How To Become A Senior Billing Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior billing specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Senior billing specialists are responsible for executing monthly billing cycle activities including pre-bill distribution, invoice processing, e-billing set-up, submission, revision, and dispute resolution. They manage inquiries from clients and ensure they are addressed in a timely manner and appropriately resolved. They also design and implement internal controls and processes while assisting in month-end and other periodic close reconciliations.

Senior billing specialists earn an average salary of $62,000 annually or $30 per hour. Their duties include performing weekly and monthly billing functions, ensuring billing is completed in a timely and accurate manner. They assist with the training, mentorship, and development of other members of the billing department as needed. They also review monthly financial, suspense, collections, commissions, and variance reports collaborating with billing specialists to take necessary action for correction.

Senior billing specialists typically hold a bachelor's or associate's degree in business, health care administration, accounting, or other related fields. They are expected to have proven experience as billing specialists. Some employers prefer candidates with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

ScoreSenior Billing SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,255

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.2

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.87%

Asian 7.57%

Black or African American 11.51%

Hispanic or Latino 17.80%

Unknown 4.39%

White 57.87%

Gender

female 83.80%

male 16.20%

Age - 47

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 - 47

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.6

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior billing specialist

Explore senior billing specialist education requirements

Most common senior billing specialist degrees

Bachelor's

41.1 %

Associate

27.9 %

High School Diploma

11.6 %

Start to develop specific senior billing specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	12.39%
CPT	5.00%
Billing Issues	4.95%
Billing System	4.79%
Data Entry	4.69%

Complete relevant senior billing specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior billing specialists 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 senior billing specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior billing specialist resumes.

Research senior billing specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage temporary and internship staff on Medicaid posting project.
Revamp updating process for ICD-9 codes to ensure that federal/state changes.
Code all claims interpret in EOMB's from Medicare & EOB from insurance companies.
Resolve incorrect insurance payments, EOB denials, and any issues with outstanding accounts.

Get senior billing specialist experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a senior billing specialist. The most common roles before becoming a senior billing specialist include billing specialist, customer service representative team lead and office manager.

Prepare your senior billing specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior billing specialist 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 senior billing specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable senior billing specialist resume templates

Build a professional senior billing specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior billing specialist resume.