Outpatient clerk vs insurance clerk

The differences between outpatient clerks and insurance clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an outpatient clerk, becoming an insurance clerk takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an insurance clerk has an average salary of $33,089, which is higher than the $32,917 average annual salary of an outpatient clerk.

The top three skills for an outpatient clerk include patients, schedule appointments and data entry. The most important skills for an insurance clerk are patients, insurance verification, and data entry.

Outpatient clerk vs insurance clerk overview

	Outpatient Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Yearly salary	$32,917	$33,089
Hourly rate	$15.83	$15.91
Growth rate	-5%	-3%
Number of jobs	71,739	147,755
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 29%	High School Diploma, 29%
Average age	47	44
Years of experience	2	4

Outpatient clerk vs insurance clerk salary

Outpatient clerks and insurance clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outpatient Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Average salary	$32,917	$33,089
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $42,000	Between $27,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	-	Henderson, NV
Highest paying state	-	New Hampshire
Best paying company	-	Lenoir Memorial Hospital
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between outpatient clerk and insurance clerk education

There are a few differences between an outpatient clerk and an insurance clerk in terms of educational background:

	Outpatient Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 29%	High School Diploma, 29%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	-

Outpatient clerk vs insurance clerk demographics

Here are the differences between outpatient clerks' and insurance clerks' demographics:

	Outpatient Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Average age	47	44
Gender ratio	Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6%	Male, 8.3% Female, 91.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 13.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 3.9% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	6%	11%

Differences between outpatient clerk and insurance clerk duties and responsibilities

Outpatient clerk example responsibilities.

Manage confidential patient information according to HIPPA guidelines.
File Medicare, follow-up insurance claims, prepare Medicaid logs.
Provide proper CPT codes to outside facilities so that prior authorization can be obtain for the correct exams.
Develop and maintain databases for radiology protocol.
Determine existence of previous registration and/or update insurance and demographic information for patients.
Interact with patients to acquire insurance information, payment arrangements and any other necessary information.

Insurance clerk example responsibilities.

Manage front office check-in, insurance verification and certifications from doctors.
Establish and implement procedures for completion of patient super bills with proper diagnostic coding utilizing ICD-9 and CPT code manuals.
Maintain patient medical records insuring diagnosis codes (ICD-9) are itemized correctly and name and address of insurance carriers record.
Schedule and obtain authorization for outpatient procedures for patients via private insurance, worker's compensation, and Medicare/ Medicaid.
Complete several ICD-10 training courses.
Perform medical coding with most accurate and descriptive HCPCS code.

Outpatient clerk vs insurance clerk skills

Common outpatient clerk skills

Patients, 23%
Schedule Appointments, 11%
Data Entry, 11%
Insurance Eligibility, 9%
Direct Phone Calls, 8%
Departmental Policies, 6%

Common insurance clerk skills

Patients, 25%
Insurance Verification, 7%
Data Entry, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Insurance Coverage, 5%
Computer System, 3%