The Dream of Doing Medical Billing and Coding at Home
The benefits of working at home can seem innumerable: If you’re a stay-at-home mom, you can send the kids to school, work for six hours, and go back to being a mom when the kids get home. Or you might thrive on working your own hours.
The Self-Employed Medical Billing and Coding Expert
There are a few areas to consider if you’re interested in doing medical billing and coding at home. One point to keep in mind, especially if you’re newly trained and certified, is that even medical coders who work within the health care industry need about five years of experience to begin earning a substantial salary. If you’ve never had real experience coding, or have only worked for a few years, it is going to be difficult to find clients. Also, consider that your competition – outsourcing medical coding firms – can generally offer lower rates because these firms are working with a much larger pool of clients. You may not be able to offer comparable rates.
The Risks of Doing Medical Billing and Coding at Home
Beginning your own business doing medical coding and billing at home can involve a substantial investment at the outset. Not only will you have the overhead expenses of setting up an office, advertising your services, and seeking out clients, you will also be paying more in taxes because you don’t have a company to pay part of your social security.
The major issue you will face is being accountable if any coding or billing is wrong. If the mistakes cause a serious problem, you could be sued. Health care providers need to have insurance to protect them, and it is very expensive. Even if you’re willing to assume the risks and costs, it can take a few years to begin earning a profit. Ask yourself if you can afford to wait that long. These are important considerations to think about if you want to work from home.
Working from Home with a Health Care Information and Technology Business
Although the major competition for self-employed medical billing and coding workers are large outsourcing companies that work for health care institutions, it is these same outsourcing companies that hire contract workers who work from home. You will find more people doing medical coding and billing at home in this setting. Aviacode is an example of a health care information and technology business that hires medical billing and coding professionals to work from home.
Remember, though, as a contract employee, you do not receive any benefits. Also be aware that there are some fraudulent companies that hire people to work from home. The Bureau of Consumer Protection offers some advice about avoiding fraud.
Assessing Your Hourly Rate Doing Medical Billing and Coding from Home
Generally, as a contractual employee, you will see that your hourly rate for medical billing and coding is higher than the rate paid by a hospital or health care institution in a salaried, on-site position. Will you actually be making more money working from home? The answer is probably not. Even though the hourly rate you’re paid in an on-site position is lower, remember that as an employee you will be getting benefits that add up significantly. These can include:
- Health insurance
- Long- and short-term disability insurance
- 401k or 401b savings plans
- Paid vacation and sick days
- Discounts for gyms, childcare and other types of services
If you add these benefits to the hourly rate and adjust accordingly, you might see that working in-house pays more than working from home. Additionally, if there is ever an error on your part, you won’t be liable, as you would be if you were self-employed.
Can Medical Billing and Coding at Home Work for You?
You own unique circumstances may influence whether doing medical billing and coding at home is right for you. For instance, in two-income families, where one parent works in a job that provides health care and other benefits, it might make sense for the other parent to work from home – especially if it is a way to avoid childcare costs. Undertaking your “due diligence,” by weighing the benefits and costs of doing medical billing and coding from home, should help you make the right decision.
About our expert. Jan Jacobs has worked in medical offices since the early 1980's. Ms. Jacobs has worked for M.D.'s and D.O.'s in primary care and specialty care. She is employed as a senior medical biller and has been at her current job for nearly 10 years, where she uses three different billing systems.
