per medical collections specialist on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • There are a total of 18,209 medical collections specialists in the US, and there are currently 83,342 job openings in this field.
  • Fort Lauderdale, FL, has the highest demand for medical collections specialists, with 7 job openings.

How to hire a medical collections specialist, step by step

To hire a medical collections specialist, consider the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Follow these steps to hire a medical collections specialist:

Here's a step-by-step medical collections specialist hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a medical collections specialist job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new medical collections specialist
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a medical collections specialist do?

Medical collections specialists are responsible for the collection of insurance claims. The responsibilities of this position include locating debtors, contacting debtors to address the overdue payments, keeping records of debts, collecting updated information on client accounts and payments, processing payments, and reviewing records to ensure they are accurate. They also conduct follow ups for insurance reimbursement, repossess claims, draft appeals, and resolve unpaid claims.

Learn more about the specifics of what a medical collections specialist does
jobs
Post a medical collections specialist job for free, promote it for a fee
  1. Identify your hiring needs

    Before you post your medical collections specialist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a medical collections specialist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    A medical collections specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, medical collections specialists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

    This list shows salaries for various types of medical collections specialists.

    Type of Medical Collections SpecialistDescriptionHourly rate
    Medical Collections SpecialistBill and account collectors, sometimes called collectors, try to recover payment on overdue bills. They negotiate repayment plans with debtors and help them find solutions to make paying their overdue bills easier.$14-20
    Payment ProcessorA payment processor is responsible for managing and informing the clients of their payment obligations for the services offered by a financial institution or other related organizations. Payment processors record transactions and ensure the timely completion of account statements... Show more$12-20
    Billing RepresentativeA billing representative assists with the overall operations of the organization's billing department. Billing representatives post payments timely on the database, update account statements, generate financial reports, release invoices, and resolve account discrepancies... Show more$13-20
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Patients
    • Healthcare
    • Medical Collections
    • Medicaid
    • Patient Accounts
    • Appeals
    • Self Pay
    • Insurance Carriers
    • Insurance Claims
    • CPT
    • Account Balances
    • HIPAA
    • HMO
    • Phone Calls
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage accounts for healthcare clients, review detailed patient information for payment resolution while abiding HIPPA privacy and security regulations.
    • Job duties include collecting on HMO, PPO, Medicare, and HMO Medicaid.
    • Work directly with Medicare and HMO Medicaid plans, and statewide HMO/PPO/POS plans.
    • Reprocess denied medical claims using extensive appeal tactics or special appeals processing instructions for commercial and government carriers.
    • Adhere to all HIPAA guidelines as well as various policies and guidelines.
    • Provide itemized billing statements and screen HIPAA authorization forms for hundreds of legal firms.
    More medical collections specialist duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in the medical collections specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A medical collections specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

    For example, the average salary for a medical collections specialist in New Mexico may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level medical collections specialist. Additionally, a medical collections specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

    Average medical collections specialist salary

    $36,249yearly

    $17.43 hourly rate

    Entry-level medical collections specialist salary
    $30,000 yearly salary
    Updated January 21, 2026

    Average medical collections specialist salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1California$41,081$20
    2Tennessee$41,038$20
    3Massachusetts$40,126$19
    4Oregon$39,997$19
    5New Jersey$38,820$19
    6Maryland$38,501$19
    7Minnesota$38,427$18
    8Illinois$36,777$18
    9Arizona$36,397$18
    10Georgia$36,251$17
    11Texas$35,874$17
    12Iowa$35,397$17
    13Florida$35,251$17
    14Louisiana$34,507$17
    15Michigan$34,083$16
    16Alabama$33,751$16
    17Indiana$33,213$16
    18New Hampshire$33,053$16
    19Ohio$31,548$15

