Online Medical Billing and Coding serves the purpose of reimbursing the medical facilitators and and service providers for their services rendered and make the process so efficient. As medical advancements give humans a run, they become a pivot that branches out job opportunities and this Medical Billing and Coding is one such branch. One can also get in depth details on med school by visiting the page.

medical billing and coding online

medical billing and coding online

Online Medical Billing and Coding

In the modern-day healthcare industry medical billing and medical coding are two complementary aspects that enable the healthcare revenue cycle to function with competency. It is a field, with although no stern requisites for certification, but assures a budding online medical billing and coding career. 

Medical billing and coding translate a patient’s encounter into the languages used for claims submission and reimbursement. 

Now, what are then the online medical billing and coding requirements? How is medical billing and coding different from the process already in place? How does it work? And most importantly what is the medical billing and coding cost?

Let us look at the above as the following: 

  • Medical billing

Medical billing is a more comprehensive way of calculating bills compared to the everyday transactions we make with prompt bills on receiving any product or service. 

When a patient walks into a hospital; from his consultation to the nurse who checks his blood pressure or weight to his diagnosis and treatment, everything is documented and enumerated into codes by a medical coder indicating the what(s) and why(s), which is further used by a medical biller to create a superbill.  This superbill comprises a claim that is sent to an insurance company. 

Upon approval, the service providers are reimbursed, and send the patient an invoice inclusive of any out of pocket expenses that they had to bear.  

Recovering patient out of pocket costs is increasingly becoming more important to providers as out of pocket costs have risen 37% since 2009.

This concludes the online medical billing and coding cost. 

  • Medical coding 

Medical coding is like translation. The coder translates the text consisting of prescriptions, diagnosis et cetera into numeric or alphanumeric codes. All medical facilities inclusive of injuries, procedures have corresponding codes. 

There are several sets and subsets of codes that a medical coder must be familiar with, these said codes act as a universal language between hospitals, insurance providers etc, across the world. So, let us explore more about online medical billing and coding.

Medical Billing and Coding online – Cycle

  • Registering patients 
  • Establishing financial responsibility 
  • Check-in patients 
  • Check-out patients 
  • Reviewing coding compliance 
  • Checking billing compliance 
  • Preparing and transmitting claims 
  • Monitoring payer adjudication 
  • Generating patient statements 
  • Payments and collections 

How to become an online medical billing and coding specialist?

There is no legal binding to attain certification in the said field, it is nevertheless preferable and important for those who have no prior knowledge of allied medical facilities. There are various training programs and certification courses available with many universities and other educational institutions. 

  1. Basic eligibility: requirement of a high school diploma or equivalent 
  2. Training: you can pursue online medical billing and coding training courses with no other formal degree requirements. The courses keep the duration to as little as nine months in certain colleges. 
Medical billing and coding online courses
Medical billing and coding online courses

Medical billing and coding online courses:

  • Coding Foundations
  • ICD-CM Coding
  • ICD-PCS Coding
  • Ambulatory Care Coding
  • Revenue Cycle and Billing
  1. Certification: You can after the procurement of such online medical billing and coding training courses choose to get certified as a coder. The certification helps you establish yourself as a better candidate for such jobs, assuring credibility and reliance. 

Online Medical Billing and Coding Certification

  • Certified Professional Coder (CPC)
  • Certified Outpatient Coding (COC)
  • Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC)
  • Certified Risk Adjustment Coder (CRC)
  • Certified Professional Coder-Payer (CRC-P)
  • Certified Coding Assistant (CCA)
  • Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)
  • Certified Coding Specialist-Physician-based (CCS-P)

The most recommended online online medical billing and coding certification for professionals who wish to make a career in the medical billing and coding sphere is the Certified Outpatient Coder (COC). This certificate verifies you as a specialized outpatient billing and coding medical biller/coder. It also testifies your practical skills, including your understanding of coding rules, claim denials, claim forms and other regulations. 

  1. Brushing up on-demand skills: 

Before you proceed to apply for jobs after completing your online medical billing and coding education, it is important to keep your best foot forward by being prepared with real-time skills. The combination of both soft skills and hard skills will ease your success in the field. 

Hard skills:

  • Health information technology (HIT)
  • CPT coding
  • Physiology
  • Medical terminology
  • Customer billing 
  • Computer literacy

Soft skills:

  • Attention to detail
  • Communication skills
  • Good Customer service
  • Analytical skills 
  • Collaboration 
  • Organization 
Medical billing and coding online courses cost
Medical billing and coding online courses cost

Medical billing and coding online courses cost

There are a number of different courses available for online medical billing and coding. The most common one is the bachelor’s degree. In this degree, you will learn all there is about this stream namely, computers, arithmancy and basic medical terms and their applications. The medical billing and coding online courses cost will set you back by around 50,000 USD over the course of your education. 

Medical Coding and Billing Salary

Since medical coding and billing has quite the demand, it does offer a fairly decent return on investment. A typical online medical billing and coding education can set one back by around 40,000 USD over the duration of the course. So how much can one expect to earn once they have completed their education? 

Well, the earning will vary from state to state. So, in order to account for all the variation, here is a quick breakdown of the salaries across the states if you are ready to pursue online medical billing and coding education. 

