If you're thinking about entering the field of medical billing you'll find it's part of one of the fastest growing industries - healthcare. People will always need health care. And there is so much demand for good healthcare today that health facilities, hospitals, clinics, doctors and other health professionals are overwhelmed. To handle all the billing and claims they have to hire medical billing assistants or billing specialists or turn the billing work over to large billing services or small home business billing services. The same goes for medical coders although they have a separate function and separate training. They provide the codes before it goes to any medical billing services.
The salary range is dependent on how much education or experience you have in the billing field. If not in the billing field then related experience to billing will be taken into account by some companies. You may actually be able to work into this area if you're lucky enough to already be working for one of these billing services or companies.
But more than likely you'll not have that opportunity. The another options is to get some medical billing training and approach the large and small billing companies with your resume to pursue a job or career in the field. Another other option is to start up a home business if you're so inclined but you must feel confident you can do the work if you only have the education but haven't had any experience in the field. I do know a woman who has done this - started a medical billing business from home and did heavy marketing to get her first doctor client and then the doctor was so happy with her billing work that he referred her to other doctors. So yes this is a possibility but not as likely. There is an investment in the software to consider plus the expense of starting up a home business, etc.
So the hourly rate for jobs for billing assistants can start at about $10 an hour depending on the company. Once you have a lot of experience under your belt you'll move up and the experience will help you get a higher salary. You can work up to an hourly rate of $35 to $40 an hour. Medical coding salaries are comparable to biller's wages or salaries.
If you're serious about medical billing as a career you may want to become a Medical Billing Specialist. To become a specialist you'll need to take a national exam for certification. But many medical billers get jobs without this certification. So it's not required. And if you decide you want to start up a home business and work from home it won't be needed.
So the salary range is good and the more education and experience you have will help you get a higher salary for both medical billing and medical coding. Make sure to check out any schools thoroughly and watch out for scams. Financing is available in the form of loans and surprisingly there is federal aid for online courses, online classes, and online programs.