Thinking about becoming a medical biller but not sure what you’d actually be doing all day? I get this question constantly from people considering a career change. The job descriptions online make it sound either incredibly boring or impossibly complex. The reality? It’s neither.
Medical Biller DAY IN THE LIFE (Saturday Billing Routine)
by Medical Billing Maven
Ever wondered what a day in the life of a medical biller is like? In this video, I take you through my Saturday billing routine to give you an inside look at what medical billers actually do during their workday. You'll see the real tasks, challenges, and workflow that make up a typical day in medical billing.
After talking to dozens of medical billers across different healthcare settings, I’ve put together this realistic look at what your days would actually look like. No sugar-coating, no scare tactics – just the real deal.
👋 Meet Sarah
Throughout this article, I’ll follow Sarah, a medical biller with 2 years of experience at a family medicine practice. She started as a complete career changer from retail management and now handles billing for about 8 providers.
The Morning Routine: Getting Your Day Started
🌅 7:45 AM - Before the Chaos
Sarah arrives 15 minutes early – not because she has to, but because those quiet minutes help her organize her day. She grabs coffee, checks her email for any urgent messages from insurance companies, and reviews her task list from yesterday.
The first hour of most medical billers’ days looks pretty similar:
📧 Check Overnight Messages
- • Insurance company emails about claim issues
- • Patient payment confirmations from online portal
- • Automated reports from billing software
- • Messages from providers about billing questions
📋 Review Daily Priorities
- • Claims that need to be submitted today
- • Follow-ups on denied claims
- • Patient calls to return
- • End-of-month reports (if applicable)
⚠️ Reality Check
Your first few months will feel overwhelming. There’s a lot to learn, and you’ll be slower than experienced billers. That’s completely normal! Most practices understand this and will give you time to get up to speed.
Mid-Morning: The Heart of Medical Billing
Core Daily Activities
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Claim Processing Time
This is when Sarah does her heaviest concentration work. The office is busy with patients, but she’s focused on turning yesterday’s patient visits into clean insurance claims.
What Claim Processing Actually Looks Like:
Step 1: Review the Encounter
Sarah opens the electronic health record and reviews what happened during the patient’s visit. What did the doctor do? What diagnosis was made? Were any procedures performed?
Step 2: Verify Insurance Information
Is the patient’s insurance still active? Any changes since their last visit? This prevents claims from being rejected for outdated information.
Step 3: Code Assignment & Review
The coding might be done by someone else, but Sarah reviews it to make sure everything matches up correctly before the claim goes out.
Step 4: Submit the Claim
Submit electronically to insurance, double-check that it went through, and document everything in the patient’s account.
📊 Real Numbers:
An experienced medical biller like Sarah can process about 15-25 clean claims per hour. New billers typically start at 8-12 per hour and build up speed over time.
Afternoon: Problem-Solving and Patient Communication
After lunch, the focus shifts from creating new claims to solving problems with existing ones.
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM: The Detective Work Begins
Following Up on Claim Denials
This is where medical billing gets interesting. Sarah receives denial reports from insurance companies and has to figure out why claims were rejected and how to fix them.
Common Denial Reasons:
- • Missing or incorrect patient information
- • Services not covered by patient’s plan
- • Missing prior authorization
- • Duplicate claim submission
Patient Billing Questions
Sarah spends about an hour each day on the phone with patients who have questions about their bills, need payment plans, or don’t understand their insurance benefits.
The Phone Calls That Make a Difference
💬 Real Conversation Example
”Mrs. Johnson, I see you’re confused about this $150 charge. Let me explain what happened. Your insurance covers 80% of the office visit after your $25 copay, but this was coded as a preventive visit which has different coverage rules. Let me call your insurance and see if we can get this corrected.”
This is actually one of the most rewarding parts of the job for many billers – helping patients understand confusing medical bills and sometimes saving them money by catching billing errors.
Late Afternoon: Wrapping Up and Planning Ahead
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM: End-of-Day Tasks
📝 Daily Closing Routine
- ✓Payment Posting: Enter any insurance payments that came in today
- ✓Follow-up Documentation: Update notes on claims that are pending
- ✓Tomorrow’s Priority List: Flag urgent items for the next day
- ✓Clean Up Workspace: Organize desk and secure any paperwork
What Makes This Job Challenging (And Rewarding)
😤 The Challenging Parts
- • Constant Learning: Insurance rules change frequently
- • Detail-Oriented: Small mistakes can cause big problems
- • Sometimes Stressful: Dealing with upset patients about money
- • Technology Dependent: Software glitches can ruin your day
😊 The Rewarding Parts
- • Problem Solving: Like detective work with puzzles to solve
- • Helping People: Saving patients money on medical bills
- • Job Security: Healthcare always needs billing done
- • Growth Potential: Clear path to advance your career
Work Environment and Company Culture
Where Medical Billers Actually Work
🏥 Medical Practices
Close-knit teams, direct provider interaction, variety of cases
🏢 Billing Companies
Larger teams, specialized roles, higher volume
🏠 Remote Work
Work from home, flexible schedule, self-directed
A Typical Week: Beyond the Daily Routine
While every day has similar core tasks, the week brings variety:
Monday: Fresh Start
Process weekend submissions, handle urgent issues that came up over the weekend
Wednesday: Mid-Week Reports
Review aging reports, follow up on claims over 30 days old
Friday: Week Wrap-Up
Prepare reports for management, clean up loose ends, plan next week
What Sarah Wishes She’d Known Before Starting
— Sarah, 2 years experience“I thought medical billing would be mostly data entry. The reality is it’s much more problem-solving and customer service than I expected. Some days I feel like a detective trying to figure out why a claim was denied. Other days I’m like a counselor helping a stressed patient understand their bill.”
Is This the Right Career for You?
After seeing what a typical day really looks like, you might be wondering if medical billing is a good fit for your personality and goals.
You Might Love Medical Billing If You:
- • Enjoy solving puzzles and problems
- • Like helping people navigate complex systems
- • Want a stable career in healthcare
- • Prefer behind-the-scenes work
- • Are detail-oriented and organized
- • Can handle some repetitive tasks
- • Want opportunities to advance
- • Like learning new things regularly
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Next Steps: Getting Started in Medical Billing
If this day-in-the-life sounds appealing to you, here’s what most successful career changers do next:
Most employers prefer some formal training, whether that's a certificate program, associate degree, or professional certification.
Medical Billing Certification ProgramsThe medical billing field offers a stable career path with room for growth, reasonable work-life balance, and the satisfaction of helping both healthcare providers and patients. If this behind-the-scenes detective work appeals to you, it might just be the career change you’ve been looking for.
Remember, every expert was once a beginner. Sarah started with zero healthcare experience and now she’s training new hires. With the right preparation and mindset, you could be doing the same thing in a couple of years.