    Average medical collections specialist salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1Pacific Medical$38,201$18.377
    2Concentra$38,047$18.2963
    3Pediatric Associates, Inc.$37,829$18.19
    4USA Vein Clinics$36,639$17.616
    5HealthTrust$36,455$17.53
    6Credit Solutions$36,447$17.52
    7Butterfly Effects$36,291$17.454
    8NMA$36,234$17.42
    9Metro$36,192$17.40
    10Pediatric Partners, now a member of the Sevita family$36,028$17.3213
    11Accounting Services Limited$35,874$17.25
    12CSI Companies$35,852$17.24
    13Ajilon Consulting$35,760$17.19
    14Robert Half$35,647$17.14231
    15Human Resources International$35,625$17.13
    16NORCAL Ambulance$35,619$17.1211
    17Randstad North America, Inc.$35,548$17.0911
    18Medix$35,221$16.938
    19The Reserves Network$35,157$16.905
    20National Mentor Holdings Inc.$35,150$16.90
  4. Writing a medical collections specialist job description

    A job description for a medical collections specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a medical collections specialist job description:

    Medical collections specialist job description example

    · Do you know the CMS 1500 form by heart?

    · Have you previously been in a Medical Reimbursement position?

    If you said "yes" to all of these questions, you may be the next team member we're looking for!

    POSITION SUMMARY

    The Medical Collections Specialist is responsible for evaluating medical insurance cases that are denied coverage and researching whether the case merits an appeal. They support the billing department in meeting expectations regarding efficiency, privacy maintenance and quality of decision making. They initiate follow-up phone calls on accounts following departmental policy and procedure and best-practices. It is expected that they project a professional company image through in-person and phone interactions.

    PRINCIPLE ACCOUNTABILITIES

    Review patient accounts to determine whether all relevant information has been submitted

    Identify and report payer denial, payment; recoupment trends and/or out of network errors with carriers to designated associate

    Manage the flow and subsequently evaluate, research and process all appeals, grievances and provider review requests according to payer specific guidelines

    Conduct appropriate investigation of all appeals

    Interacts with payers to resolve outstanding / denied claims issues, sends statements and makes collection calls

    Prepare appropriate written documentation and maintain necessary files

    Initiate follow up phone calls on all necessary accounts

    Follow up on all written and telephone correspondence

    Document appropriate follow up notes on accounts and upkeep of any daily spreadsheets required by supervisor

    Notify leadership of, and respond to, additional documentation requests (ADR), audits, and/or post payment review

    Scan all documents relating to the patient/claim into EHR

    Show work to maintain accountability and identify trends

    Additional duties as assigned

    JOB REQUIREMENTS

    EDUCATION: High School Diploma or equivalent. Bachelor’s degree preferred
    EXPERIENCE: 3 years accounts receivable experience in the medical field required. Experience with medical terminology and insurance industry and out-of-network.
    SKILLS: Ability to prioritize and handle multiple tasks in a changing work environment. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to work independently and on a team. Ability to interpret an Explanation of Benefits and take additional and necessary steps towards payment. Familiarity with Microsoft applications and database software. Strong attention to detail. Must be proficient with CPT, ICD-10 and HCPCS coding.

    WORKING CONDITIONS
    Working conditions are normal for an office environment.

    Powered by JazzHR

    qV9HIWP44z

  5. Post your job

    To find the right medical collections specialist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with medical collections specialists they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit medical collections specialists who meet your education requirements.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your medical collections specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit medical collections specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    During your first interview to recruit medical collections specialists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

    Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new medical collections specialist

    Once you've decided on a perfect medical collections specialist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

    It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

    To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
    Sign up to download full list

How much does it cost to hire a medical collections specialist?

Recruiting medical collections specialists involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

You can expect to pay around $36,249 per year for a medical collections specialist, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for medical collections specialists in the US typically range between $14 and $20 an hour.

Find better medical collections specialists in less time
Post a job on Zippia and hire the best from over 7 million monthly job seekers.

Hiring medical collections specialists FAQs

Search for medical collections specialist jobs

Ready to start hiring?

Browse office and administrative jobs