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A medical biller is in charge of contacting the insurance companies of patients in order to collect payment for the doctor or hospital. It is a staple of the healthcare industry and poised for massive growth with the retirement of the Baby-Boomer generation. This guide will give you a breakdown of what is needed to get started in the exciting career and the medical biller salary you can expect.
Medical Biller Salary Information:
Based on the statistics from the United States Department Of Labor, a certified medical biller can expect an average medical biller salary of $35,000 annually or around $17.00 an hour. Please keep in mind that this could be different based on your geographic location. For example, the medical biller salary will be higher if you live in New York and lower if you live in Texas based on the cost of living. When starting out in the field you will be making a minimum of $28,000. After a few years of experience and some good references, you should have no problem increasing your salary to over $35,000. [more information on salary]
Medical Biller Education Requirements:
Medical billing schools are pretty easy to find these days. A simple search in Google will reveal at least 3 to 5 schools in your area. Many of them will be offered at your local community college or one of the online colleges that are on the rise. Online schools are a great way to learn the field but that being said it requires a lot more discipline on the part of the student. If you are not a self-starter this is not for you. A lot of people think online classes are easy but this is not the case. Only if you are a "self-motivator" should you attempt online courses, otherwise, stick to the more traditional form of education where the professor is with you face to face. It can be very hard to figure something out when you don't have hands on help. [more information on education]
Medical Biller Work Environment:
As a medical biller, there is three different places you may end up working in. The first is a hospital where you will be in charge of calling the patient's insurance companies for payment. The second place you may end up is a doctor's office. In this case you will be on your own or part of a very small team. Just as before you will be contacting the patients insurance companies. The final place you could end up is a medical coding center. Sometime, doctors and hospitals will outsource their billing to larger centers. In all cases you will need good interpersonal skills as you will be dealing with insurance representatives as well as staff on a daily basis. The industry is currently shifting from paper to electronic so it might be worthwhile to equipped to handle both. [more information on work environment]
Finally, you should to check for reviews on each of the schools your considering. Rip-Off report is a great place to start. The next thing you should do is look up to see if your prospective school is accredited. Most of them will have some accreditation listed on their website. The United States regulates and offers accreditation to colleges nationwide. This accreditation is very important to have as you will not be able to get federal aid or a student loan at you local bank without it. With some effort upfront, you should have no problem succeeding as a medical biller.
Additional Resources:
Medical Billing Salaries |
