Reimbursement specialist vs medical records clerk

The differences between reimbursement specialists and medical records clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a reimbursement specialist and a medical records clerk. Additionally, a reimbursement specialist has an average salary of $38,273, which is higher than the $32,491 average annual salary of a medical records clerk.

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

Reimbursement specialist vs medical records clerk overview

	Reimbursement Specialist	Medical Records Clerk
Yearly salary	$38,273	$32,491
Hourly rate	$18.40	$15.62
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	32,292	129,998
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Associate Degree, 29%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

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 medical records clerk do?

Medical records clerks are employees in hospitals or clinics who manage office records. They are in charge of creating, updating, and filing patient-related medical records and other related documents. They ensure that all documents are correctly filled out and labeled before storing them safely in their respective storage areas. They may also be in charge of digitizing forms for easier access to files and back up purposes. They ensure that medical records are exact and updated. Medical records clerks should be organized and must always be on top of all tasks related to patient or medical records.

Reimbursement specialist vs medical records clerk salary

Reimbursement specialists and medical records clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Reimbursement Specialist	Medical Records Clerk
Average salary	$38,273	$32,491
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $49,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Lynchburg, VA	Rochester, NY
Highest paying state	Virginia	Alaska
Best paying company	Novartis	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Health Care

Differences between reimbursement specialist and medical records clerk education

There are a few differences between a reimbursement specialist and a medical records clerk in terms of educational background:

	Reimbursement Specialist	Medical Records Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Associate Degree, 29%
Most common major	Business	Health Care Administration
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Reimbursement specialist vs medical records clerk demographics

Here are the differences between reimbursement specialists' and medical records clerks' demographics:

	Reimbursement Specialist	Medical Records Clerk
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
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, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 7.8% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between reimbursement specialist and medical records clerk 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.

Medical records clerk example responsibilities.

Manage transition from in-house transcription system to outsource transcription service.
Manage front office check-in, insurance verification and certifications from doctors.
Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Perform infant labs and update the system with results, triage incoming patients, perform necessary resuscitation to baby and mom.
Provide information to medical facilities and patients when necessary and respond to subpoenas and other general release of patient information.
Experience in CPT and ICD-10 coding.

Reimbursement specialist vs medical records clerk skills

Common reimbursement specialist skills

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

Common medical records clerk skills

Patients, 27%
Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 7%
Medical Terminology, 6%
HIPAA, 5%
Patient Care, 4%

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Reimbursement Specialist vs Medical Records Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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