Medical Coding in the Real World
The Complete Guide to Medical Coding Hiring and Careers
Summary:
In this article we look at the life of a Medical Coder; their annual salaries, level of career advancement, day to day requirements, how to get hired as medical coder, how to hire a medical coder, and even performance based systems for higher approvals and employee retention. You'll also find
FREE downloads and videos discussing these topics in even further detail.
Medical Coder Demographics
There’s almost 135,000 medical biller coders in the United States.
90% of medical biller coders are women, 10% are men, with an average age of 45 years.
Where do Medical Coders work?
Per FortheRecord, over
72% of all Medical Coders work for a hospital or health system and 50% of those Medical Coders worked Remotely. This growing trend is why providers and smaller medical groups are having such a hard time with recruitment and full-time employment, and the rise of outsourcing has increased.
Medical Coder Careers
Per the
AAPC, here are the different Credentials and their associated annual median incomes:
| Credential | Annual Median | Monthly Median |
|---|---|---|
| Certified Professional Biller (CPB®) | $56,981 | $4,748 |
| Certified Professional Coder (CPC®) | $58,895 | $4,908 |
| Certified Outpatient Coder (COC®) | $64,267 | $5,356 |
| Certified Professional Coder-Payer (CPC-P™) | $62,494 | $5,208 |
| Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC®) | $58,730 | $4,894 |
| Certified Risk Adjustment Coder (CRC®) | $64,192 | $5,349 |
| Certified Professional Medical Auditor (CPMA®) | $72,304 | $6,025 |
| Certified Documentation Expert-Outpatient (CDEO®) | $72,619 | $6,052 |
| Certified Professional Coder-Instructor (CPC-I™) | $76,804 | $6,400 |
| Certified Professional Practice Manager (CPPM®) | $75,699 | $6,308 |
| Certified Professional Compliance Officer (CPCO®) | $81,495 | $6,791 |
| AVERAGE | $67,680 | $5,640 |
Average Salaries of Medical Coders per State 2023
| Top 25 States | Annual Salary | Monthly Pay | Weekly Pay | Hourly Wage | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | $53,132 | $4,427 | $1,021 | $25.54 | 1 |
| Massachusetts | $51,403 | $4,283 | $988 | $24.71 | 2 |
| South Dakota | $50,380 | $4,198 | $968 | $24.22 | 3 |
| Oregon | $50,218 | $4,184 | $965 | $24.14 | 4 |
| Alaska | $49,526 | $4,127 | $952 | $23.81 | 5 |
| Washington | $48,282 | $4,023 | $928 | $23.21 | 6 |
| Rhode Island | $47,614 | $3,967 | $915 | $22.89 | 7 |
| New York | $47,171 | $3,930 | $907 | $22.68 | 8 |
| Maryland | $46,213 | $3,851 | $888 | $22.22 | 9 |
| Nevada | $45,085 | $3,757 | $867 | $21.68 | 10 |
| Virginia | $44,919 | $3,743 | $863 | $21.60 | 11 |
| Kentucky | $44,416 | $3,701 | $854 | $21.35 | 12 |
| Colorado | $44,248 | $3,687 | $850 | $21.27 | 13 |
| Missouri | $43,550 | $3,629 | $837 | $20.94 | 14 |
| Nebraska | $43,362 | $3,613 | $833 | $20.85 | 15 |
| California | $43,304 | $3,608 | $832 | $20.82 | 16 |
| Idaho | $42,962 | $3,580 | $826 | $20.65 | 17 |
| Vermont | $42,717 | $3,559 | $821 | $20.54 | 18 |
| Tennessee | $42,399 | $3,533 | $815 | $20.38 | 19 |
| Delaware | $42,112 | $3,509 | $809 | $20.25 | 20 |
| Oklahoma | $41,875 | $3,489 | $805 | $20.13 | 21 |
| Connecticut | $41,780 | $3,481 | $803 | $20.09 | 22 |
| Arkansas | $41,471 | $3,455 | $797 | $19.94 | 23 |
| Arizona | $41,470 | $3,455 | $797 | $19.94 | 24 |
| Illinois | $41,453 | $3,454 | $797 | $19.93 | 25 |
| States 26-50 | Annual Salary | Monthly Pay | Weekly Pay | Hourly Wage | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $41,340 | $3,445 | $795 | $19.88 | 26 |
| Michigan | $41,227 | $3,435 | $792 | $19.82 | 27 |
| Wyoming | $41,151 | $3,429 | $791 | $19.78 | 28 |
| Maine | $41,107 | $3,425 | $790 | $19.76 | 29 |
| North Carolina | $40,718 | $3,393 | $783 | $19.58 | 30 |
| Minnesota | $40,636 | $3,386 | $781 | $19.54 | 31 |
| North Dakota | $40,300 | $3,358 | $775 | $19.38 | 32 |
| Montana | $39,604 | $3,300 | $761 | $19.04 | 33 |
| West Virginia | $39,572 | $3,297 | $761 | $19.03 | 34 |
| Indiana | $39,214 | $3,267 | $754 | $18.85 | 35 |
| Texas | $39,145 | $3,262 | $752 | $18.82 | 36 |
| Iowa | $38,657 | $3,221 | $743 | $18.59 | 37 |
| Pennsylvania | $38,632 | $3,219 | $742 | $18.57 | 38 |
| New Hampshire | $38,576 | $3,214 | $741 | $18.55 | 39 |
| Wisconsin | $38,480 | $3,206 | $740 | $18.50 | 40 |
| Ohio | $38,398 | $3,199 | $738 | $18.46 | 41 |
| New Mexico | $38,258 | $3,188 | $735 | $18.39 | 42 |
| Alabama | $38,004 | $3,167 | $730 | $18.27 | 43 |
| Utah | $37,776 | $3,148 | $726 | $18.16 | 44 |
| South Carolina | $37,445 | $3,120 | $720 | $18.00 | 45 |
| Kansas | $37,334 | $3,111 | $717 | $17.95 | 46 |
| Mississippi | $36,549 | $3,045 | $702 | $17.57 | 47 |
| Florida | $34,025 | $2,835 | $654 | $16.36 | 48 |
| Georgia | $33,234 | $2,769 | $639 | $15.98 | 49 |
| Louisiana | $32,630 | $2,719 | $627 | $15.69 | 50 |
How long does it take to get certified as a Medical Coder?
