Patient accounts clerk vs insurance clerk

The differences between patient accounts clerks and insurance clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a patient accounts clerk and an insurance clerk. Additionally, an insurance clerk has an average salary of $33,089, which is higher than the $31,951 average annual salary of a patient accounts clerk.

The top three skills for a patient accounts clerk include patients, medical terminology and patient demographics. The most important skills for an insurance clerk are patients, insurance verification, and data entry.

Patient accounts clerk vs insurance clerk overview

	Patient Accounts Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Yearly salary	$31,951	$33,089
Hourly rate	$15.36	$15.91
Growth rate	-4%	-3%
Number of jobs	161,780	147,755
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 28%	High School Diploma, 29%
Average age	40	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a patient accounts clerk do?

A Patient Accounts Clerk is primarily in charge of computing, billing, and collecting payments in hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities. They may assist patients or families by answering inquiries, explaining payment procedures, and processing requests. Aside from serving as the point of contact regarding payment concerns, a patient accounts clerk is also responsible for liaising with health care providers and insurance companies, gathering and reviewing data for submissions, preparing and processing the necessary documents, and maintaining accurate records.

What does an insurance clerk do?

An insurance clerk usually works to process insurance, reinstatement, changes, or cancellations for a company or an individual account. They are responsible for monitoring, processing, and organizing different insurance claims for a client. They usually work closely with the company's insurance agent to provide necessary information to process the clients' application. This career requires a broad knowledge of local and state insurance policies, good attention to detail, excellent communication skills, customer service skills, and administrative skills.

Patient accounts clerk vs insurance clerk salary

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

	Patient Accounts Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Average salary	$31,951	$33,089
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $38,000	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 patient accounts clerk and insurance clerk education

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

	Patient Accounts Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 28%	High School Diploma, 29%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient accounts clerk vs insurance clerk demographics

Here are the differences between patient accounts clerks' and insurance clerks' demographics:

	Patient Accounts Clerk	Insurance Clerk
Average age	40	44
Gender ratio	Male, 13.9% Female, 86.1%	Male, 8.3% Female, 91.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 6.0% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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	7%	11%

Differences between patient accounts clerk and insurance clerk duties and responsibilities

Patient accounts clerk example responsibilities.

Develop and execute policies and procedures that effectively manage the information needs of the organization and always following HIPAA guidelines.
Research ICD-9 and CPT codes on reject claims.
Adhere to all company policies, processes and procedures in compliance with HIPPA.
Practice HIPAA compliant rules and regulations while updating the patient information and entering the charges.
Verify charges on claims and assign valid ICD-9 and CPT codes to ensure appropriate reimbursement.
Research, appeal and resolve claims, rejections and denials with Medicare, Medicaid and private insurances.

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.

Patient accounts clerk vs insurance clerk skills

Common patient accounts clerk skills

Patients, 24%
Medical Terminology, 14%
Patient Demographics, 9%
Customer Service, 8%
Data Entry, 7%
PBX, 4%

Common insurance clerk skills

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

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Accounts Clerk
Patient Accounts Clerk vs Insurance Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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