First of all, medical billing and coding are basically two different functions. You can focus on medical billing or coding or a combination of both. Often people think that you should be trained in both billing and coding, but that is not the case. Often, at the company you work for as a medical biller, you will receive a job that comes to you already encrypted.

So it could be on the encoding end or the billing end. Some companies do both in-house. But the simplest and most effective route is to focus on one or the other. Both usually require training and to add coding you would have to add quite a bit of training. If you only take a medical billing training, course or program, you can complete your training and get your certificate, in some cases, and you are ready to get a job.

One of your concerns, of course, will be to find out how much money you’ll make as a medical biller, billing specialist or assistant, medical coder, or health insurance specialist. When you start to review and search for jobs, you will find that the titles go by various names. So keep that in mind. A health insurance specialist typically does both the billing and the coding.

The amount of money you will earn as a biller or coder will depend on how much experience you have and how much billing and/or coding training you have. At the very least, you should be able to get a salary of at least $12 to $15 an hour starting out. The more recent and long-term experience you have will add quite a bit to your starting salary.

So you can see that the level of education you have, whether or not you have a certificate, and the amount of experience will all factor into the salary you receive. Check all local job sources and human resources departments at hospitals, clinics, and insurance companies to see if you can get an idea of ​​the job requirements and salary range for the specific jobs they have openings for. A medical billing certificate is not always necessary. A trade, vocational, billing, or coding school awards its own certificates, plus there are national exams you can take and pass to earn a certificate in your field as well, for example, as a medical billing specialist. Local colleges and universities have billing or coding classes and programs in some cases.

You should check with your local schools and compare them to online schools. Make sure you understand what you are signing if you are asked to sign a contract for any online education. Your local colleges may also have online programs so you can get the medical billing and coding education you need that way, too. Federal financial aid and money are also set aside for online classes.