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Medicare specialist vs medical coder

The differences between medicare 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 medicare specialist and a medical coder. Additionally, a medical coder has an average salary of $51,563, which is higher than the $36,923 average annual salary of a medicare specialist.

The top three skills for a medicare specialist include customer service, patients and health insurance. The most important skills for a medical coder are CPC, medical terminology, and ICD-10-CM.

Medicare specialist vs medical coder overview

Medicare SpecialistMedical Coder
Yearly salary$36,923$51,563
Hourly rate$17.75$24.79
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs31,86351,316
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 41%Associate Degree, 37%
Average age4545
Years of experience1212

Medicare specialist vs medical coder salary

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

Medicare SpecialistMedical Coder
Average salary$36,923$51,563
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $46,000Between $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 medicare specialist and medical coder education

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

Medicare SpecialistMedical Coder
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 41%Associate Degree, 37%
Most common majorBusinessHealth Care Administration
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaStanford University

Medicare specialist vs medical coder demographics

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

Medicare SpecialistMedical Coder
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 23.0% Female, 77.0%Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 8.0% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%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 medicare specialist and medical coder duties and responsibilities

Medicare specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage cases by aggressively directing the litigation process.
  • Submit correct claims when appropriate, assigning ICD-9-CM, CPT, HCPCS, and / or service codes when necessary.
  • Maintain HIPPA compliance with all communications.
  • Obtain accurate ICD-9 codes and process completed CMN's.
  • Include knowledge of ICD-9 codes and state fee schedules/usual and customary.
  • Code claims using the CPT and ICD-9-CM coding systems appropriate at the time.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Medicare specialist vs medical coder skills

Common medicare specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Patients, 9%
  • Health Insurance, 9%
  • CMS, 7%
  • CPT, 7%
  • Appeals, 6%
Common medical coder skills
  • CPC, 11%
  • Medical Terminology, 8%
  • ICD-10-CM, 7%
  • AHIMA, 7%
  • Patients, 7%
  • Clinical Documentation, 5%

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