According to a 2010 Medical Coding Salary Survey conducted by the AAPC, Hawaii ranks as the sixth highest paying state for medical billers and coders. The average annual pay rate in Hawaii is $51,071. Medical billing and coding professionals in Hawaii earn approximately $10,000 per year more than workers in 25 other states, including Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.
Hawaii also enforces state medical record regulations for which medical billers and coders are often responsible. For example, a patient has the right to access their medical record at any time, for any reason in Hawaii. Medical billers and coders working in the state may be required to prepare these records, and must do so within 30 days of the request. In addition, patients may make amendments to their medical records in the state of Hawaii. This means that medical billers and coders must often apply additional codes to records based on the patient’s amendments, which are subject to approval by the medical institution furnishing those records.
General Hawaii Medical Billing and Coding Information
- Number of Medical Billing and Coding Employees in Hawaii: 600
- Average Medical Billing and Coding Salary in Hawaii: $42,430
- 90th Percentile Salary: $61,410
- 10th Percentile Salary: $27,780
Medical Billing and Coding Training and Education in Hawaii
Kapi‘olani Community College
Certificate of Competence in Medical Coding
This program qualifies its graduates for AAPC exam certification. The first part of the program is known as Basic Medical Coding, which is composed of two courses dealing with CPT and ICD-9-CM. The second part is the Professional Medical Coding Curriculum, which is also composed of two courses: Professional Medical Coding – Part I, which takes 40 hours, and Comprehensive Medical Coding – Part 2, which is also 40 hours in length. These classes require a grade of 70% or better to pass. Both Basic Medical Coding classes total $850 minus textbooks, which must be purchased separately. Both Professional Medical Coding courses total $2,400, including textbooks. The grand total comes to $3,250.
Leeward Community College
Medical Coding Certificate
This program lasts 80 hours and costs only $1,295, minus the cost of 4 books you must purchase separately. Those books include the 2009 CPT-4, the 2009 ICD-9 Volumes 1 and 2, and the 2009 HCPCS textbook. In order to be accepted to this program, you must have two years of verifiable experience as a medical coder, and you must complete Leeward’s Advanced Medical Terminology class.
Hawaii AAPC CPC Exam Information
- City: Honolulu
- Proctor Name: Derek Wong
- Registration Deadline: 7/23/2011
- Exam Date: 08/20/2011
- City: Wailuku
- Proctor Name: Sue-Lynn Akuna Grant, CPC
- Registration Deadline: 9/10/2011
- Exam Date: 10/08/2011
- City: Honolulu
- Proctor Name: Derek Wong
- Registration Deadline: 10/1/2011
- Exam Date: 10/29/2011
Medical Billing and Coding Jobs in Hawaii
The Hawaii Health Systems Corporation (HHSC) was created in 1996 to govern all Hawaii hospitals. The HHSC is overseen by the Division of Community Hospitals, Department of Health, State of Hawaii. These hospitals share the same benefits, which include 13 paid holidays (14 in an election year), 21 vacation days per year (which can accumulate to 90 days), and 21 days of sick leave annually. Other benefits include medical, dental, vision and prescription drug insurance, life insurance and a retirement plan with mandatory employee 6% contribution. Flex spending accounts, disability insurance, training and continuing education, the option to join a union, and paid travel expenses are also included.
West Kauai Medical Center / KVMH
- Address: 4643 Waimea Canyon Dr., Waimea, HI 96796
- Email Address: gtomory@hhsc.org
- Phone Number: 1-808-338-9431
- Website: West Kauai Medical Center
West Kauai desperately needed a hospital in 1927, and with the help of one local business and three plantations nearby, the Waimea Hospital and Morgue was built. Expansions over the years brought video teleconferencing, teleradiography, telemedicine, and patient management information systems to Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital / West Kauai Medical Center. They employ 183 people.
Kula Hospital
- Address: 3675 Kilauea Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816
- Email Address: hhsc@hhsc.org
- Phone Number: 1-808-878-1221
- Website: Kula Hospital
Designed over 100 years ago as a tuberculosis facility, Kula Hospital has grown to employ over 200 professionals. Services include acute care, developmentally disabled inpatient services, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, outpatient clinic services, a pharmacy, rehabilitative physical and occupational therapies, lab and diagnostic services, and emergency room services. Their slogan is “E ola mai’ka’i I ka wai’ oha”, or, in English, “Let us nourish our well being in the retainer of love.”
Hilo Medical Center
- Address: 1190 Waianuenue Ave., Hilo, HI 96720
- Email Address: hhsc@hhsc.org
- Phone Number: 1-808-974-4700
- Website: Hilo Medical Center
Hilo is the largest facility in the HHSC, and it opened in 1897. It has grown from having 10 beds to having 264 licensed beds. 130 of those beds are designated acute, 22 are for nursing, and 20 beds are for psychiatric patients. Hilo also has a separate 112-bed extended care facility, built in 1984. Hilo Medical Center is situated on 20.5 acres directly across from the Wailuku River. Hilo employs about 900 people who specialize in areas such as acute inpatient dialysis, obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics, adult psychiatric care, general radiology, angiography and interventional radiology, teleradiology, wound and ostemy services, and many surgical services.
Top Cities in Hawaii for Medical Billing and Coding Careers
1. Honolulu, HI
Honolulu is home to 490 medical billing and coding professionals. On average, they earn $21.19 an hour or $44,080 per year, which is the 6th highest rate in all 50 states. The top 10% of workers make $62,690 and the bottom 10% earn $30,570 annually.
2. Hawaii / Maui / Kauai non-metro area
This area of Hawaii employs far fewer professionals than Honolulu – only 110 – but the top 10% of employees earn more than in Honolulu, at $47,190. The bottom 10% rate, on the other hand, is significantly lower at $23,550. The mean wage is $16.75 hourly, or $34,840 annually.
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.
