Working from home provides a wonderful opportunity for financial security while still allowing for a flexible schedule that meets your needs. Medical coding and billing is a great option for working from home. While most medical coders and billers work in an office setting, there is a potential for some to move to a work-from home setting. Best of all, you can get the training you need as a medical coding and billing specialist from home through Career Step’s online program. Learn more about work from home medical coding and billing.
What is Medical Coding and Billing?
Medical coding and billing is the assigning of codes to diagnoses or procedures for billing purposes. Medical coding and billing specialists review patient medical records and assign numeric or alphanumeric codes to diagnoses and procedures for billing to health insurance companies, third-party payers or patients. Then a bill is created based on the assigned codes and submitted to appropriate parties for payment. Medical coding and billing specialists may also assist in assuring collection on medical bills.
How Do I Train for Medical Coding and Billing?
Successful medical coding and billing specialists are familiar with multiple code sets and are certified coders. Seek training programs that will help you prepare for certification exams and help you learn multiple code sets.
The Medical Coding and Billing program at Career Step (https://www.careerstep.com/medical-coding-billing-career) trains students on three different coding sets. This prepares students to take both the CCA (by AHMIA) and CPC (by AAPC) certification exams.
How Do I Start Working in Medical Coding and Billing?
Most people begin their careers at hospitals for the first few years before transitioning to work-from-home positions. While this option can be helpful when you are first starting out, many medical coding and billing specialists are hired for work-from-home positions right after graduation from a reputable program. Some Career Step medical coding and billing graduates have been hired right after completing their studies for work-from-home positions.
You can check job listings at local hospitals or other health clinics. While some may be looking for employees to work in-office, many may be willing to consider working with you as an independent contractor. You can also seek out large coding and billing contracting firms which often have plenty of full or part-time work-from-home opportunities.
How Much Will I Make Working in Medical Coding and Billing?
Medical coding and billing is a growing field with high demand for skilled specialists. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the middle 50% of medical coding and billing professionals earn between $29,130 and $48,510 a year.
Does medical coding and billing sound like the work-from-home career for you? Learn more about Career Step’s online Medical Coding and Billing training program here.