Reimbursement specialist vs billing specialist

The differences between reimbursement specialists and billing specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a reimbursement specialist, becoming a billing specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a reimbursement specialist has an average salary of $38,273, which is higher than the $35,624 average annual salary of a billing specialist.

The top three skills for a reimbursement specialist include patients, customer service and appeals. The most important skills for a billing specialist are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Reimbursement specialist vs billing specialist overview

	Reimbursement Specialist	Billing Specialist
Yearly salary	$38,273	$35,624
Hourly rate	$18.40	$17.13
Growth rate	11%	-3%
Number of jobs	32,292	55,205
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	12	2

What does a reimbursement specialist do?

A reimbursement specialist is responsible for analyzing insurance documents, processing reimbursement claims, and releasing accurate billing statements for insurance claims. Reimbursement specialists must have excellent analytical skills, especially on performing clerical tasks to evaluate insurance cases, investigate cases, and update the account information of the clients on the database. They should also have impeccable communication skills and understanding of the insurance processes to be able to coordinate with the clients, explaining the procedures of their claims accurately, and coordinate with the insurance management to improve the claims processes.

What does a billing specialist do?

Billing specialists are accounting or finance employees who are responsible for sending out billing invoices to clients. They calculate charges that their clients have incurred. They then write bills, ensure that all details are correct, and send these out to clients. They also manage payment due dates and ensure that clients are duly reminded of such deadlines. Billing specialists also manage client accounts and ensure that they are paying on time. They help identify clients who have outstanding payables and send out collection notices to them. At times, billing specialists also manage the receipt of payments to manage account records better.

Reimbursement specialist vs billing specialist salary

Reimbursement specialists and billing specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Reimbursement Specialist	Billing Specialist
Average salary	$38,273	$35,624
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $49,000	Between $27,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Lynchburg, VA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Virginia	Delaware
Best paying company	Novartis	TIBCO Software
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Manufacturing

Differences between reimbursement specialist and billing specialist education

There are a few differences between a reimbursement specialist and a billing specialist in terms of educational background:

	Reimbursement Specialist	Billing Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Reimbursement specialist vs billing specialist demographics

Here are the differences between reimbursement specialists' and billing specialists' demographics:

	Reimbursement Specialist	Billing Specialist
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8%	Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 8.1% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 7.4% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between reimbursement specialist and billing specialist duties and responsibilities

Reimbursement specialist example responsibilities.

Manage the EDI clearinghouse rejections.
Process department payroll, order supplies, and manage petty-cash funds.
Manage use of various systems, such as MEDITECH, Cerner, WebNow, and yield-base follow-up tool.
Manage cases by aggressively directing the litigation process.
Negotiate fee structure for manage care contracts on acute and rehabilitation facilities.
Research medical coding ICD-9, ICD-10, HCPCS and CPT-4 to let client know the outcome of medical claim.

Billing specialist example responsibilities.

Use of QuickBooks to manage vendors' accounts, set up filing system to maintain files and supporting billing documents.
Manage the daily correspondence with keeping doctor/patient confidentiality under consideration along with HIPPA regulations.
Use independent judgment, manage and impart confidential information appropriately per HIPAA regulations and company requirements.
Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Provide additional information/clarification for insurance claims using knowledge of CPT, ICD-9, and HCPCS codes, as well as modifiers.
Assist staff with proper billing for patients, ensure proper coding using ICD-10, ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding.

Reimbursement specialist vs billing specialist skills

Common reimbursement specialist skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 9%
Appeals, 6%
CPT, 5%
Medicare, 4%
Medicaid, 4%

Common billing specialist skills

Patients, 16%
Customer Service, 10%
Data Entry, 9%
Medical Billing, 7%
Medicaid, 6%
CPT, 3%

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Reimbursement Specialist
Reimbursement Specialist vs Billing Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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