Medical billing and coding salary, training, and career facts

Individuals seeking a health care-related career can consider medical billing and coding salary, job training, and career information. Medical billers and coders specialize in coding medical information for reimbursement purposes. The American Health Information Management Association explains that coding professionals work in a variety of health care-related settings, and also with businesses such as third-party payers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics includes billers and coders in the category of medical records and health information technicians. The BLS reports that this category of workers is growing much faster than the average, with predicted job growth of 20 percent between 2008 and 2018.

Medical billing and coding salary and job training

To gain an idea of the average medical billing and coding salary, the best source is the BLS category of medical records and health information technicians. The BLS reveals that the mean salary for this profession in May 2009 was $33,880 a year, or $16.29 hourly, while the 90th percentile earned a mean annual wage of $51,510.

The top-paying industries for medical records and health information technicians in general included pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing and business. The highest-paying areas for these technicians in 2009 were as follows:

Typically, the minimum requirement for medical billers and coders is an associate degree, and many employers prefer to hire those who are credentialed by a professional organization such as the AHIMA or the American Academy of Professional Coders. An associate degree in health information technology includes classes such as medical terminology, health care reimbursement methods, and classification and coding systems.