Tina Berchem
Bakersfield,CA
Summary
Medical Biller/Insurance Collector with a proven work ethic that delivers outstanding customer service. Skill Highlights 25+ years’ experience in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment Excel in Medical Billing, Patient Registration, Insurance Collector with outstanding customer service.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Lead Medical Biller
Rajan Goyal, MD
Bakersfield, CA
04.2025 - 02.2026
- Oversaw billing operations, ensuring compliance with regulations and accuracy in claims submissions.
- Implemented process improvements that reduced claim denials, optimizing revenue cycle management.
- Collaborated with healthcare providers to resolve payment discrepancies, fostering relationships and improving cash flow.
- Mentored junior billers on best practices and system usage, promoting professional development within the team.
- Monitored changes in insurance policies, keeping abreast of updates affecting medical billing procedures and informing staff accordingly.
- Secured timely reimbursements from insurers through persistent appeals of denied claims backed up with detailed evidence supporting each case made.
- Streamlined claim submission processes for faster reimbursements, collaborating with insurance companies on a regular basis.
- Enhanced revenue collection with consistent follow-ups on outstanding accounts and negotiating payment plans when necessary.
- Developed efficient billing workflows to reduce turnaround time for processing claims.
- Assisted patients in understanding their medical bills, addressing concerns and clarifying any confusion regarding charges or insurance coverage.
- Resolved complex billing issues by conducting thorough research, working closely with insurance providers to reach favorable outcomes for both parties involved.
- Posted payments and collections on regular basis.
- Collected payments and applied to patient accounts.
- Reviewed patient records, identified medical codes, and created invoices for billing purposes.
- Prepared billing statements for patients and verified correct diagnostic coding.
- Responded to customer concerns and questions on daily basis.
- Audited and corrected billing and posting documents for accuracy.
- Analyzed billing data to identify trends, providing insights for strategic decision-making and operational enhancements.
Medical Billing Specialist
San Joaquin General Hospital
Stockton, CA
04.2024 - 11.2025
- Processed and submitted medical claims to insurance providers efficiently and accurately.
- Reviewed patient records for completeness and compliance with billing regulations.
- Collaborated with healthcare providers to resolve billing discrepancies and patient inquiries.
- Analyzed billing data to identify trends, ensuring timely follow-up on outstanding claims.
- Communicated with insurance providers to resolve denied claims and resubmitted.
- Posted and adjusted payments from insurance companies.
- Assisted patients with understanding their medical bills and provided clarification on complex insurance issues, promoting a positive customer experience.
- Located errors and promptly refiled rejected claims.
- Identified and resolved patient billing and payment issues.
- Examined patients' insurance coverage, deductibles, insurance carrier payments and remaining balances not covered under policies when applicable.
- Ensured timely submission of claims to various insurance carriers, resulting in prompt payment for services rendered.
- Managed patient accounts effectively, resolving discrepancies and addressing outstanding balances in a timely manner.
- Enhanced revenue collection through diligent follow-up on unpaid claims and denials with insurance companies.
- Precisely evaluated and verified benefits and eligibility.
- Provided exceptional customer service to both patients and insurance representatives, resolving inquiries quickly and professionally.
Insurance Collector
Omni Family Health Care
Bakersfield, CA
06.2023 - 11.2023
- Reviewed Aging and Denial Reports.
- Reviewed claims for accuracy and corrected incorrect claim submissions.
- Resubmitted claims with documentation to support medical necessity and timely filing. Verification of eligibility and benefits, Reviewed authorizations for correct date(s), procedure(s) and diagnosis code(s).
- Compiled and submitted appeals with documentation to support claim processing and payment. Submitted Medicare re-openings by phone and Noridian website when applicable.
Senior Collections Specialist
Hall Ambulance Service/ Under Contract with Creative Financial Staffing
Bakersfield, CA
02.2022 - 10.2022
- Senior Collections Lead of 6 member team specializing in ambulance billing and coding. Oversaw the preparation of statements and bills. Maintained and ensured maintenance of client records related to invoicing and bill payment. Reviewed work of billing staff to ensure accuracy, resolving inconsistencies as needed. Created and provided a prioritized list of clients to be invoiced to team members. Set goals for performance and deadlines in a way that complied with company plans and vision. Organized workflows and ensured that employees understood their duties or delegated tasks.
- Monitored employee productivity and provided constructive feedback and coaching.
Patient Registration Clerk
Memorial Hospital/Dignity Health/ Under Contract with United Healthcare Group
Bakersfield, CA
07.2021 - 02.2022
- Greet Patient upon arrival to hospital for services. Collect accurate patient demographic and insurance information. Obtain insurance information, verification of eligibility and benefits. Correctly registering patients into the system based on procedure to be performed and department. Assisting patients to procedure locations within the hospital. Answering and addressing incoming phone calls from patients and other various sources. Maintaining professional relations with all patients and staff. Follow up with patients within the hospital upon direct admit for registration completion. Ability to adapt to assist in other admission departments as needed. Ability to multitask in a high volume environment.
Insurance Verification Clerk
Pain Institute of Central California
Bakersfield, CA
04.2020 - 07.2021
- Verification of patient Insurance eligibility and benefits with insurance carriers, by phone and through online websites. Collection of patient deductible, co-ins, copay payments along with out of pocket expenses. Audited new patient files to verify medical necessity and satisfaction of coverage criteria. Confirmed Coordination of Benefits (COB). Confirmed Usual customary rates (UCR) per contractual agreements. Established patients financial status and payment plans. Communicated with patients via phone, email and in person to obtain payments on outstanding balances. Reviewed authorizations for accuracy relating to service date(s), procedure code(s), and diagnostic code(s).
