How To Become A Reimbursement Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a reimbursement analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Mark Evans

The primary role of a reimbursement analyst is to analyze patients' billing statements and make final decisions for reimbursement claims. This duty requires them to be impartial at all times and to uphold all company guidelines and standards when reviewing reimbursement requests.

The typical workday of a reimbursement analyst revolves around analyzing reimbursement requests, communicating with patients about their concerns, inspecting billing statements, and addressing financial discrepancies. They must also validate each claim carefully before approving or denying a claim, which requires a keen eye for detail.

If you want to become a reimbursement analyst, you would generally need to have a degree in business, accounting, healthcare administration, or another relevant field. More than that, you may need to have prior work experience, depending on the requirements of your prospective employer.

In terms of skills, the job of a reimbursement analyst entails the need for exemplary skills in analysis, communication, problem-solving, and time management. As for the salary, on the other hand, the average pay of a reimbursement analyst is around $32 an hour or about $66,000 per year.

What general advice would you give to a reimbursement analyst?

Dr. Mark Evans

Area Chair and Dale K. Cline Associate Dean for Accountancy, Wake Forest University

Add value beyond what you are asked to do. Take ownership of your work. Volunteer for the most difficult jobs and clients.

ScoreReimbursement AnalystUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $65,489

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.24%

Asian 8.41%

Black or African American 9.87%

Hispanic or Latino 16.45%

Unknown 4.18%

White 59.86%

Gender

female 72.63%

male 27.37%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.6

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a reimbursement analyst

Explore reimbursement analyst education requirements

Most common reimbursement analyst degrees

Bachelor's

62.3 %

Associate

18.3 %

Master's

9.9 %

Start to develop specific reimbursement analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	10.98%
Medicare	6.55%
Medicaid	6.55%
Home Health	4.86%
Appeals	4.74%

Complete relevant reimbursement analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New reimbursement analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a reimbursement analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real reimbursement analyst resumes.

Research reimbursement analyst duties and responsibilities

Cultivate relationships with key contacts at insurance companies and manage care organizations, CMS and medical professional societies.
Contract interpretation and enforcement of the agreement with multiple medical insurance companies through written and oral appeals is accomplished daily.
Coordinate third party audits, defend preferential reporting practices and maintain current knowledge of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement regulations.
Update Meditech charge master with correct pharmacy pricing and HCPCS codes.

Prepare your reimbursement analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your reimbursement analyst resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a reimbursement analyst resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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