What is medical billing?
Medical billers focus on the process of submitting claims to health insurance providers and then following up to get paid for the services provided by a healthcare practitioner. It is an essential component of any healthcare organization’s financial management and a significant source of income for providers.
Medical Billing is not the same as Medical Coding, as commonly misinterpreted. Medical coding assigns standard codes to medical diagnoses and procedures to facilitate accurate billing and tracking.
Difference between Billing and Medical Coding
- Commonly, billers work with patients while coders don’t. A patient must exchange information with a biller. The biller’s job is to follow up on anything that is not going well with the client’s expenditures.
Medical billers submit insurance claims and send payments to accounts using the codes created by coders. Coders commonly work with health professionals.
- Medical billers are often independent, while medical coding is more of an alliance role. Coders need to collaborate with doctors, nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals to make codes, while billers can independently link different parties required to facilitate the billing process.
- In order to get hired, medical coders must have at least a bachelor’s degree in medical coding and billing. On the other hand, billers must possess a minimum of a high school diploma or its equivalent in general education (GED). An advantage would be an associate’s degree in finance or a certificate in the specialization.
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Conclusion
Despite billing and coding being independent processes, both are required for providers to be paid for healthcare services. Medical billers’ and coders’ pay may differ by geography, educational attainment, work experience, and employer.
