5 Reasons to Choose a Medical Billing and Coding Career

Are you fresh out of college and looking for a job in the BPO Industry? We have good news for you! Outsourcing by American Revenue Cycle Management companies has created many job opportunities in India. There is a huge demand for well-trained medical coders and billers in India thanks to business process outsourcing by these companies. If you are someone who is looking for a career in the US healthcare related industry, medical coding and medical billing are excellent job opportunities.

American medical insurance industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Revenue Cycle Management is an essential part of this rapidly growing industry. Medical billers and coders play a crucial role in ensuring operations run smoothly between insurance companies, physicians and patients. Medical billers analyze data provided by medical coders to compile, submit insurance claims and then bill patients.

In this blog post we will give you five reasons why medical billing and coding are the right career choices for you!

1. Huge Demand!

Open any job portal and search for medical billing/coding jobs. You will see a host of companies looking for freshers and experienced medical billers and coders. They include many multinational companies, Indian IT enabled services companies and numerous smaller privately owned companies. This demand for well trained and experienced professionals is growing and will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

2. Educational Qualifications

There are very limited high-paying job opportunities for graduates without professional degrees and those from life sciences backgrounds. Many bright graduates end up working as marketing/sales executives with low pays and high stress. We have also seen graduates from pharma and life sciences backgrounds finding it hard to secure a well paying job. Medical billing and coding career options are well suited for such graduates.

3. Get Trained Easily

It typically takes two to three months for a medical coder to get fully trained. The training duration is significantly less for a medical biller and lasts around 30 to 45 days. The syllabus, though not easy, is simple and straightforward. What you learn in your training is what you will do in your job.

There are multiple ways of getting trained in these two programs. Every major city in India has medical billing and coding training centers that offer reading material, classroom based teaching and online training programs. But care must be taken when picking a center or an online program. You must do a thorough research before paying and getting admitted into a program. Some of the factors you must take into account before choosing a training program: Are the trainers certified? Since when is the center in operation? Do they offer practical training? Is there placement assistance?

4. Working Environment

After you get trained and find a job in this industry, you will notice that your working hours are usually fixed without any surprises! Of course there will be days when your manager or team leader will ask you to stay a few hours extra to complete pending tasks but even for those extra hours you put in you will be compensated for. Most billing and coding companies have infrastructure and facilities which are as good as an IT company, especially the multinational companies. Compare this with someone who has chosen a career in marketing/sales or teaching. We don't have to explain any further.

5. Career Growth

Starting salaries of trainee medical billers and coders with no experience range between Rs. 4,000 through Rs. 6,000, with initial review within six months. After a few years of experience their salaries grow up to Rs. 12,000  to Rs. 20,000 based on performance and the company they work for. Top performers, managers and specialists with years of experience and credentials draw Rs. 50,000 and above.

A career in medical billing and coding is not for everyone, but then again if you are looking for a career in US healthcare with a lot of opportunities to grow, this could be the right career for you!