What is The Overall Demand for Medical Billing and Coding?

General Demand for Medical Billing and Coding Professionals

Though the medical billing and coding profession is always looking for qualified people, demand in the field for medical billers and coders is escalating almost exponentially due to an aging population and changes in medical technology.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook (2010-11 Edition), in 2008 there were 173,000 professional medical insurance billers and coders in the United States, with the predominance of these individuals working in hospitals and varied health care facilities including small medical practices and outpatient care centers. Medical billing and coding demand, even through temporary job agencies and professional services firms, accounted for 40 percent of opportunities in hospitals and the rest in provider offices, nursing care, outpatient centers and home health service areas.

Certainly all dimensions of the health information field are exploding as the healthcare field shifts patient documentation to electronic data storage methods. For positions related to medical billing and coding, demand will, as a consequence, provide lots of options in the market, as tightening legal requirements for insurance policies and evolving government regulations make the need for maintaining accurate medical records that much more critical to an operation.

The detail-oriented medical billing and coding professional can take heart in knowing that that the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an 18 percent growth in job prospects between 2006 and 2016, borne out by the presence of medical coders jobs in virtually all health care facilities that are charged with composing prompt, accurate, and efficient insurance claim filings, including:

1. Hospitals
2. Physician offices
3. Nursing homes
4. Outpatient care facilities

Who’s Hiring and Who is Working out of The Home

Even pharmacies and insurance companies are experiencing a mushrooming medical billing and coding demand, and in some cases are flexible enough to offer experienced billing and coding professionals the opportunity to work from home.

Although offers abound for work-at-home jobs promising riches, the job seeker must be wary. Don’t mistake general enticements for automatic money makers; if an opportunity looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Medical billing from home certainly holds promise as a full-time job opportunity, yet this opportunity is primarily for independent entrepreneurs who have spent years honing their experience as medical coders in offices and who have built a reliable customer base before attempting to go it alone. Do the research with a biller and coder’s emblematic meticulousness, preparing probing questions to establish:

1. Contractor legitimacy
2. Business history and background of company principals
3. Proven revenue stream
4. Client feedback to reinforce findings

Working at home can be a viable option once the bases are covered, returning on average $10 to $12 an hour, in addition to the savings incurred from eliminating a commute.

Income Potential

According to statistics on Salary.com, the median income for medical billing and coding jobs ranges between $35,999 and $44,562, topping out around $74,000. Medical billing and coding demand in big cities can mean better wages compared to those available in smaller municipalities. Similarly, hospitals generally offer better salaries than small medical clinics, whose traffic won’t normally justify the same pay rates.

Being certified widens income opportunities for professionals taking advantage of medical billing and coding demand inside a company, most often for supervisors, billing reimbursement managers, or directors. The potential is limitless if trained and experienced professionals eventually choose to create their own consulting service. And demand will only increase. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical billing and coding demand is projected to increase by nearly 20 percent by 2018. Bookkeeping and accounting functions are projected to increase 20.9 percent and general office clerical functions–under which category the medical billing functions are likely to be located–will increase by 21.5 percent. Medical billing and coding demand therefore compares favorably with an accompanying increase of 21.3 percent for other related occupations including health care providers, who will of course make even more billing services necessary as time goes on.

Positioning and Specializing

Increasing complexity in the billing process necessitated by health care reimbursement changes, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), will only further drive medical billing and coding demand through the roof.

The consequence of inevitably escalating increases in medical treatments, along with procedures and tests for the aging population, occasions even greater scrutiny within the health care industry by insurance companies, employers and regulatory agencies. These changes spell a significant rise in the need for field specializations like medical billing and coding which will play a key role in monitoring needs and tracking efficiencies in order to determine successful outcomes, procedures, and interventions for patients and providers. In order to perform their job, medical billing and coding professionals must stay on top of current coding systems. The most valuable and versatile coders will handle both Level 1 HCPCS coding requirements used by hospitals, as well as Level 2 HCPCS requirements used by hospitals and physicians. As is the case in any technical discipline, the job involves simplifying and seamlessly moving information under sensitive conditions to save the employer time, money and grief.

Certification Expands Choices

Medical coders who are certified are more competitive to meet the medical billing and coding demand in the market and may consider at some point working as:

1. consultants advising on billing processes
2. advisers in government compliance
3. specialists serving multiple practices and specialties

A number of national and local organizations, such as the American Association of Medical Billers (AAMB), offer certification for medical billing and coding professionals. Demand makes it even more worthwhile to seek accreditation from organizations like the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), that extends professional credit to medical billing and coders who have achieved passing grades on assessments such as:

1. The Certified Procedural Coder (CPC)
2. The Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)
3. Certified Coding Specialist for the Physician (CCS-P)

The more one indicates a seriousness to stay abreast and belong to professional organizations, the more likely selective hiring officials will have the option of finding the most educated, accomplished and professionally connected candidates with impressive training. One might also create opportunities to work as a specialist for private insurance companies or government agencies. More directly, one can also choose to consult for liability and malpractice firms. Finally, don’t ignore the inherent avenues that invite trained medical billers and coders to be advocates as well. The profession has its own language and plenty of options exist for those who can negotiate the waters at many levels and in a variety of circumstances.