Medical Billing Training – What Do Medical Billers Do?

You’ve probably heard or read a lot about medical billers and medical billing training and have considered it for a career, but you may not know what medical billers do. You may also have heard about medical coding but it’s a separate function from medical billing although it helps to have some knowledge of it.

Medical billers are responsible for collecting, posting and managing medical account payments for medical billing services, large doctors’ offices, hospitals or health facilities. A biller submits billing claims to health insurance companies and does all the follow up including phone calls to the insurance companies and to the patients. If there are any complaints from patients they handle those as well. They may often set up payment plans to help patients pay their bills on the remaining amount owed after health insurance claims are paid. These are some of the basic duties. Special billing software is used.

A high school diploma or GED is usually required by most companies with available jobs. Most would like the biller to have some medical billing training or even certification as a Medical Billing Specialist in some cases but that isn’t always the case. The more education a prospective biller has the higher the salary will likely be.

There are many ways to get medical billing training – courses, classes or programs through online schools or vocational schools and on-campus colleges, universities, trade schools, vocational schools or a combination of online courses and on campus courses. This can take anywhere from eight or nine months to 24 months depending on the training chosen.

Companies who hire will want you to be familiar with billing terminology. It is good to be somewhat familiar with codes although as a biller you won’t be doing any coding – that is done by the coder before any work gets to you.

You’ll need good computer and telephone skills for this job and the usual office equipment familiarity. Although most medical billers, medical billing assistants and specialists work in office settings, some do run their own businesses from home. In fact I know one woman who went from training on campus to a business at home. She started out with one or two clients, which took a little work to get and then got referrals from them and is slowly adding more.

Some billing companies work around the clock and on weekends and some keep 40-hour work weeks. Average salaries for medical billers run from starting at $8 to $10 an hour with little experience and on up to $35 an hour or more. Salary ranges are totally unique to each business and will depend on incoming experience and education. If you’re considering this field there is a lot to know before you commit to medical billing training or courses. You want to be aware of scams and know all the ways you can get your training cheap or even free.