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Medical reimbursement specialist vs medical coder

The differences between medical reimbursement specialists and medical coders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a medical reimbursement specialist and a medical coder. Additionally, a medical coder has an average salary of $51,563, which is higher than the $39,870 average annual salary of a medical reimbursement specialist.

The top three skills for a medical reimbursement specialist include patients, medical billing and appeals. The most important skills for a medical coder are CPC, medical terminology, and ICD-10-CM.

Medical reimbursement specialist vs medical coder overview

Medical Reimbursement SpecialistMedical Coder
Yearly salary$39,870$51,563
Hourly rate$19.17$24.79
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs77,27251,316
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 31%Associate Degree, 37%
Average age4545
Years of experience1212

Medical reimbursement specialist vs medical coder salary

Medical reimbursement specialists and medical coders have different pay scales, as shown below.

Medical Reimbursement SpecialistMedical Coder
Average salary$39,870$51,563
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $50,000Between $37,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City-Trenton, NJ
Highest paying state-Hawaii
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry-Health Care

Differences between medical reimbursement specialist and medical coder education

There are a few differences between a medical reimbursement specialist and a medical coder in terms of educational background:

Medical Reimbursement SpecialistMedical Coder
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 31%Associate Degree, 37%
Most common majorHealth Care AdministrationHealth Care Administration
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Medical reimbursement specialist vs medical coder demographics

Here are the differences between medical reimbursement specialists' and medical coders' demographics:

Medical Reimbursement SpecialistMedical Coder
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 11.9% Female, 88.1%Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 8.4% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 9.0% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between medical reimbursement specialist and medical coder duties and responsibilities

Medical reimbursement specialist example responsibilities.

  • Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
  • Review and submit medical documentation for medical claims appeals as necessary.
  • Review and assign ICD-9, CPT-4 and HCPCS, and correct E/M codes to each patient encounter to prevent recovery credits.
  • Verify private medical insurance benefits and Medicaid eligibility.
  • Follow up on unpaid/unresolve account balances, including claims reject electronically and EOB denials.
  • Research account activity base on analysis reports and correspondence resulting in additional follow-up with patients, insurance carriers and referring physicians.
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Medical coder example responsibilities.

  • Manage all EDI relate communication with trading partners and assist to produce all operational documents for all end users.
  • Manage all aspects of AR including writing letters for medical necessity, claim denials, bundling issues and charge capture.
  • Manage health records while applying ICD-10 coding to update and process insurance claims for time and accuracy to various insurance companies.
  • Manage the outsourced transcription company.
  • Create documentation education classes to general surgery residents, increasing the leveling of reporting which lead to increase revenues.
  • Adhere to regulations with CPT-4, ICD-9-CM and HCPCS coding with medical terminology and effort meet all audit requirements.
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Medical reimbursement specialist vs medical coder skills

Common medical reimbursement specialist skills
  • Patients, 12%
  • Medical Billing, 9%
  • Appeals, 8%
  • EOB, 7%
  • Medicare, 5%
  • Medicaid, 5%
Common medical coder skills
  • CPC, 11%
  • Medical Terminology, 8%
  • ICD-10-CM, 7%
  • AHIMA, 7%
  • Patients, 7%
  • Clinical Documentation, 5%

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