The Truth About Work from Home Medical Billing Jobs

The healthcare industry is booming, and employment is forecast to grow 16% over the next decade across all healthcare occupations — over double the national average. This growth is mainly attributed to the population of aging baby boomers leading to higher demand for medical services.

This is great news for anyone interested in pursuing a career in healthcare. However, regardless of interest, not everyone is cut out to provide clinical services. One occupation that is administrative in nature while still requiring some interaction with patients is medical billing. Indeed, this is a field that offers a growing number of remote work opportunities.

What Do Work from Home Medical Billers Do?

In general, the functions of a medical biller are critical to the healthcare revenue cycle. Work from home medical billers function in the same way as on-site medical billers. Work is simply conducted via the internet and telephone. The main challenge to working remotely is maintaining information security and ensuring the confidentiality of patient records in compliance with HIPAA regulations.

The activities of a medical biller encompass two areas; front-end billing and back-end billing. In particular, front-end billing begins when the patient schedules their initial appointment. Medical billers must ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information collected, including insurance details. Besides, they are also charged with verifying coverage for services provided and collecting copayments as necessary.

Once the patient service is completed, the back-end billing begins. Medical billers pull together all the necessary information to create a “superbill” that includes patient and healthcare provider information and a series of codes that describe the diagnosis, services, and procedures provided.

Furthermore, billers also verify, or “scrub,” the collected information and then use it to fill out claim forms for submission to Medicare, Medicaid, and third-party payers to secure payment. Other functions of medical billers include correcting denied or rejected claims and collecting patient payments for submission to accounts receivable for posting.

Is There a Difference Between Medical Billing Jobs and Medical Coding Jobs?

Medical billing and medical coding together facilitate the healthcare revenue cycle by ensuring payers and patients reimburse providers for services. However, they are different roles. There are two main differences between the jobs:

In addition, there are also slightly different educational requirements and job outlooks for the two positions. Still, there are instances where the two positions are combined, especially in smaller provider facilities such as a private physician practice. There are also instances where the positions are split into more roles to handle the larger volume, such as patient intake, medical billing, medical collections, procedure coding, and facility coding.

How to Become a Medical Biller

Technically, applicants only need a high school diploma to become a medical biller. On the other hand, additional training and experience are helpful, especially for work from home medical billing jobs. Jobs sometimes require completion of a certificate program or associate degree, and there are many colleges and vocational schools that offer medical billing programs. Programs can take anywhere from 10 weeks to two years to complete.

In addition, there are a number of professional certifications that can help jobseekers obtain top positions. Two recognized certifications include the Certified Professional Biller (CPB) designation offered through the American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC) and the Certified Medical Reimbursement Specialist (CMRS) credential offered through the American Medical Billing Association.

Salary Information & Job Outlook for Medical Billing Jobs

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not list medical billing separately. But most medical billing functions are under the medical specialty of the administrative assistant occupation. Under this category, the average median annual wage for medical administrative assistants was $37,350 in May 2020. In fact, the job outlook is positive, with a projected increase in employment of 11% between 2020 and 2030.

Salary.com presents the median annual wage of a medical billing clerk as a little higher at $40,211 as of October 29, 2021.

Watch Out for Work from Home Medical Billing Scams

Unfortunately, some unscrupulous people run scams on people wanting to train and find work from home medical billing jobs. Learn to recognize the signs of scams that usually come in two forms.

The first type of scam is for medical billing training. These scams promise quick certification to get top jobs. If a program says you can be qualified in a month to get a medical billing job, beware. These positions are complex and technical, requiring many months of study and practice to master.

Make sure you sign up for programs accredited by an accrediting body, such as the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) or the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). Programs are also accredited or affiliated with professional associations.

The second type of scam is job ads that promise large salaries with no experience, offering the ability to start your own work from home business. These scams will offer online training, software, and networking support. However, starting a business in medical billing would require years of experience and a reputation for handling sensitive information.

How to Obtain Entry-Level Work from Home Medical Billing Jobs

Due to the sensitive and confidential nature of the work completed by medical billers, it can be difficult to obtain an entry-level position off-site. Overall, most work from home medical billing jobs will require a year or two of experience in addition to any education and certification requirements.

One way to get initial experience is to participate in an internship. You can find opportunities by checking with your education provider, industry associations, or checking out hospitals, physician offices, or other medical facilities near you. After a successful tenure of employment on-site, more work from home medical billing jobs will be available.

Companies that Frequently Hire for Work from Home Medical Billing Jobs

There are many full- and part-time work from home medical billing jobs available. The majority of opportunities are available with healthcare facilities, healthcare service providers, staffing companies, and healthcare technology firms. Below is a list of companies that frequently hire medical billers to work remotely.

Virtual OfficeWare, LLC.

Virtual OfficeWare is a healthcare technology company that creates custom products for clinic management, electronic health records, and hospital accounting. Examples of recently advertised jobs include:

APS Medical Billing

APS Medical Billing is a revenue cycle management company that provides consulting, credentialing help, practice reporting, coding, and accounts receivable follow-up. Remote jobs that this company advertises for include:

Coronis Health

Coronis Health provides specialized technology solutions to healthcare practices and facilities. The company’s solutions focus on patient care, maintaining financial independence, and cultivating financial success. Billing-related jobs that this company advertises for include:

Quick Med Claims, LLC

Quick Med Claims, LLC is a medical billing company that specializes in providing billing and reimbursement services for emergency medical transport organizations. Recently advertised positions include:

Experity, Inc.

Experity, Inc. created a software platform that provides online self-scheduling and queue management for healthcare organizations. In detail, this company customizes tools for a variety of healthcare markets to manage wait times, communicate with patients during their visits, and collect feedback to improve operations. Examples of recently advertised positions include:

Azalea Health

Azalea Health is a cloud-based electronic health records and revenue cycle management solution that incorporates telehealth functions and mobile health applications. This company has advertised for remote positions that included:

Performant Financial Corporation

Performant Financial Corporation is a financial services company specializing in technology-enabled audit, recovery, customer care, and related analytics services for clients that include healthcare providers. Telecommute positions related to medical billing that this company has advertised for include:

Ideal Option

Ideal Option is a healthcare provider that offers treatment options for patients struggling with substance abuse and addiction. Jobs that this provider has recently advertised for related to medical billing include:

UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group is a diversified global healthcare company that provides healthcare coverage, benefits, and IT support for clinical care. This company hires for many medical billing-related positions. Nevertheless, they tend to request that applicants have clinical experience. Recently advertised positions include:

Work from Home Medical Billing Jobs Can Lead to Bigger Things

Educational requirements, background checks, and an initial stint in an on-site position may be necessary. However, there are many opportunities for jobseekers looking for remote medical billing positions. The medical billing field is growing faster than the national average. Consequently, there are high-quality positions available with a wide variety of companies. Medical billing can also be your ticket to career advancement. These positions frequently lead to more senior-level positions in healthcare administration.

What inspired you to start a career in medical billing? If you’ve been there before, how do you like working in the remote medical billing field? Connect with Virtual Vocations on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube to share your thoughts and tips. We’d love to hear from you!