After graduating from the academia every medical coder looks for a medical billing job in the medical centers or hospitals around the locality. Most of the jobs offer $12-$13 an hour, some with added benefits, and some without. When you will attend medical coding program, people usually say this program will earn you $18 to $20 an hour as a starting salary mainly when you are certified, which you will later realize it is not the case. In reality, experience is the key to getting higher salary than the certification.
AAPC Healthcare Salary Survey 2013 clearly reflects an ever increasing job market for skilled coders, billers, medical auditors, and medical educators. This year’s salary survey showed that unemployment of medical coder has drastically declined to half. For example, those coding personnel who have a Certified Professional Coder credential enjoy unemployment below 2 percent, comparing to the US average unemployment of 7.4 percent.
This increase in employment across the country means a number of the 15,000 members who answered to our survey were only lately hired and are at, or near, initial salary levels. As a result, the survey tells a slight decline in the overall average salary: $46,847 (compared to previous year’s $47,870). The survey also explains, however, that the average salary jumps up to $48,925 for coders who have more than 2 years of professional experience in their field. In other words, the average salary continues to mount steadily for professionals who have been in the healthcare industry for a few years. As experience increases, so does the average salary, with coders who have more than 15 years of experience making an average of $56,667 annually. It’s very interesting, however, to note that the most significant salary increases happen in the first 20 years of experience. Beyond that, the increases are insignificant at best, with a little lesser than a 5 percent salary boost for every five years of practice.
There is also a saying in the medical coding industry: More Credentials and Education = More Money. This increase in employment across the country means a number of the 15,000 members who answered the survey
When separated by credential, the salary averages carry on illustrating that those having more focused credentials are likely to earn more money. For instance, according to this year’s data, those possess any of AAPC’s special medical credential can earn an average annual salary of $53,489. All specialized medical coder salary is given below:
- Certified Professional Coder (CPC) earns an average salary of $48,593 annually.
- Certified Professional Coder – Hospital Outpatient (CPC-H) earns an average salary of $56,284 annually.
- Certified Professional Coder – Payer (CPC-P) earns an average salary of $57,995 annually.
- Certified Professional Practice Manager (CPPM) earns an average salary of $59,619 annually.
- Certified Professional Medical Auditor (CPMA) earns an average salary of $61,115 annually.
- Certified Professional Biller (CPB) earns an average salary of $61,667 annually.
- Certified Professional Compliance Officer (CPCO) earns an average salary of $69,138 annually.
AAPC members continue to be considered as well knowledgeable group of medical coders. Of course, those with good professional experience and an associate degree, or a bachelor’s degree earns much better average salary than others without.