What can affect the medical biller’s and coders’ salaries?
Medical billers and coders are playing an essential role in the healthcare field. For example, physicians and nurses wouldn’t receive repayments without their job of translating patient details into codes and then submitting those codes to payers. So if you’re fascinated by joining the medical field, it’s essential to know how much salary you can make as a medical biller and coder.
Medical billing and coding careers fall under the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics category of medical records and medical detail specialists. According to the BLS, the annual median salary for this field is $44,000.
Of course, the salary can differ, and various components can affect your salary. However, BLS says that the job outlook for medical billing and coding is strong, and demand is very high in healthcare organizations.
You have to keep in mind that medical billers and coders are different employees, and share their skills among them, and are doing reimbursements in different ways. Generally, medical coders typically have a higher salary than medical billers.
Firstly we see what can be the job description of medical billers and coders.
Medical coders allocate codes to each part of a patient’s care, using three main code sets, CPT, ICD, and HCPCS. Medical records can be complicated, and medical coding summarizes the codes to make the medical billing process better.
Medical billers use the codes to make invoices for patients and insurance agencies. The biller’s job is to confirm that medical care providers are making the payments. At some organizations, the same person does both medical billing and coding, but when it comes to large organizations, mostly there maybe two employees for these two job roles. Coders and billers work primarily with numbers. Accuracy is most important because even a tiny mistake can delay the payment by the insurance agency.
What can be the work environment of medical billers and coders?
Medical billers and coders are employing in hospitals, clinics, physicians’ offices, insurance agencies, and medical billing organizations. As I said before, some employees can work in small offices, while others engage in much larger companies. Coders and billers spend much of their work time in front of a computer screen. They may ask co-workers about documents. They may be on a phone call, speaking with medical care providers and insurance agencies.
Medical coders and billers may be full-time workers or part-time workers, depending on their employer. There are many opportunities for part-time medical billing jobs from home if the employee has better internet access and phone service. Some medical billers and coders work on a contract basis, providing services to a customer for a specified amount of time before working for another customer.
Salary and Job Outlook of medical billers and coders
Medical billers’ and coders’ salaries may differ roughly by the employer and geographic area. Here are examples of job titles in the industry, shown with average salaries:
Annual salary, based on full-time employment
- Medical Billing Clerk — $37,388
- Medical Billing Specialist — $39,830
- Enrollment and Billing Director — $132,900
- Medical Billing Supervisor — $58,170
- Medical Records Coding Manager — $67,867
- Enrollment and Billing Supervisor — $64,100
- Coding Compliance Specialist — $59,428
- Medical Records Coding Technician — $41,610
- Billing Systems Manager — $111,400
- Enrollment and Billing Manager — $89,242
According to the U.S. BLS data, career extension for the medical records and health information field will be 14 percent through 2026, which is faster than average than all other jobs. In addition, as the population ages, the demand for workers in all aspects of the health care field is expected to increase.
Medical billers’ and coders’ salaries can depend on different factors such as state, job experience, specializations, and certifications.
-
Where You Live
There is an old saying that, “Location is everything”? But, unfortunately, when it comes to medical billers and medical coders’ salaries, your living place and work aren’t everything, but they affect you.
The difference in salary according to location has many reasons. First, the living cost depends on your living area. Second, population and, therefore, collecting people who need medical care can also impact medical care organizations’ salaries.
According to BLS data, the West Coast offers the highest median salaries for health records and medical information professionals, including billers and coders. Conversely, Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee have the lowest median wages for these positions.
-
Certificates adding an extra value for medical billers and coders salary
According to the AAPC data, a non-certified medical biller’s and coder’s annual salary is nearly $40,000, while a certified one is $55,900. If you have two certifications, it increases the wage up to $65,000. Therefore, having more qualifications helps to have a better salary for medical billing and coding specialists.
Earning certifications and qualifications affect your salary in several ways. First, certificates verify your skills, possibly making you more competitive for careers—including high-paying positions. “If you have coding qualifications, that looks good on your resume,” explains a lecturer of medical coding institute.
Secondly, certifications and qualifications can move you up the pay scale, no matter your starting salary.
Some qualifications are very distinct and reveal your skills to fill job places. For example, certifications in eye specialists are incredibly specialized, and not many coders earn these qualifications. However, that commonly transfer into higher salary for positions that need this job training and education.
-
Where you work
However, the authority and daily work are similar for medical billers and coders no matter their workplace, and the work type impacts the salary. After all, as a medical biller or medical coder, you might be qualified to work in all kinds of medical care amenities. Remember, you’ll need to customize your education depending on where you work because coding systems differ amongst medical care environments.
Health practices and hospitals pay a higher salary for billers and coders. However, medical and symptomatic laboratory salaries are a little less than hospitals and medical procedures. Median wages are lowest in doctor’s offices and outpatient health care centers.
A lot of medical billers and coders work from home. These professions can be remote jobs for organizations like a hospital or clinic, working for an independent organization that assists healthcare facilities, or as an independent jobber who works straight with medical care organizations. As a result, pay in these work-from-home situations may not directly match the overall tendency.
Before you start to work from home, review the salary of others makes doing the same job in your area.
-
Your pay structure
When starting your career as a medical biller or a medical coder, you may have a salary as an hourly employee or salaried employee. When you work hourly, you will require time in and out to work your hours carefully.
Generally, medical billers and coders who work more than 40 hours a week may have a high salary. This increase comes from hourly workers who receive overtime, which is usually 1.5 times the hourly rate.
Organizations favor avoiding paying overtime, so this situation is more likely to work when a company conflicts with hiring plenty of medical billers and coders to achieve requirements.
Some medical billers and coders with salaried positions work more than 42 hours. Therefore, companies that assume salaried employees to put in more than 40 hours a week may pay accordingly by giving a higher salary.
Independent medical billers and coders, and those who work for outsourcing companies that work for healthcare companies, may have a salary of a different kind. Other standard pay arrangements involve per-case or per-claim or a set percentage of the cost you claim.
Do medical billers have a good salary?
Generally, the median salary for medical records technicians and health information technicians in 2020 was nearly $45,000, according to the BLS data. However, salary details imply that medical billers and coders who have additional qualifications may have higher earnings.
What are the seven most popular medical coding companies in the U.S.?
Change Healthcare, Ensemble Health Partners, GoHealth Urgent Care, Mercy Health, Indiana University Health, Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida, and Atrium Health are famous medical coding companies.
