If you are trying to establish a career in the medical coding or billing department, then you must know some basics before making a final decision. About a career, some things are a must to study like job description, scope, and salary. Among these 3, salary is the most considered one for many people before deciding about their career. So what is the medical coding billing salary? You want to know that right?
Read on our guide and better understand what salary packages hospitals offer as a starter and whether you should get into this career or not.
What Does A Medical Coder Biller Do?
As a complete beginner in the field of medical coding, you must know what role you will perform once you get a job. Let’s suppose you have taken basic education, high school, and courses to become a medical coder. Now you don’t understand what exactly you will be working on. Let us tell you.
Medical coder and biller are different roles but highly interrelated. As you know in hospitals, you have to deal with patient’s bills, there are certain codes you have to mention in the bill. These codes are called CPT and other types of codes that help insurance companies recognize what service a patient received and what amount came under a specific patient’s insurance plan. On the basis of codes, insurance companies confirm whether the reimbursement will be made or not. So an accurate medical bill is important for both patients and the hospital.Â
All this process shows the crucial role of a medical biller and the importance of their presence in a healthcare facility. So to sum up, you will study and incorporate accurate codes in the bill, review it carefully, and execute the bill process to be sent. Besides this basic role, you are also required to work on other small tasks like:
- To deal with patients and solve their queries
- To cooperate with other departments to provide efficient service
- To constantly study changing codes, industry laws, and trends
- To resolve the payer issue in case of claim rejection and get the payment
- To keep the records of all medical bills and claim rejections/approval
All About Medical Coding Billing Salary
Now that you know the basic role of this field, you should know what you can expect as a beginner or as a professional in this field. Here are the average medical coding billing salary figures you will get in 2024:
Salary For Interns
At first, when you are an intern, you are expected to work more but at a low salary. Of course, in this phase you are looking to get experience and salary doesn’t matter much. So as a medical coding biller intern, you will expect an hourly wage or monthly stipend on an hourly basis of $15 to $20.
Salary For Newbies
When you have completed your internship period and luckily got a job, you are now at advancement. So in this phase, you have a total of approximately 4-6 months of experience. Here you can expect to earn a monthly salary of $35,000 to $50,000 which is enough for a beginner.
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Salary For Someone With A Few Years Of Experience
When you are consistently working in a field you gain some prior expertise. If you have around 4-5 years of experience, then the medical coding billing salary will be around $45,000 to $65,000. This salary is somehow close to the newbies, but many hospitals consider experienced candidates valuable and offer higher salaries with some benefits.
Salary For A Professional
Now in this phase, you have reached so far in your career. As a professional or specialist, you have around 10 years or more of experience. So if you are this experienced, you can easily demand a high salary. Here medical coding billing salary lies between $50,000 to $70,000 or more. This is a dream income everyone wants. So stay motivated and try to reach this stage in your life.
How To Negotiate For Higher Salary?
So you know what medical coding billing salary you can expect when you are a beginner or a professional. But sometimes even after deserving, you are offered a low salary which is wrong. Here what you should do is to learn the art of negotiation. Most employers have the flexibility to increase salary during the hiring process, which they only do after negotiation. This shows the skills of a candidate and how they convince them to offer more salary.
Negotiation is a proper skill. Here you will learn this skill, and no matter what field you belong to, this skill will help you secure more salary.
Research
As negotiation is mostly done during interviews, when you are invited, do your research work. It involves finding out about the healthcare facility you are looking to get a job in, your location, market salary, and your experience. With this preparation, you will have accurate facts and figures in hand and that will surely impress the interviewer.
Timing Matters
One thing to keep in mind is to ask about the medical coding billing salary after your interview or at the very end. Discussing salary early in the interview or asking about pay again and again can give negative signals to the employer and you will not be considered a professional candidate. So make sure you are negotiating about salary at an appropriate time and with confidence.
Be Confident, Not Aggressive
This is another thing you must remember while staying confident during negotiation is important, being aggressive can be a huge turnover. Make sure you have a professional tone while asking about the salary. One bonus tip here is to use I in your sentences. Like, I think this salary won’t satisfy my needs and market criteria.
Practice Communication
Communication is the key here. You have to convey your point to the interviewer while listening to their points as well. So practice proper communication techniques to convince them for a high salary. Also, listen actively to what they are saying and be open to compromise to some extent.
Ask For The Full Package
Other than salary, some basic things are also demanded. Ask for benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, bonuses, increments, and career development opportunities. Most of the healthcare facilities provide these benefits, so make sure you ask them.
Walk Away
Yes, we are asking you to walk away if employers leave no room for negotiation or you can’t get a high medical coding billing salary offer. Remember that you can always go for other opportunities after rejecting one. You don’t know what perfect opportunity is waiting for you out there. So don’t agree for less of your worth and leave the discussion politely.
Follow Up
If luckily you have been able to secure a high salary due to negotiation, don’t forget to ask for a written agreement after the interview. Ask them to mention your job roles, salary information, and agreement tenure. This will help you keep a record of your essential job details.Â
The Road To A Higher Salary
This is the essential guide you need to have when stepping into your career. As you can see a professional candidate has a higher medical coding billing salary, so with dedication and consistency you will reach this height and earn your dream income.
However, remember that these figures are just an average. In reality, healthcare facilities may offer more or less than the mentioned salary. But to have an idea, our guide will serve as an essential piece of information for your career.