Medical Billers & Coders Demand Spiked as US Healthcare Adds about 31,000 Jobs in January

Remaining resistant to the pressures of the economy, the healthcare sector has long been lauded as a recession-proof sector, including jobs involving no direct patient care – one of them being medical billing and coding. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) – the healthcare sector jobs rose 0.2% to around 14.2 million workers since December, with the sector adding approximately 31,000 jobs in January, also stating that employment of medical billing and coding specialists is expected to grow at a much faster than average rate through 2018.

According to the bureau’s preliminary statistics – Hospitals added around 12,700 jobs, ambulatory-services segment saw an increase of about 12,900 jobs, while around physician office jobs increased by 2700 since December. Moreover, BLS predicts an increase of 20% in the employment of all health information technicians, including medical billing and coding specialists.

With the changing healthcare industry and reforms, and as the EHR system continues to broaden and alter medical billers and coders job responsibilities, BLS states that job prospects will be especially  bright for professionals with strong computer software skills. With the clinic requirements and patient population growing amongst other variables, demand for medical billing and coding is escalating along with a steady growth in income with increasing career prospects.

Institute wise average medical coding and billing earnings

Institute Average Pay/ year
General Hospitals $32,600
Nursing $30,660
Federal Branch $42,760
Physician offices/clinics $26,210
Outpatient centers $29,160

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

On a ‘highly’ optimistic note – being a recovering economy, if the job growth continues at this rate, the health care industry can be expected to add more than a quarter of a million new jobs by the end of 2012. Moreover there is tremendous scope for earning for medical billers and coders and the outlook of this stream is bright due to increasing requirements in medical centers, besides being able to practice in any part of the globe. Coding being highly vital to a physicians practice as any discrepancy in this area can result in low reimbursements, various physicians are seeking services of medical billers. Medicialbillersandcoders.com is a preferred choice among physicians for over a decade now, gives coders a platform to excel in their domain and are equipped with experienced Billers and Coders well-versed with HIPAA, ICD-10 and other compliances, and training themselves constantly as per the industry requirements.

Medical coding and billing salary range is wide, with a low percentage of employees in this medical field expecting to see a salary of $31,000 per year while another percentage expecting to see a salary range as high as $48,000 per year. However the average salary for a medical coder and biller will likely be between $36,000 per year and $44,000 per year and is expected to get a higher scope in upcoming years. However these are just averages and eventually only the medical biller and coder can determine their earnings depending on variables they adopt. Medicialbillersandcoders.com providing updated knowledge, placement opportunities and analyzing current salary trends is the largest consortium of medical billers and coders in the US.

For more information visit: Medical Billing Services

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