Medical Billing & Coding Salary Information
Medical coders & billers--also known as coding specialists, medical records coding technicians or medical coders--are health information professionals who specialize in codifying patient information for reimbursing medical facilities. Codes are assigned to medical diagnoses and procedures in computer systems, which then generates the amount that health care providers are owed if the patient has insurance. Salary information for medical coders and billers depends on a variety of factors.
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National Salaries
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average medical coder and biller made an annual average salary of about $33,000 in 2008. The median salary was $31,000, with the bottom 10 percent of medical coders and billers averaging approximately $20,000 and the top 10 percent averaging about $50,000.
State Salaries
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According to the BLS, New Jersey was the highest-paying state for medical coding and billing in 2008 at about $44,000 a year. Hawaii, Maryland and Alaska had annual salaries between $38,280 and $39,820, with the District of Columbia averaging around $41,000. South Dakota, with the highest concentration of medical coders and billers, had an average annual salary of $30,000, lower than the national average.
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Metropolitan Area Salaries
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In 2008, the top two metropolitan areas for medical coding and billing salaries were in California, according to the BLS. Health information technicians in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara and San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City averaged about $45,000 a year. Other metro areas within the $40,000 range included Waterbury, Connecticut; Iowa City, Iowa; and Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, New Jersey.
Workplace Salaries
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Most medical coders and billers, according to the BLS, worked in hospitals, physicians' offices, outpatient care centers and nursing care facilities, making annual salaries between $27,000 and $35,000. The federal government sector paid more, at about $43,000 a year.
Salary Outlook
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According to Salary.com, as of 2010, medical coders and billers make an average salary of around $44,000--a sizable jump from the numbers the BLS reported in 2008. The BLS expects a 20 percent employment increase for the health information technician profession between 2008 and 2018, which is faster than the average rate for all U.S. occupations.
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