Work at Home Medical Billing Career?

Proper medical billing is an important aspect of the medical field, primarily involving processing insurance claims. Work-at-home medical billing opportunities are everywhere, but most lack important information. Coding standards make it relatively simple for anyone to learn the tasks required for medical billing. While there are many ways to acquire medical billing training, working as an independent home processor is far more difficult than just learning proper input and coding. Advertisements commonly suggest medical billing is an easy job done from the comfort of your home, but in reality typically require running an entire medical billing business, including recruiting clients to provide work volume. Rarely can an actual medical billing home employment opportunity be found.

When considering medical billing offers available, keep in mind that doctor’s offices’ already process the medical billing claims, usually using in-house employees or specialized firms. Requests from individuals to process medical billing are likely to be ignored, especially due to the sensitivity and privacy of the information involved. Most programs don’t mention this, instead making it sound like there is a higher volume of medical billing claims that need processing than there are workers available. In fact it is the other way around, with far more processors looking for available medical billing work.

Good careers can be obtained in medical billing, but don’t count on a simple, guaranteed income. Finding a medical billing job entails the same trials as obtaining any job, requiring more than just training – experience, references, and job availability. If medical billing is a career path that interests you, start by looking for an established firm in the area to apply at as a medical billing claims processor, and inquire with them the specific training or certifications that are necessary.

View all Articles by: Melissa Clark, CCS-P