Billing Specialist
Medica Billing Solutions
Bakersfield, CA
05.2019 - 11.2019
- Reviewed Aging and Denial Reports. Reviewed claims for accuracy and corrected incorrect claim submissions.
- Resubmitted claims with documentation to support medical necessity and timely filing. Verification of eligibility and benefits. Reviewed authorizations for correct date(s), procedure(s) and diagnosis code(s). Compiled and submitted appeals with documentation to support claim processing and payment.Submitted Medicare re-openings by phone and Noridian website when applicable.
Billing Specialist
Centric Health Care
Bakersfield, CA
10.2016 - 05.2019
- Worked Aging Report with specifics on patient balances. Researched patient accounts with reimbursements of 90 days or more in arrears status monthly. Reviewed and approved patient statements prior to monthly mailing.
- Reviewed and approved patient accounts for accuracy exhausting all efforts to obtain payment prior to submission to collections agency. Review and explain insurance plans to patients to ensure understanding of patient responsibility for payment. Set up payment plans with patients to assist in meeting financial responsibility. Improved Timely payment of unpaid patient balances by developing flexible and revolving payment arrangements. Performed regular telephone contact with both patients to discuss reimbursement process to ensure account resolution.
Billing Specialist
Physician Network Billing
Bakersfield, CA
09.2012 - 10.2016
- Daily posting of charges for multiple practices. Posted payments from both electronic and mail payments.
- Precisely completed appropriate claims paperwork, documentation and system entry. Correctly coded and billed medical claims for various Ophthalmologists. Verified patients' eligibility and claims status with insurance agencies. Accurately selected proper descriptive code when more than one anatomical location was indicated. Reviewed, analyzed and managed coding of diagnostic and treatment procedures contained in medical records. Researched CPT and ICD-9 coding discrepancies for compliance and reimbursement accuracy. Resourcefully used various coding books, procedure manuals and online Encoders. Accurately posted and sent out all medical claims. Submitted electronic/paper claims documentation for timely filing.
- Posted and Adjusted payments from insurance companies. Identified and resolved patient billing and payment issues. Confidently and adeptly handled claim denials and/or appeals. Evaluated the patient's financial status and Established appropriate payment plans.
Education
Nursing Prerequisites
San Joaquin Delta College
Stockton, CAAssociate of Arts - Medical Assistant II
MTI Business College
Stockton, CA04-1994
Skills
- Excel Medicare Audits
- Cerner (10 years)
- Adept multi-tasker
- Composed and professional Disease Systems
- Close attention to detail (10 years)
- Excellent verbal communication (10 years)
- Quality assurance
- Filing/Editing patient charts
- Online Claim submission
- MediAnalytics (10 years)
- Records maintenance professional
- Nextgen (10 years)
- Excellent Problem Solver Insurance Carriers (10 years)
- Familiar with Commercial and Private
- Resourceful and reliable worker (10 years)
- Insurance and collections procedures (10 years)
- Understands insurance benefits (10 years)
- HIPPA Compliance (10 years)
- MS4
- Allscript
- Athena
- HCPCS Coding Guidelines
- Billing and collection procedures expert
- ICD-10 International Classification of
- Proficient with medical terminology
- CPT Coding
- ICD-9
- Medical Billing (10 years)
- Insurance Verification (10 years)
- Medical Coding
- EMR Systems (10 years)
- Medical Scheduling
- Transcription
- Medical Records
- Anatomy Knowledge
- Auditing
- Hospital Experience (2 years)
- Clerical Experience (10 years)
- Experience Administering Injections
- Epic (10 years)
- ICD Coding
- Phone Etiquette (10 years)
- Laboratory Experience
- Medical Office Experience (10 years)
- ICD-10
- HIPAA
- Documentation review
- Medical office experience
- Medical terminology
- Anatomy knowledge
- Revenue cycle management
- Medical coding
- Medical records
- ICD coding
- Accounts receivable
- EMR systems
- Clerical experience
- Hospital experience
- Customer service
- Leadership
- Supervising experience
- Medical billing
- CPT coding
- Communication skills
- Organizational skills
- EHR systems
- Typing
- Windows
- Microsoft Office
Certification
- Driver's License
- Assessments
- Work style: Professionalism — Proficient June 2021 Tendency to be accountable, professional, open to feedback, and act with integrity at work Full results: Proficient
- Protecting patient privacy — Proficient May 2022 Understanding privacy rules and regulations associated with patient records Full results: Proficient
- Medical billing — Proficient November 2022 Understanding the procedures and forms used for medical billing Full results: Proficient
- Indeed Assessments provides skills tests that are not indicative of a license or certification, or continued development in any professional field.
Timeline
Lead Medical Biller
Rajan Goyal, MD
04.2025 - 02.2026
Medical Billing Specialist
San Joaquin General Hospital
04.2024 - 11.2025
Insurance Collector
Omni Family Health Care
06.2023 - 11.2023
Senior Collections Specialist
Hall Ambulance Service/ Under Contract with Creative Financial Staffing
02.2022 - 10.2022
Patient Registration Clerk
Memorial Hospital/Dignity Health/ Under Contract with United Healthcare Group
07.2021 - 02.2022
Insurance Verification Clerk
Pain Institute of Central California
04.2020 - 07.2021
Billing Specialist
Medica Billing Solutions
05.2019 - 11.2019
Billing Specialist
Centric Health Care
10.2016 - 05.2019
Billing Specialist
Physician Network Billing
09.2012 - 10.2016
Nursing Prerequisites
San Joaquin Delta College
Associate of Arts - Medical Assistant II
MTI Business College