Work at home jobs are increasing due to advantages associated with them. Companies save money with production costs when work is outsourced instead of being processed in an office setting. Those who work at home on the other hand have more flexible working hours and saves money on transportation, food, clothing, and other expenses related to work. Medical billing and coding is one of the most prominent home based jobs at present.
Medical billing can be a separate job from medical coding. Medical billers contact insurance companies in behalf of clients. Insurance claims, coverage, and benefits for hospital or medical bills and expenses are followed up via emails and calls. Clients may be private individuals, clinics, hospitals, and companies.
Medical coders on the other hand translate all medical related files and transcripts into internationally recognized codes. These include the CPT codes and the HCPCS codes as well as the ICD 9 or ICD 9 CM codes. CPT is defined as Current Procedural Terminology and was developed by the American Medical Association for a more unified means of labeling medical practices and procedures.
HCPCS on the other hand is defined as Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System. It is a system symbolized by numbers and letters to represent medical procedures, medications, equipments, and supplies. Unlike CPT which is more descriptive, HCPCS can be similar to abbreviations. HCPCS is used by insurance agencies and medical billing and coding companies to make it easier to process claims.
ICD 9 when expounded means International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 9th Revision. CM on ICD 9 CM refers to clinical modification. ICD 9 or ICD 9 CM is also used by insurance agencies and medical billers as well as coders in relation to insurance processing.
Despite being two separate jobs, both medical billing and coding tasks can be accomplished by an individual due to the connection of these jobs with each other in relation to insurance claims. When proper coding is done, billing can afterwards be done. Hence, a single person can actually assume both roles.
The average salary of a professional in medical billing and coding can start at $25,000 on an entry level and may increase up to $50,000 for more experienced medical billers and coders as of 2009. Those who work independently on a freelance basis at home are often paid a minimum of $10 to $12 dollars on average.