how to become a health insurance specialist

• Medical Insurance Claims Specialist
• Medical Insurance Billing Specialists
• Insurance Underwriters
• Medical Coding Specialists
• Health Informatics Data Analysts

The insurance industry offers many great career options for healthcare management graduates and current healthcare managers. These positions are ideal for people who are knowledgeable in such areas as finance, accounting, and economics. Although there are many different types of career options in this area, some of the most popular options are briefly described in the following sections.

Medical Insurance Claims Specialists

One career option in the insurance industry that is available to healthcare management grads is to become a medical insurance claims specialist. Also known as health insurance claims specialists, medical claims specialists are responsible for collecting and processing information that is needed for health insurance claims. Other tasks they are often responsible for include resolving billing problems, investigating pending claims, resolving discrepancies, and answering customer questions. These professionals can be found working for insurance companies, hospitals, or other healthcare providers.

Medical Insurance Billing Specialists

Another great insurance career for healthcare managers is that of a medical insurance billing specialist. Similar to claims specialists, medical insurance billing specialists also handle medical insurance claims but they go one step further to ensure that all essential services are covered. These professionals must have knowledge of medical coding so that they can enter patients’ information into their employers’ medical billing software. Many billing specialists are also responsible for such tasks as posting insurance payments, billing patients for services not covered by insurance, and handling denied claims and claim appeals.

Insurance Underwriters

A career in the insurance industry that is growing in popularity today among healthcare management graduates involves insurance underwriting. Insurance underwriters are essential to insurance companies in that their main responsibilities are determining risks when evaluating insurance applications, calculating appropriate premium quotes, and preparing the terms and conditions of insurance policies. Persons who choose this career path will need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and must have excellent knowledge in such areas as accounting, economics, finance, and management. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for insurance underwriters in 2018 was just over $69,000 per year.

Medical Coding Specialists

Before insurance claims can be processed, healthcare information must be converted into standardized coding. This is the main job of medical coding specialists. These professionals ensure that such things as medical procedures, patients’ health conditions, and prescriptions are properly coded so that insurance claims specialists can process claims efficiently. These professionals can typically be found working in such places as public and private hospitals, nursing homes, doctors’ offices, and various other healthcare facilities. This is a great career in the insurance industry for healthcare management majors who have an eye for detail.

Health Informatics Data Analysts

Choosing to become a health informatics data analyst is another terrific career choice for healthcare managers who would like to work in the insurance industry. Health informatics data analysts are responsible for many important tasks including gathering and interpreting healthcare data, automating internal and external medical reports, and presenting their information to top healthcare executives. The work that these professionals do helps medical facilities improve quality of care, maintain efficient data files in the form of electronic health records, reduce costs, and enhance patient experiences. These individuals are employed by a variety of medical facilities, insurance companies, health information technology companies, and various government agencies.

The insurance industry is an essential segment of the healthcare industry. And for healthcare managers or graduates who have earned a healthcare management degree, positions in the insurance industry can provide them with careers that pay well and are growing in demand.