Patient coordinator vs insurance coordinator

The differences between patient coordinators and insurance coordinators 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 coordinator and an insurance coordinator. Additionally, a patient coordinator has an average salary of $32,954, which is higher than the $32,788 average annual salary of an insurance coordinator.

The top three skills for a patient coordinator include patients, customer service and patient care. The most important skills for an insurance coordinator are patients, customer service, and insurance verification.

Patient coordinator vs insurance coordinator overview

	Patient Coordinator	Insurance Coordinator
Yearly salary	$32,954	$32,788
Hourly rate	$15.84	$15.76
Growth rate	-4%	-3%
Number of jobs	97,878	108,509
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	40	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a patient coordinator do?

A patient coordinator functions as the primary point of contact between health care professionals and patients in a medical facility. They mostly perform administrative tasks such as greeting visitors, answering calls, responding to inquiries, managing schedules, arranging appointments, processing payments, gathering information, and keeping records. Moreover, they assist in filling out forms, escorting patients to different rooms or offices, and setting treatment plans. Most importantly, they discuss and share necessary information with patients and families regarding medications, procedures, and proceeding care according to a physician's assessment.

What does an insurance coordinator do?

An insurance coordinator is responsible for evaluating and validating insurance information to verify claims and process the necessary claims resolutions for parties. Insurance coordinators submit claims statements timely to the insurance officers for review, coordinate with the clients for inquiries and updates, and reach out to medical institutions for accurate filing of payments. An insurance coordinator must have excellent communication and analytical skills to assess reports, resolve claims discrepancies, and escalate high-level complaints to the officers for immediate action.

Patient coordinator vs insurance coordinator salary

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

	Patient Coordinator	Insurance Coordinator
Average salary	$32,954	$32,788
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $41,000	Between $25,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Brockton, MA	Oakland, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	New Hampshire
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Health Care	Pharmaceutical

Differences between patient coordinator and insurance coordinator education

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

	Patient Coordinator	Insurance Coordinator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Patient coordinator vs insurance coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between patient coordinators' and insurance coordinators' demographics:

	Patient Coordinator	Insurance Coordinator
Average age	40	44
Gender ratio	Male, 11.2% Female, 88.8%	Male, 9.9% Female, 90.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 25.4% Asian, 6.2% White, 51.4% 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 coordinator and insurance coordinator duties and responsibilities

Patient coordinator example responsibilities.

Comply with HIPAA regulations by discreetly and professionally handling all patients private medical information.
Gather personal plus insurance information and perform thorough insurance breakdowns for patients.
Communicate directly with patients to obtain initial patient information and respond to inquiries.
Process and update HIPAA relate paperwork and other require institutional forms as necessary.
Obtain all necessary documentation prior to surgery such as proof of identification, copy of insurance and require insurance referrals.
Respond in writing to all grievances in accordance with CMS and DNV guidelines.

Insurance coordinator example responsibilities.

Verify patient dental insurance coverage and limitations with major private and business dental insurance providers as well as Medicaid and Medicare.
File to record patient demographics in numerous EMR systems and paper charts if applicable.
Prepare providers and staff for ICD-10 transition.
Post and reconcile all daily insurance, patient payments and transactions within the EMR system.
Experience in registration in healthcare, business office and physician billing, with reimbursement and collections.
Process all Medicare claims, explaining HMO changes to patients in detail and accurately documenting all benefits.

Patient coordinator vs insurance coordinator skills

Common patient coordinator skills

Patients, 30%
Customer Service, 11%
Patient Care, 6%
Patient Flow, 5%
Excellent Organizational, 4%
Check-In, 3%

Common insurance coordinator skills

Patients, 26%
Customer Service, 11%
Insurance Verification, 7%
Insurance Eligibility, 4%
Medicaid, 3%
Medical Terminology, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Patient Coordinator
Patient Coordinator vs Insurance Coordinator

Updated January 8, 2025

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