Medical collections specialist vs medical billing, receptionist

The differences between medical collections specialists and medical billings, receptionist 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 collections specialist, becoming a medical billing, receptionist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a medical collections specialist has an average salary of $36,249, which is higher than the $34,622 average annual salary of a medical billing, receptionist.

The top three skills for a medical collections specialist include patients, healthcare and medical collections. The most important skills for a medical billing, receptionist are patients, medical billing, and data entry.

Medical collections specialist vs medical billing, receptionist overview

	Medical Collections Specialist	Medical Billing, Receptionist
Yearly salary	$36,249	$34,622
Hourly rate	$17.43	$16.65
Growth rate	-8%	-3%
Number of jobs	83,342	115,714
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 28%	Associate Degree, 26%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	12	2

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.

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.

Medical collections specialist vs medical billing, receptionist salary

Medical collections specialists and medical billings, receptionist have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Collections Specialist	Medical Billing, Receptionist
Average salary	$36,249	$34,622
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $43,000	Between $28,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Tracy, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Pacific Medical	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between medical collections specialist and medical billing, receptionist education

There are a few differences between a medical collections specialist and a medical billing, receptionist in terms of educational background:

	Medical Collections Specialist	Medical Billing, Receptionist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 28%	Associate Degree, 26%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Health Care Administration
Most common college	-	Stanford University

Medical collections specialist vs medical billing, receptionist demographics

Here are the differences between medical collections specialists' and medical billings, receptionist' demographics:

	Medical Collections Specialist	Medical Billing, Receptionist
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 19.5% Female, 80.5%	Male, 9.5% Female, 90.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black 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%
LGBT Percentage	8%	7%

Differences between medical collections specialist and medical billing, receptionist duties and responsibilities

Medical collections specialist example 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.

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.

Medical collections specialist vs medical billing, receptionist skills

Common medical collections specialist skills

Patients, 19%
Healthcare, 14%
Medical Collections, 7%
Medicaid, 5%
Patient Accounts, 5%
Appeals, 5%

Common medical billing, receptionist skills

Patients, 21%
Medical Billing, 7%
Data Entry, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
CPT, 4%
Medicaid, 4%

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Medical Collections Specialist
Medical Collections Specialist vs Medical Billing, Receptionist

Updated January 8, 2025

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