Trying to get a Medical Billing Job at Nursing Home

by Kay
(Michigan)

I don’t have any health care experience what so ever. I’ve been out school for a year with no internship. Any advice to get my foot in the door for a medical billing job in a nursing home?

Response:
Kay,

If you don’t have any experience in medical billing or coding when applying for a job, I would emphasize any experience or skills that would apply to medical billing such as:

Math skills – Medical billing specialists have to figure out write-offs, co-pays and coinsurance, deductibles, etc. so basic math skills are important.

Attention to detail – Promote your skills experience that involve accuracy and the importance of details in your work.

Dealing with the public – Answering patient questions about their bills and

Insurance experience – Any experience in insurance – even if it wasn’t health insurance could be beneficial. Detail in your resume all of your responsibilities. If you have a good understanding of managed health care or Medicare you will want to emphasize that.

Phone and communication skills – When you have to communicate with insurance companies, patients, and healthcare providers.

Medical terminology or coding knowledge – Any experience or familiarity should be mentioned.

Accounting skills – Billers have to be able to understand how deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance work, and how to post payments to a patient’s account.

Computer skills – Just about all billing is done via software. Emphasize your ability to quickly learn new software applications and mention all the applications you have experience with. Also mention any office equipment you are experience with.

Data Entry – Billing specialists spend a lot of time entering codes, charges, payment, patient info, etc. into the medical claim software. Emphasize any similar work experience you have in this area.

Writing Skills – Medical billing specialists need to occasionally write appeal letters to insurance companies. They may also have to write “soft collections” letters to patients on past due accounts.

Electronic Health Records – Familiarize yourself with EHR/EMR because electronic health/medical records are becoming a big deal to providers now.

Government regulations – Familiarity with the sometimes complex requirements of Medicare or HIPAA privacy and security requirements.

Create Reports – Billers frequently have to create reports in the medical billing software that show things like accounts receivable or practice analysis that are used by a practice or facility to see how they are getting paid and how efficient the billing is.

Hope this helps – Good luck!

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