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What does a medical collector do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a medical collector do

A medical collector deals with collection of bills related to medical services. They handle healthcare-related debt, collect patient insurance information, and develop repayment plans to accommodate debtors that are unable to settle their accounts. Qualifications for this position include knowledge of accounting and training in insurance, business or finance.

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Medical collector responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical collector resumes:

  • Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
  • Perform as a mediator between insurance companies and patients collecting nationwide extensive medical bills.
  • Utilize A/R reports and identify accounts that are past payments.
  • Maintain a filing system of clients' medical records and disclosure following HIPPA guidelines.
  • Post appropriate adjustment types and carrier payments to accounts for true A/R account balance reflection.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality; adhering to all HIPAA guidelines/regulations.
  • Negotiate settlement with attorney, Medicaid Medicare and workmen compensations.
  • Maintain an excellent business relationship with many law firms that represent patients.
  • Communicate directly with debtors private insurance company's including Medicaid and medicare.
  • Function under HIPAA compliance practice recommendations, corporate compliance billing practices and regulatory requirements.
  • Train in the maintenance of customer personal data and maintain strict confidentiality of customer medical information as mandated by HIPPA regulations.
  • Utilize excellent communication and negotiation skills to resolve credit card delinquency favorable to company and card member.

Medical collector skills and personality traits

We calculated that 22% of Medical Collectors are proficient in Patients, Healthcare, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Negotiating skills, and Speaking skills.

We break down the percentage of Medical Collectors that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 22%

    Performed as a mediator between insurance companies and patients collecting nationwide extensive medical bills.

  • Healthcare, 9%

    Prepared Healthcare Services Liens on accident related treatment accounts as, motor vehicle accidents, premises and product liability accounts.

  • Customer Service, 7%

    Performed various customer service functions and conducted account financial analysis ensuring customer satisfaction.

  • Medical Collections, 5%

    Handled medical collections and verified and filed diverse medical insurances.

  • Appeals, 5%

    Prepared appeals for facility denials regarding medical necessity, contract underpayments, and various denials.

  • Medicaid, 4%

    Negotiated settlement with attorney, Medicaid Medicare and workmen compensations.

Common skills that a medical collector uses to do their job include "patients," "healthcare," and "customer service." You can find details on the most important medical collector responsibilities below.

Listening skills. One of the key soft skills for a medical collector to have is listening skills. You can see how this relates to what medical collectors do because "collectors must pay attention to what debtors say when trying to negotiate a repayment plan." Additionally, a medical collector resume shows how medical collectors use listening skills: "communicated with clients through telephone and email communications regarding past due accounts. "

Negotiating skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling medical collector duties is negotiating skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "the main aspects of a collector’s job are reconciling the differences between two parties (the debtor and the creditor) and offering a solution that is acceptable to both parties." According to a medical collector resume, here's how medical collectors can utilize negotiating skills in their job responsibilities: "set up payment arrangements with consumers by negotiating. "

Speaking skills. medical collectors are also known for speaking skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to medical collector responsibilities, because "collectors must be able to speak to debtors to explain their options and ensure that they fully understand what is being said." A medical collector resume example shows how speaking skills is used in the workplace: "attend phone calls conclude the nature of calls and assist callers with speaking with the appropriate person and departments. "

See the full list of medical collector skills

The three companies that hire the most medical collectors are:

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Compare different medical collectors

Medical collector vs. Account representative

Account representatives are employees who manage client accounts and act as the main contact of the clients they are handling. They maintain existing accounts by updating client details regularly. They also check up on clients to see if they are still satisfied with the products or services of the company. They also create new accounts by welcoming new clients and assisting them in their needs. Account representatives manage client inquiries and process client requests. They also address complaints and ensure that any challenges are mitigated and that clients remain with the company.

We looked at the average medical collector salary and compared it with the wages of an account representative. Generally speaking, account representatives are paid $742 higher than medical collectors per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between medical collectors and account representatives are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like patients, customer service, and medicaid.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, medical collector responsibilities require skills like "healthcare," "medical collections," "appeals," and "phone calls." Meanwhile a typical account representative has skills in areas such as "patient accounts," "customer satisfaction," "medical billing," and "financial assistance." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Account representatives earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $38,433. On the other hand, medical collectors are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $37,357.The education levels that account representatives earn slightly differ from medical collectors. In particular, account representatives are 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a medical collector. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Medical collector vs. Authorization specialist

An authorization specialist is responsible for reviewing insurance claims and determining the necessary settlement for the clients and involved parties. Authorization specialists file documents and gather the required information for further investigation and analysis. They coordinate with the insurance agency and the medical institution and ensure that the correct communications are being sent out for reference. An authorization specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing authorization requests and resolve claims timely and efficiently.

A career as a authorization specialist brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a medical collector. In fact, authorization specialists salary is $283 higher than the salary of medical collectors per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both medical collectors and authorization specialists have skills such as "patients," "customer service," and "appeals. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, medical collector responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "healthcare," "medical collections," "payment arrangements," and "eob." Meanwhile, an authorization specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "insurance eligibility," "veterans," "emr," and "home health." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Authorization specialists earn a higher average salary than medical collectors. But authorization specialists earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $35,974. Additionally, medical collectors earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $37,357 annually.authorization specialists earn similar levels of education than medical collectors in general. They're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Medical collector vs. Billing representative

A 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. They also perform client accounts reconciliation as needed, monitor account receivables, review overdated balance, and notify clients of payment updates to ensure accurate and timely billing. A billing representative must have strong analytical and communication skills to manage clients' accounts, as well as comprehensive knowledge on the accounting industry to explain the payment terms and policies of an organization to a client.

An average billing representative eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of medical collectors. The difference in salaries amounts to billing representatives earning a $1,233 lower average salary than medical collectors.Using the responsibilities included on medical collectors and billing representatives resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "patients," "customer service," and "appeals.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a medical collector is likely to be skilled in "healthcare," "medical collections," "phone calls," and "credit card," while a typical billing representative is skilled in "medical billing," "patient accounts," "icd-10," and "accounts receivables."

Billing representatives make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $35,295. On the other hand, medical collectors are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $37,357.Most billing representatives achieve a similar degree level compared to medical collectors. For example, they're 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Medical collector vs. Billing specialist

Billing specialists are accounting or finance employees who are responsible for sending out billing invoices to clients. They calculate charges that their clients have incurred. They then write bills, ensure that all details are correct, and send these out to clients. They also manage payment due dates and ensure that clients are duly reminded of such deadlines. Billing specialists also manage client accounts and ensure that they are paying on time. They help identify clients who have outstanding payables and send out collection notices to them. At times, billing specialists also manage the receipt of payments to manage account records better.

Billing specialists average a lower salary than the annual salary of medical collectors. The difference is about $611 per year.While both medical collectors and billing specialists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, customer service, and appeals, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between medical collectors and billing specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a medical collector might have more use for skills like "healthcare," "medical collections," "phone calls," and "outbound calls." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of billing specialists require skills like "medical billing," "patient accounts," "submit claims," and "billing statements. "

The manufacturing industry tends to pay the highest salaries for billing specialists, with average annual pay of $37,417. Comparatively, the highest medical collector annual salary comes from the finance industry.The average resume of billing specialists showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to medical collectors. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.0%.

Types of medical collector

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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