Get the facts on what kind of Medical Billing Salary range you can expect. See what influences a Medical Billing Specialist salary. Does coding experience matter?
Like the famous line in Jerry Maquire says – “Show me the money”
If you are changing jobs, it’s important to get an idea of your market value before negotiating. Rule of thumb is try to get at least 10% more than your current salary.
Lets look at medical billing and coding salaries data from two different sources; the U. S. Department of Labor Occupation Outlook Handbook and PayScale.
In addition we’ve started our own anonymous medical billing and coding salary survey. Please check out the results and contribute to the survey here.
U. S. Department of Labor
The closest classification for a medical billing specialist in the U. S. Department of Labor Occupation Outlook Handbook is the Medical Records and Health Information Technician. Going by this data, the medical billing salary range would be between $28,460 to $45,120 with the median $33,880. This data is current from the 2010-2011 Occupational Outlook.
The U. S. Department of Labor outlook points out that employment is expected to grow much faster than the average for this occupation. Job prospects look to be very good, especially for medical billing specialists with strong computer software skills.
An important conclusion made by the Department of Labor that will influence the medical billing salary is that employment for this field is expected to increase by 20 percent by 2018. This is much faster than the average for all occupations.
Varies by Employer
Another interesting statistic for the medical billing salary is how the average pay varies based on employer:
- Hospitals: $35,870
- Nursing care facilities: $33,100
- Outpatient care facilities: $30,650
- Physician offices: $28,460
- Federal Government: $45,120
It’s apparent that the larger employers such as hospitals and nursing care facilities are going to pay more on average than physician’s offices. They are also more likely to offer better benefits than smaller employers – which most physicians offices would tend to be classified as. Larger employers such as hospitals do typically have more stringent educational and certification requirements than a physician’s office would.
You probably noticed working for the federal government pays substantially more. But there are significantly fewer job opportunities with the government and most are probably concentrated in one area – like Washington D.C.
PayScale
Here’s the range for Medical Billing Specialist Salary from PayScale:
This is according to PayScale.com. This translates into a mid-point of $14.51/hour or around $30,200 a year. Keep in mind this is a national average that can vary pretty widely.
The range of salary is dependent on:
- Years of experience
- Location (City or rural area)
- Geographic area (Northwest, Southeast, Pacific, etc.)
- Size of employer – Hospital or small practice
When considering a job it’s important to not only look at salary, but to factor in benefits. This would include time off – holidays/vacation/sick, medical/dental, and 401(k) matching, etc. Be sure to factor these in when making a decision. The larger employers are more likely to offer better benefits.
For comparison let’s compare to other medical office salaries:
As you can see the medical billing specialist salary hourly rate is one of the higher ones. Something to take into account when considering training as medical billing is typically not as training intensive as say medical coding.
Salary Info Varies
One thing I’ve noticed in researching medical billing salary information is that it varies by source. According to to the job search site Indeed, salaries for Medical Billers average $36,000 a year. This works out to about $17.30/hour which is higher than the Department of Labor and PayScale data above.
So use this data to get a general idea of the range to expect for medical billing salaries.
Coding Experience
Does coding experience effect medical billing salary? While we don’t have any hard statistics to support that, the general consensus is yes – coding experience does help. For any employer considering applicants for a medical billing job, the one with coding experience has the advantage. And most likely can command a higher salary – especially if they are certified and experienced. Having a good coding background really is an advantage in the reimbursement process – even if you aren’t coding the claims.
Medical Billing Jobs from Home?
If you have the drive, entrepreneurial spirit, and good business sense you can earn a lot more starting a medical billing business – that’s what I did. I’ll be honest – it’s a lot of hard work, but it’s also very rewarding.
The benefits are:
- Set your own hours
- Control your salary by how hard you work
- Satisfaction of creating a successful business
- Work from home
Click here to find out more on starting a medical billing business.
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