8 Pros and Cons of Medical Billing and Coding As a Career Choice

Pros and Cons of Medical Billing and Coding: What You Need to Know Before You Start. Make an Informed Decision Today!

Choosing a career is one of your life’s biggest decisions. There are a lot of things to consider before starting your journey of becoming a professional. Even if you are planning to change jobs, you have to consider the scope of the new opportunity. If you are considering Medical Billing and Coding as your next career, you must know everything about the position before you take the leap. 

What does a medical biller and coder do?

Medical billing and coding is a flourishing career with many possibilities to grow. But what does a medical coder do? At the core, you will manage the revenue cycle of the healthcare sector. By extracting billable information from medical records and clinical documentation, you will create insurance claims and bills for patients. 

If that sounds intriguing, we have more for you. With this article, we want to highlight 8 pros and cons of being a Medical Billing and Coding specialist so that you can decide if it is right for you. 

Pros of medical billing and coding

You can work in any division of the medical field. 

When you think about a career in the healthcare sector, your mind goes straight to hospitals and medical practices. But there is more to it than that. If you are certified in medical billing and coding, you can work in rehab facilities, long-term care facilities, and insurance companies. You can also work independently and provide services as a consultant and freelancer. 

Any organization in the medical field that bills people could be a potential job opportunity for you. So, saying that you will almost always find a job that fits you well will not be wrong.

You can get the training in a few weeks. 

Some might consider this the biggest perk of becoming a certified medical biller and coder. At TN Professional Training Institute, we provide the Online Medical Billing and Coding course as a 10-week training program. So, that means in just a couple of months, you can enter the medical field as a valuable professional. 

Unlike other medical careers, you do not need a college degree to become certified. As long as you have your high school diploma, you can get trained and start working. 

You will get a decent salary. 

The money you will make is a huge motivator in choosing a career. For Medical Billing and Coding, the salary does not disappoint. what is medical billing and coding salary? At the entry level, you will start at about $45,000 a year. But as you gain more experience, your income will substantially increase. A top-level medical biller and coder can earn more than $70,000 per year, which is a pretty good income by any standard. 

If you are wondering how much medical billing and coding specialists make an hour, it can be anywhere between $21 to $35 per hour, depending on whether you are entry-level or experienced.

You will always have room for advancement. 

You will not always stay a medical biller and coder. The opportunities to grow and expand are immense. From delving into practice management to medical auditing, from compliance to clinical document improvement, there is so much more you can do as you grow. You can even educate, provide specialized billing services, such as for cardiology, or work on multiple accounts. The more you learn and grow, the higher you will earn.  

You can work from your place of choice. 

Do you like working from home? Maybe the office is your preferred workspace, or you like working while you travel the entire country. As a medical billing and coding specialist, you can work from anywhere. 

This is especially beneficial for people who have children or pets and need to be with them during the day. With a career like this, you can make any place your office as long as you complete all your work on time. You might even get the luxury of a flexible schedule that does not confine you to a desk from 9 to 5.

Cons of being a medical biller and coder

You will be entering a high-in-demand competitive field.

According to a recent report, the U.S. medical coding market size was valued at $17.9 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.0% from 2022 to 2030. 

With this kind of growth comes competition, but succeeding as a medical coder and biller isn’t difficult if you have the knowledge and skills.

You will need to be updated on the constantly changing regulations.

The healthcare industry is known to change and update its regulations constantly. So as a medical billing and coding specialist, you will need to be aware of the latest rules and guidelines to work effectively. 

You may find the work repetitive.

Medical billing and coding can be mundane. You may enter the same patient details into different systems multiple times during the day. Although there would be other work, most of your days will be spent on the computer doing repetitive tasks. 

The Takeaways: Pros and cons of medical billing and coding

For us, the pros of medical billing and coding far outweigh the cons. With room for advancement and less training time, Medical Billing and Coding is a lucrative career that helps you keep an ideal work-life balance. As for the cons, there will always be some in every career choice. Even the best surgeons in the world may feel their career does not give them enough personal time. 

The decision is still yours, but we are here to help you. Call us at (615) 631-8440, and we can discuss Medical Billing and Coding in detail.