  1. Alabama – 50,000 USD per year on average or 24.72 USD per hour
  2. Alaska – 59,600 USD per year on average or 28.64 USD per hour
  3. Arizona – 55,800 USD per year on average or 26.82 USD per hour
  4. Arkansas – 50,500 USD per year on average or 25 USD per hour
  5. California – 68,600 USD per year on average or 33 USD per hour
  6. Colorado – 60,000 USD per year on average or 29 USD per hour
  7. Connecticut – 60,000 USD per year on average or 29.72 USD per hour
  8. Delaware – 55,000 USD per year on average or 26.5 USD per hour
  9. District of Columbia – 66,000 USD per year on average or 31.7 USD per hour
  10. Florida – 54,000 USD per year on average or 27 USD per hour
  11. Georgia – 53,000 USD per year on average or 25.4 USD per hour
  12. Hawaii – 61,000 USD per year on average or 29.3 USD per hour
  13. Idaho – 51,000 USD per year on average or 25.5 USD per hour
  14. Illinois – 55,000 USD per year on average or 26.5 USD per hour
  15. Indiana – 51,700 USD per year on average or 24.9 USD per hour
  16. Iowa – 52,100 USD per year on average or 25.8 USD per hour
  17. Kansas – 53,300 USD per year on average or 25.6 USD per hour
  18. Kentucky – 51,400 USD per year on average or 24.7 USD per hour
  19. Louisiana – 49,800 USD per year on average or 24.7 USD per hour
  20. Maine – 54,000 USD per year on average or 26 USD per hour
  21. Maryland – 59,500 USD per year on average or 28.6 USD per hour
  22. Massachusetts – 62,100 USD per year on average or 31 USD per hour
  23. Michigan – 52,700 USD per year on average or 25.3 USD per hour
  24. Minnesota – 57,400 USD per year on average or 27.6 USD per hour
  25. Mississippi – 46,500 USD per year on average or 23 USD per hour
  26. Missouri – 54,200 USD per year on average or 26 USD per hour
  27. Montana – 47,800 USD per year on average or 23 USD per hour
  28. Nebraska – 54,000 USD per year on average or 26.7 USD per hour
  29. Nevada – 54,000 USD per year on average or 25.9 USD per hour
  30. New Hampshire – 58,000 USD per year on average or 27.9 USD per hour
  31. New Jersey – 63,200 USD per year on average or 31.3 USD per hour
  32. New Mexico – 52,600 USD per year on average or 25.3 USD per hour
  33. North Carolina – 55,400 USD per year on average or 27.4 USD per hour
  34. New York – 61,400 USD per year on average or 29.5 USD per hour
  35. North Dakota – 54,800 USD per year on average or 26.3 USD per hour
  36. Ohio – 52,800 USD per year on average or 25.4 USD per hour
  37. Oklahoma – 50,700 USD per year on average or 25.1 USD per hour
  38. Oregon – 55,300 USD per year on average or 26.6 USD per hour
  39. Pennsylvania – 53,500 USD per year on average or 25.7 USD per hour
  40. Rhode Island – 55,800 USD per year on average or 27.6 USD per hour
  41. South Carolina – 50,600 USD per year on average or 24.3 USD per hour
  42. South Dakota – 51,600 USD per year on average or 24.8 USD per hour
  43. Tennessee – 54,700 USD per year on average or 27.1 USD per hour
  44. Texas – 57,800 USD per year on average or 27.8 USD per hour
  45. U.S. Territory – 40,300 USD per year on average or 19.4 USD per hour
  46. Utah – 56,000 USD per year on average or 27.7 USD per hour
  47. Vermont – 53,000 USD per year on average or 25.5 USD per hour
  48. Virginia – 52,000 USD per year on average or 25 USD per hour
  49. Washington – 57,000 USD per year on average or 28.3 USD per hour
  50. West Virginia – 47,500 USD per year on average or 22.8 USD per hour
  51. Wisconsin – 56,000 USD per year on average or 26.9 USD per hour
  52. Wyoming – 54,600 USD per year on average or 27.1 USD per hour

These statistics are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So most of the data is accurate and verified. In case of any discrepancy or further queries, do be sure to check the actual graphs and tables on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. 

With that being said, let us take a look at what this breakdown shows us. For starters, as you move towards the middle of the country or the so called rust belt, then the wages will seemingly go below that of the national average. This happens mainly because of the lack of requirement or poor demand. 

In other words, the medical industry is an industry. If there are no patients to cater to because of low population density and people having a healthier lifestyle, there is not much money to go around. Along with this, the cost of living in these states is also relatively low. As a result of these factors, these states are on the lower spectrum of the wage list. 

Conversely, as you move towards the coastal regions, the wages tend to go above and beyond the national averages. This is because of the states and the metropolitan cities within them. This means that there are a greater number of patients to treat and be paid from. So naturally, the salaries will be higher as well. A simple matter of supply and demand. Therefore craze of online medical billing and coding education increases.

Medical Coding and Billing Salary
Medical Coding and Billing Salary

Along with this, there is the additional factor of cities having a higher medical coding and billing salary. This once again plays a significant role in the salary being paid. In fact, if you adjust the salaries for the cost of living within these states, then the average comes to around similar numbers to that of the national average. 

So, you would do well to keep all of this in mind when you decide to up and move around the country, looking for higher medical coding and billing salary. Oftentimes, a higher number without any context is of no benefit if you need to spend more in order to sustain yourself. But overall, the return on investment based on the amount spent on education is quite handsome indeed. 

With that being said, we believe we have covered everything worth covering about Online Medical Billing and Coding. The education is quite affordable and the degree received at the end of the education offers a great return on investment. So if you are looking for a long and fulfilling career within the medical industry, then this is a viable option for you.

Apart from all of this, in case you have any more queries about online medical billing and coding, feel free to ask us about them down below! We are here to provide you with any assistance you may seek. One can also find us at onlineschoolsnearme.com for any help.