Medical billing and coding (employees, average, work from home, companies)
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I have signed up to take a class to learn how to do medical billing and coding. The first class was last night and was basically just orientation. It was led by a lady who worked for the college teaching the class, not the actual teacher.
Anyway, everything I've read says this is a growth industry. Is this true? I'm 43 and have worked mostly retail. The class had 16 people and the average age of the class was around 50. Is it common for older people to get into the field and will finding a job be hard. The medical field is very big in the area where I live.
A lot of medical transcriptionists (most of whom are over age 40) are going into the medical coding field because it pays by the hour and not "by the line." Most hospitals don't do their own transcription any more but send it out to companies to have it done. The companies who still do regular transcription pay their employees only 7 cents to 10 cents a line (which averages out to about $23,000 a year), and the others have moved into voice recognition, which cuts the pay down to 3 cents to 5 cents a line. Because transcription is paid by the line, transcriptionists can't make ends meet, so a lot of them are jumping ship to do medical coding instead.
Medical coding is a very different field than transcription, but it sure helps if you already have medical terminology, etc., down, and I don't just mean taking a simple class. Medical transcriptionists are very detail-oriented, which is a big boon for coders, who also must be very detail-oriented and very, very careful in their work.
I bet some of the older folks in your class were transcriptionists at one time, or they are older people who have lost their jobs during the current recession, and they are looking for a skill in which they can find a job. I have done both transcription and coding; I found coding to be very boring and transciption less so, but that was just me personally.
There is a huge demand for experienced coders right now, but that is for "experienced" coders, i.e., usually 2 to 3 years or more. You will make more money working for a hospital, but it is doubtful you will get a job in a hospital until you have a few years of working as a coder under your belt, which you can get working for doctors' offices or clinics or even companies that do coding.
I have been in medical billing for about 6 years now. I have done DME, anesthesia, physician and hospital billing. Hospital billing pays the best which I'm doing right now and will probably stay in. Get your CPAT cert and that will help you advance more.
In about a year, you could be making in the 40's but then again it depends on where you live. I'm trying to move back to TX but I'm finding that the average pay for billers is only between $10 and $16 per hour.
I'm in the MD/DC area and they pay between $40,000 on up.
I wouldn't suggest working in doctor's offices, the pay is bad. If you are taking billing classes, I would suggest going right into a hospital or medical center when you graduate.
If you need any more info, I'd be happy to help you. Good luck!
I live in the Birmingham, Alabama, area, which has a lot of hospitals. Money isn't a huge issue for me and I have good insurance through my wife's job, so a good work environment close to home is most important to me.
There were 16 people at class last night. I was one of three men. The leader had us go around and tell about ourselves and if we had medical experience. There was one person who had been a transcriber, a guy who had been a medic in the Navy (served in the war) and a lady who'd had some nursing school. One lady had worked for an insurance company.
I don't have a medical background but working with numbers and data has always interested me.
We have 26 weeks in the class. It meets once a week for three hours. It is being taught at a junior college by people who work as coders. The first five classes we will be learning medical terminology.
I paid $1,300 for the class and the books will run around $400.
Longtime, I think you got a great deal on your classes. One of my co-workers wants to be a coder now and paid over $3000 for a course. I didn't say anything to her but there's no way she should have paid that much.
If there is lots of hospitals in your area, then you'll have no problem finding a hosp biller position.
Longtime, I think you got a great deal on your classes. One of my co-workers wants to be a coder now and paid over $3000 for a course. I didn't say anything to her but there's no way she should have paid that much.
If there is lots of hospitals in your area, then you'll have no problem finding a hosp biller position.
The lady leading the class said there is another school in town (a private "college" that specializes in offering courses like this) that charged a great deal more than the junior college I'm taking the class at charges.
Once you finish the med billing course, and you want to work from home, does anyone know how you get started? I mean I imagine every doctor is using someone already to do their billing, so how do you get work?
I was sent to a small school here for medical office procedures along with the billing and coding from the VESID program. Honestly-in my area-they've cranked out so many and there's not jobs here to be found. Ours was just an 8 week course. I got my certification in billing and coding from the National Healthcare Association-it's about worthless in my area. They all want the CCS coding certifications. I can't even get my foot in any door-the mid-Hudson Valley area everything is dead trying to get into jobs here. The school hasn't even been contacted by anyone for placements. I wish you luck-hopefully your area has more opportunities than here for the coding.
Check out www.ahima.org before you go to any school or take any classes. Plus, if you attend some of their events, you can network and probably find a job. Just a suggestion...
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