What Does a Medical Biller Do?

Important Facts About Medical Billers

Education and Training

To work as a medical biller, you must be familiar with medical terminology and medical insurance codes. You also need excellent communication skills, customer service experience, and attention to detail. You should expect to work on the phone frequently and spend most of your time sitting at a desk.

You might want to complete a formal program in medical billing to gain the skills and knowledge necessary for this career. Certificate programs, a common option, usually take less than a year to complete. In some programs, you may also learn about medical coding, which is the process of assigning codes to medical procedures and other items found on a medical bill. While enrolled in a billing or coding program, you may take courses in medical vocabulary, human anatomy, medical coding, and insurance billing.

Salary Info and Job Outlook

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, www.bls.gov), the employment of medical records and health information technicians, including medical billers, is expected to grow by 7% between 2021 and 2031. The BLS also reported the median annual salary earned by such specialists as $46,660 in May 2021. The Bureau notes that billing and posting clerks employed by physicians' offices earned an average of $41,610 a year, while those who worked at hospitals averaged $43,290 annually in 2021.

Learn more about medical billing careers and associate degree options.