“Doctors are just the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob you and kill you too.”
This famous quote from Anton Chekhov exemplifies one of the most common difficulties that medical professionals face – the feeling that all medical professionals, although invested in the patient’s well-being, cannot be trusted. You might assume that this means the demand for medical professionals would be decreasing. Still, the job market shows that, at least on the information technology front (medical billing and coding), the job market is ever expanding; accommodating new employees each year with a vast growth in medical billing and coding needs.
Medical billers and coders have the advantage of working largely behind the scenes – the mysterious masked men and women that work to bring all medical records to a uniform format – to be accessible to multiple doctors from different areas and in different specializations. As such, medical billers and coders do not get the normal flack shared by doctors and lawyers while sharing in the enormous job growth that the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects by the year 2018.
So, exactly how does employment look for medical professionals in the near future, especially medical billers and coders? Do you need to worry about finding a job?
If you’re worried about finding employment as a medical biller and coder, don’t – employment in the field is projected to increase by 20% by the year 2018. As the medical billing and coding industry moves from a paper-based to electronic filing format, those with a strong grasp of technology and software will be in especially high demand.
But where do medical billers and coders usually work? What do their employers expect of them? How much do they work? How are they paid? How do they advance? These are all important questions to ask before deciding to enter the world of health information technology.
Employment Projections for Medical Billers and Coders
1,930 people gained employment in the medical billing and coding field from 2008 until 2009, and that was a very slow year (as it was for most industries). On average, about 4,000 are added to the profession per annum, and nearly $6 billion is paid to medical billers and coders each year in the US alone. A simple keyword search of any major job search engine will reveal numerous postings for available positions, clustered in metropolitan areas but springing up in rural ones, too. The field as a whole is relatively easy to break into, so long as you’re properly trained.
Medical Billing and Coding Work Environment
In 2008, the American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC) conducted a study to determine the types of environments in which medical billers and coders worked. 11,999 individuals responded to the survey, allowing for the establishment of an accurately painted picture of average work demographics. Of those that responded…
The data indicates that most medical billers and coders work in physicians’ offices (49.2%), billing companies (11.8%) and outpatient hospitals (9.8%).
Medical Billing and Coding Employment Situations
The AAPC survey also asked medical billers and coders how they work and how they’re paid. The results provide significant insight into what you can expect when entering the field.
- 68% of medical billers and coders are paid by the hour.
- 32% of medical billers and coders are on salary.
- 84.6% of medical billers and coders work full-time.
- 11.9% of medical billers and coders work flex-time.
- 3.5% of medical billers and coders work part-time.
- 61% of medical billers and coders never work at home.
- 31% of medical billers and coders sometimes work at home.
- 8% of medical billers and coders always work at home.
- 48% of strict medical billers never work at home.
- 39% of strict medical billers sometimes work at home.
- 13% of strict medical billers always work at home.
Work Expectations of Medical Billers and Coders
Medical billers and coders are expected to be both productive and accurate. When claims are handled incorrectly, it can lead to lost payments for providers and inaccurate keeping of patient documentation. When claims are handled too slowly, a healthcare provider’s entire workflow is stifled and daily operations grind to a halt. But which attribute is most valuable to an employer – productivity or accuracy? The same AAPC survey asked whether a medical biller and coder’s manager would say that accuracy determined value. Of the 7906 respondents…
- 91% agreed or strongly agreed.
- 9% disagreed or strongly disagreed.
7898 individuals responded to the question of whether their managers would determine their value based on productivity…
- 82% agreed or strongly agreed.
- 18% disagreed or strongly disagreed.
This tells us that, on average, accuracy is slightly more valuable than productivity in the eyes of an employer. Strangely, it also shows that some medical billers and coders feel that their managers hardly care about their productivity, accuracy or both. The bottom line is that by and large, coders and billers are expected to efficiently produce accurate work.
Other questions inquired about the diversity of work responsibilities expected of medical billers and coders, as well as how healthcare providers facilitate those responsibilities:
- 93% agreed or strongly agreed that their employers provide necessary resources, such as medical billing and coding software and updated code books.
- 81% agreed or strongly agreed that physicians in their offices provided documentation sufficient for coding.
- 71% agreed or strongly agreed that their employers pay for Continuing Education Units (CEUs), necessary for keeping certifications up to date.
- 62% agreed or strongly agreed that their employers pay for membership and testing costs necessary for obtaining certifications in the first place.
- 72% agreed or strongly agreed that they’re given enough time to adequately research compliance and coding issues.
- 51% agreed or strongly agreed that they’re regularly expected to handle appeals and review EOBs.
- 31% agreed or strongly agreed that they’re regularly expected to work outside of their areas of expertise.
Medical Billing and Coding Advancement
As with most industries, there’s plenty of room for medical billers and coders to advance within their fields. Advancement in medical billing and coding typically means:
- Additional and more challenging job responsibilities.
- Increased pay.
- Increased levels of specialization (such as in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Pediatrics or Evaluation and Management).
- A greater likelihood of managerial duties.
There is no single path of advancement for medical billers and coders. Instead, it would be more appropriate to describe how an average medical biller and coder would work her way up through this field.
In the Beginning…
Most who enter the medical billing and coding field do so with no more than an associate’s degree. In fact, even this may be unnecessary so long as you know how to bill and code. Employers care primarily about your knowledge and abilities, though an associate’s degree in a field such as health information management or medical billing and coding is an ideal way of proving this.
When you enter the field, pay may be relatively low (to the tune of roughly $30,000 annually, though this heavily depends on your geographical location and specific employer). You may or may not have professional credentials as a biller and coder, though you can expect a higher salary and more easily accessible employment if you do. You’ll almost certainly work in an office setting, whether it’s within a hospital, physician’s office, insurance company or another healthcare environment.
In the Middle…
As you progress in your medical billing and coding career, obtaining certification will probably become one of your primary objectives. Certification is available from professional organizations including the AAPC and AHIMA. If you’ve been working in a hospital setting and you wish to continue, a credential from AHIMA may be most appropriate. If your future seems to hold a permanent position in a physician’s office, you may go with the AAPC instead, though neither of these are exclusive.
You may also take the middle of your career as an opportunity to seek an additional degree, including a bachelor’s, master’s or in some cases even a doctorate. Plenty of schools offer high quality advanced degrees in health information management. Additional degree or not, your career will be filled with education in the form of CEUs, or Continuing Education Units. These are required in order for you to maintain your credentials, and you can attend seminars, take online or offline courses, conduct educational events and pursue other academic endeavors to obtain them.
Later On…
Once you obtain significantly more seniority, you could move into a managerial role at your medical billing and coding office. You might first obtain one or more additional certifications or speciality certifications to facilitate this, proving your expertise in a specific field to your employer. Your pay will likely increase considerably. By now, the industry will have shifted entirely towards electronic health records and grown accustomed to the ICD-10-CM code set, potentially increasing efficiency and productivity.
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.
