Are you considering a career in medical billing and coding?
In a medical office, billers and coders have an important job in the medical billing process: acting as the touchpoint between the healthcare provider and the payer (insurance company). Accurate billing and coding procedures ensure the medical facility is properly compensated, patient visits are documented correctly, and patients are billed correctly.
Exploring careers in medical billing and coding offers unique opportunities to enter a growing field with significant job satisfaction. Medical billing and coding can be a rewarding career choice, with more flexibility than several other medical professions.
Before you enroll in a training program, you will want to know what the job market looks like and how much you can expect in compensation. Understanding the diverse careers in medical billing and coding will help you gauge potential opportunities and salary ranges before committing to a program. We look at the job outlook for the foreseeable future, and what you can expect to do as a medical billing and coding professional.
What’s the Difference Between Medical Billing and Coding?
In some health care facilities, there can be overlap, where one person does both billing and coding. Often, this role is filled by employees from a specialized billing and coding company that provides outsourced services to healthcare facilities. In larger medical facilities, there might be two separate positions for billing and coding. Here are the basic differences in the two positions.
Medical Billing
Medical billers take the codes prepared by the medical coder and submit claims to the insurance company. They then follow up with both the insurance company and the patients to make sure the medical office is compensated properly, the patient is billed correctly, and timely payments are made.
Medical Coding
Medical coders transcribe a patient visit and physician’s treatment into a series of universally agreed-upon codes. These codes are used by health care providers, hospitals, insurance companies to create a record of a patient’s visit and submit an insurance claim. Each code has guidelines on how they can be used, so accuracy is essential.
Note: In the training program at Campus, formerly known as MTI College, students are trained for both medical billing and coding. Many students find employment with a billing and coding company soon after graduation, benefiting from comprehensive training that covers both essential skills.
Job Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that jobs for medical billers and coders will increase about 9% between 2023 and 2033, adding about 16,700 jobs in that time.[1] This slightly faster-than-average job growth indicates a robust future for professionals in this field, making careers in medical billing a stable choice.
Pay for Medical Billing and Coding
The hourly and average annual salary for coders and billers will vary by state, region, and city. The BLS has state and city data for medical records specialists here.
If you want to see real-time data for salary averages for medical billing and coding, here are links for leading jobs sites, and salary ranges for the Sacramento area.
Where Do Medical Billers Work?
Medical billers and coders primarily work for hospitals, outpatient care centers, and physician's offices. Additionally, many find opportunities in a billing and coding company that services multiple healthcare providers, expanding their career possibilities. There is an ongoing need for medical billing and coding professionals in healthcare facilities.
Why Work as a Medical Biller or Coder?
Rewarding work. Working as a medical biller allows you to correctly encode and bill a patient’s visit, which is then sent to the payer (insurance). By making sure the visits and procedures are written accurately, this can make a huge difference when it comes to the patient’s bill.
Flexible remote work options. Some medical billing and coding jobs allow for remote work. If you can get a job where you don’t have to commute, that’s a big plus.
Medical coders and billers are in demand. Healthcare workers are always needed, and the demand for certified billers and coders is steady. You will have good chances of finding a well-paying job as a fully-trained biller and coder.
Making a difference. Healthcare professionals get to make a direct impact on their local community. By working with patients in a medical office, you can make a positive impact on people’s well-being.
What Does the Future Hold for Medical Coding?
Medical coders will continue to be needed as the healthcare system grows. The future of medical coding looks bright, with technological advancements promising to enhance accuracy and efficiency in the field. Accurately transcribing each patient visit into universal codes is vital for insurance companies, medical offices, and the billing cycle.
What Factors Matter When Considering a Medical Billing and Coding Career?
There are pros and cons in a medical billing career. Some of the positives are: it's a good paying career where you can work for home, and you can get training and certification relatively quickly. You have a flexible schedule and can work anywhere. Some of the drawbacks are it can be a repetitive job, and to advance your salary you'll usually need to get more advanced certifications. Overall, it is a good job, especially for people who would prefer to work from home, and have a high degree of analytical and self-management skills.
Interested in Starting a Career as a Medical Biller and Coder?
With the future of medical coding promising new roles and technologies, now is a great time to enter this dynamic field. If working as a medical biller or coder sounds like an ideal job for you, Campus has a program that can give you the necessary training and preparation for certification. As the future of medical coding evolves, our curriculum is continuously updated to prepare you for the latest standards and technologies. Our Medical Billing and Coding Professional certification program is part of our Online category of programs. All coursework can be completed remotely from home, with faculty teaching remotely at our Sacramento campus.
Note: Campus currently teaches ICD-10-PCS codes in our medical billing and coding curriculum. ICD-10-PCS are procedure codes that hospitals use. As of 2022, IDC-11 codes will be the next coding standard implemented, but not for a few years. In the United States, a group that advises the Secretary of Health and Human Services has given an expected implementation year of 2025, but if a clinical modification is determined to be needed (similar to the ICD-10-CM), ICD-11 implementation might not begin until 2027.
This program prepares you to work as a medical biller and coder in 36 to 42 weeks (depending if you take day or night classes.) If you would like more information, fill out the contact form on this page, or contact us by calling (888) 675-2460. Our Admissions team can help you find out what types of financial aid is available.
[1] Note: The data provided above are from a source unaffiliated with Campus, are for informational purposes only and represent the employment field as a whole. They are not solely specific to Campus graduates and, by providing the above information, Campus makes no representation, direct or implied, or opinion regarding employability.