In the wake of a glaring healthcare job market, aspiring medical coders wonder what the actual medical coding pay stands for in today’s healthcare settings.
This concern stretches to a tense competitive landscape, as medical coding jobs become more and more demanding with their qualifications.
“We need additional (medical) coders to support how much we have grown over the last few years,” said Rhonda Hale, vice president of finance for Baptist Health Medical Group.
The Demand In Numbers
the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) notes that 27,000 new jobs will be needed in this profession by 2026.
The Competition
With the estimation of 8% increase in employment growth over the next 10 years,
medical coding jobs are becoming more competitive, with tighter job qualifications and requirements of professionals in the clinical workplace.
Medical Coding Jobs: An Overview
Expand your knowledge on the scope of medical coding jobs careers as we discuss the following topics in this blog to give you a comprehensive view:
- Medical coding job demand
- Medical coding pay, income
- Are your qualifications enough?
- Medical coding certification
What does a Medical Coder do?
USA’s most prestigious healthcare institute, United Health Group, terms medical coders as “a crucial bridge between patient care and administrative efficiency.”
Indeed, these alphanumeric medical codes later become the backbone of every healthcare documentation needed in a patient and provider’s records, from insurance documents to doctor’s prescriptions, to patient records, and even enhancing research in medicine.
Roles and Responsibilities
The specific medical coding job description varied from place to place, so we reviewed over 50+ medical coding job descriptions posted from top healthcare companies and hospitals to bring you the following points as the primary roles of a professional medical coder.
Three Primary Roles:
- Document review and verification
- Medical Code Assignment – assigning, reviewing, verifying
- Further Review and Research on Coding Errors and Efficiency
The Basics Of Medical Coding:
Assignment:
Assigns codes for reimbursements, research and compliance with regulatory requirements utilizing guidelines.
Coding conventions:
Medical coders use the three primary code sets designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, namely CPT, ICD, and HCPCS, to assign codes to each component of a patient’s care. For example, while going through a patient’s medical records, if a medical coder comes across “whooping cough”, as a diagnosis by the doctor, he registers the exact alphanumeric code for that diagnosis, which in this case is “A37”.
Review:
Lastly, Medical coders audit the clinical documentation and coded data to validate patient records.
Is Medical Coding A Good Career?
The heavy-loaded role of a medical coder in the clinical workplace automatically signals high demands for medical coding jobs.
Baptist Health, being desperately in need of certified medical coders, collaborated with AMA to create its own “university” to certify external and in-house candidates.
Medical Coding Employment Growth: Stats and Data
- BLS reports the job outlook for medical billers and coders as promising, considering a 13% increase in positions for medical coders between 2016 and 2026.
the growth rate in these jobs is evidentially higher than the national average across all other occupations, highlighting the abundance of demand.
- Outsourced medical coders are even more competitive in the market than
in-house medical coders. The trend of outsourcing medical coding services is booming at a major market share of 68.4%, expected to continue over the forecast period (2022-2029) thereby boosting the market even more.
The best part about medical coding jobs is, that they dont require multiple college degrees or medical coding certification to be employable, making it 25% more accessible as a job for aspirants who cannot afford hefty college fees.
U.S. News & Money graded the job of a medical records technician (performing medical billing, medical coding) as #12 on its list of “25 Best Jobs that Don’t Require a College Degree,” as well as #12 in “Best Health Care Support Jobs”.
Career Paths
There are different roles in the medical coding jobs department. Going one step Beyond
medical coding, professionals who have enough experience can advance their career to one of the following managerial roles:
- Auditors who review the work of coders and ensure compliance with coding guidelines and regulations.
- Managers who oversee the work of auditors and ensure the smooth functioning
- Risk Adjustment coders who handle the specific coding needs related to risk adjustment programs and ensure accurate reimbursement
- Coding Consultants to advise on correct coding approaches
There is a growing adoption of AI in the healthcare workplace. Yet, the demand for human medical coders remains high, with a hybrid approach to using human expertise to review ai generated medical code.
Is Medical Coding a Low-Paying Job?
In USA and worldwide, skilled coders sell their coding services at more competitive prices as demands go high. These salaries will further increase the preference for outsourcing medical coding services.
AAPC’s 2024 Medical Coding and Billing Salary Report exhibits a 1.9% increase in an average annual income of $54,545 for medical coding and billing professionals, whereas auditors saw a 4.3% increase in an average annual income of $74,002.
That being said, the income of a freshman without medical coding certification will be marginally less than a certified medical coding pay.
An uncertified medical coding pay is $53,749 per year, while AAPC-certified members average $62,689 annually — a 16.6% increase.
Medical Coding Qualifications
The more qualified you are, the higher your medical coding salary gets.
Requirements
- High school diploma /GED
- University degree, preferably associate degree in medical coding or a degree in a related field
Special Assets
- experience medical records, claims or billing areas
- Previous medical office experience preferred.
Hard Skills
- Proficiency in Medical Terminology and Anatomy:
- Expertise in Coding Systems and Guidelines:
- Knowledge of Healthcare Reimbursement and Billing:
- Proficiency in EHR Systems and Coding Software
Soft Skills:
- Administrative writing skills
- Reporting skills
- Microsoft Office skills
What Medical Coding Certifications are Preferred
- Certified Coding and Billing Specialist (CBCS), offered by National Healthcareer Association – NHA, demonstrates specialisation in converting a
medical procedure, into a specific code to submit a claim for repayment and prevent fraud by auditing billing procedures.
- Certified Professional Coder (CPC): Offered by the AAPC, a nationally recognized standard of achievement in the health information management field, which demonstrates medical coding skills ranging from various specialities in CPT, ICD-10, and HCPCS Level II coding systems.
- Certified Coding Specialist (CCS): Provided by AHIMA, validates mastery in coding for hospital and inpatient settings. It validates expertise in ICD-10-CM, ICD-10-PCS, and CPT coding systems to help hospitals and medical providers get proper reimbursement.
AAPC’s Salary Survey has already shown how medical coding certifications make a candidate more marketable in the workforce, and increase earning potential.
A search for “CPC” on Indeed yielded over 3,500 job listings across the United States, while a search for “COC” (Certified Outpatient Coder) returned over 2,300 jobs. This demonstrates the high demand for certified medical coders in the job market.
Conclusion
The three main variables contributing to the sky-high demand for Medical coding jobs are
- Extensive Digitisation, resulting in more data and technological requirements
- Increasing Aging population
- Physician staff shortage
Hospitals and healthcare facilities need aspirants to be adept at healthcare technology skills while keeping up with existing trends in Data Efficiency and Management.
Aspirants must take heed of the current trends to harbor better medical coding pays in the healthcare sector. Explore how our AI medical scribe technology can streamline documentation processes, or request a demo to see it in action. For a hands-on experience, you can also try it for free to understand its impact firsthand.