The time frame varies depending on the level of Medical Coding Certifications you wish to enter the market with. The longer you study and the higher the certifications you have the more you can request upon initial salaries, but a lot of providers and hospitals balance their need for medical coder vacancies based on both certificates and experience. That ratio of percentage of salary on certification and experience is largely up to the hiring manager and organization.
Sample Job Description of a Medical Coder
At the bottom of this article, we’ve provided an Editable PDF and Word Document that you use to hire your next medical coder, and for medical coders who use as a basis to evaluate your next employer.
Medical Coder Benefits and Compensation Consideration
Every organization no matter it’s size should consider these five things when hiring a Medical Coder, and these 5 things also apply to Medical Coders deciding whom to accept offers from.
Salary Considerations for Medical Coders
Is the Salary within the state’s median average? Is that Salary within the national average +/- 3% of the level of Certification. The more knowledge and experience a medical coder has, the less denials a practice or hopsital gets. If you run an at-risk payer organization, we strongly suggest that your claims manager is a Ceritfied Coder. How you expect to pay appropriately and stay within compliance without that level of expertise? Even our AI Medical Coding Software solutions, Virtual Examiner® , Virtual AuthTech®, and
iVECoder®, can’t do it all.
Insurance Considerations for Medical Coders
Every day a Medical Coder is absent due to illness or health conditions, means you’re collections are falling behind. It’s imperative that you offer health insurance coverage that covers in-patient, out-patient, and preventative care. You want your lead coder and biller to have the least amount of days off as possible. From the Coder’s perspective they need to know that you care about their current and future health, and that their coverage enables them to seek treatment before and during times of physical and emotional strain due to the complexities of the position.
Dental Insurance Considerations for Medical Coders
More and more healthcare companies are offering average dental coverage and this is a shame. Per NCBI,
9-27% of all absenteeism were due to Dental Health ranging from toothaches to temporomandibular join pain, and over 50% of employees want dental health insurance as part of their benefits coverage.
Vision Insurance Considerations for Medical Coders
It’s nearly impossible to be fast and accurate with medical coding if your blind. Sorry, this isn’t an ADA thing, this is a requirement of the job. You need to look, read fast, and then tab into the appropriate columns and boxes within softwares.
Finding the True Cost of Medical Denials
Performance Based Medical Coding
The Cost of Medical Claims Denials
In the US Healthcare System there is
$125 Billion in delayed and lost claims every year due to write-offs and denials either never being appealed or left dormant. This is a travesty because of ⅔ of all claims can be appealed and paid to their correct collection amount. Per MedicalBillingResources show that
8-12%, other studies like Kaiser state it’s far worse ranging from
18-80% for in-network providers! Each denial costs a practice
$25-$40 in administrative fees for Clinics and $117-$125 for hospitals (salary, time, software).
Approval Based Incentives for Medical Coders
The goal of hiring a coder, the job description of a coder.. Is to gain approvals through correct coding right?
So why not tie in a performance based bonus every month, quarter, every 6 months or even annually?
Watch these two quick videos on how to use the FREE downloads at the bottom of this article.
AI Medical Coding Software
Whether you are just a starting Medical Coder or you’ve been coding for decades, it’s impossible to know all the codes, modifiers, and new pitfalls and compliance that CMS and AMA throws at you as a Provider, Coder, and Biller. That’s why PCG Software has made CMS and Payer level knowledge available to clinics and coders;
iVECoder®.
What is iVECoder®?
Every organization no matter it’s size should consider these five things when hiring a Medical Coder, and these 5 things also apply to Medical Coders deciding whom to accept offers from.
For 30 years, PCG Software has used our flagship Virtual Examiner to help review medical claims with a full episode of care (most softwares only give you one pass of current claim), across 65 million edits, 400+ reason codes, and is updated quarterly. PCG took this same AI Engine and gave this information to providers via iVECoder.
You can research any code, run mock adjudications to see every last reason that claim could be denied, identifying professional versus facility reasons and financial collections amount based on your geographic location, learn about every code, and act as your own personal medical coding assistant.
Summary
We hope you found this information useful whether you are a medical coder looking for new employment or a provider or practice manager looking to hire a medical coder.
FREE Download includes:
- Job Description
- 1-page Audit worksheet
- Approval Rate Performance Based Bonus
Will Schmidt joined PCG Software as their Chief Strategy Officer in November 2022. Prior to PCG, Schmidt lead TNH as their Sr. Vice President to become the 7th largest pharmacy in the nation. He then went on to consult with and serve as Interim CEO or Consultant to over 20 different companies specializing in profit strategies, operational efficiencies, vendor relations and partnerships, and exit strategies, include an international Revenue Cycle Management Company.
