Exploring The Growing Career of Medical Billing And Coding

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has shown that the Medical Billing and Coding career field will rise by 9% by 2030. That is a higher increase than most other career fields you can go into.

But, you do not need to attend 8 years of school or have a master’s degree in medicine. You do have to have a postsecondary degree. But, if you know people, you may be able to get around that stipulation because experience means just as much or more.

What Is Medical Billing And Coding?

These two career paths are always talked about like they are one and the same, but the truth is that they are entirely different. The tasks are different, but they work together to take the information from the medical location, turn it into coding that the computers understand, and then send them to the insurance companies.

• Medical Coding – The coding task is the first step taken. They will take all the information from the medical office and convert it to code. Codes that the computer billing systems will recognize.
• Medical Billing – The billing section of the job is where they take the codes that have been produced and send them to the appropriate locations. Locations such as the insurance company and Medicaid or Medicare.

You can see how different the two jobs are, but you can also see how they need to be able to work together to create a billable invoice. If one of them messes up the process, the insurance companies will not pay the bill, and the patient will get a bill for the balance.

How Do You Become A Medical Billing And Coding Specialist

There are steps that you need to take to be able to become a certified medical billing and coding specialist. It is not as complicated as getting a pharmacy or medical practitioner diploma. Still, it does require some school and testing.

• High School Diploma
• Take a Medical Billing and Coding Specialist Course (which takes less than a year to complete)
• Pass certification tests
• Find employment

It is as simple as that. It takes less than a year to take the class, which can be done at a college, vocational school, or online. The hardest part is getting through the testing regime your state will require you to take. If you have paid attention during the classes and were able to do good on the test in class, you should be alright.

Just make sure that you take your time and read the questions carefully. Many of them will have some answers that sound good, but if you truly read the problem and answers, you will see how ridiculous some of them are.

What Salary Can You Expect?

If the demand for good Medical Billing and Coding Specialists continues to grow, the wages should go up from where they are. The thing is, though, that the salaries are not that bad when considering some of the other jobs you can get.

• Hourly – $21.75
• Annually – $45,240

These wages are the average amount you can expect to earn, depending on who you work for. Potentially, you could make more than this if you are good at your job. In this industry, as in all other career paths, the more knowledgeable you become on the topics and the codes, the more money you can make.

Conclusion

The process is not very hard or time-consuming, but it is a requirement. You must take the classes to pass the testing and get your certificate. Once you have that in hand, you are free to reach out and find someone to work for. The great thing about being a medical coding and billing specialist is that you can work from the comforts of your own home.

What can possibly be better than that?