Many readers ask me about medical billing from home, so today I've done the research to help you understand exactly what it is, what it pays, and — most important — how to dodge the many scam opportunities you might come across when seeking out this type of job.
While medical billing is totally for real and many people are able to make a decent living from home doing it, it definitely doesn't count as entry-level work. It is also closely related to medical transcription, another field worth exploring if you are interested in working from home in healthcare.
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And my e-books you can see here are a good alternative to that if you just want one-and-done info rather than regular updates in your inbox.
Medical Billing From Home Scams
The first thing you should know about the work from home medical billing “opportunities” you might find online is that many of these are not actually work at home jobs, but rather someone trying to sell you information on how to start your own medical billing business.
Why is this misleading? It is because the advertisements make it sound as though you are going to work for someone, or for a company, rather than just paying for information that may or may not even help you.
With that said, you can get paid to do medical billing from home, but as mentioned above, it's not nearly as easy to get started as many scammers would have you believe.
What Does a Medical Biller Do?
Medical billing involves billing insurance companies for healthcare services provided, billing patients, sending claims to insurance companies, and appealing claims denials, among other things.
To do the job, you'll need to have an understanding of medical terminology, human anatomy, and the medical coding system. It is also worth knowing that many employers look for billing and coding skills together, so training programs that cover both can give you a real advantage in the job market.
You will need to know how to type. Customer service skills are also very important because chances are good you'll be on the phone frequently with doctor's offices, insurance companies, etc. once you start working.
How Much Do Medical Billers Make?
According to current data from ZipRecruiter, the average medical billing clerk earns around $40,200 per year, with top earners making closer to $52,000 annually.
Pay will vary depending on your experience, location, and whether you hold any certifications.
Is Training Necessary?
You do need some training to get started and while there are several schools you can use for the training, it's best if you stick with one that is accredited.
Many vocational schools do offer medical billing courses which can take as little as nine months or as long as two years to complete, and some of these also offer help with job placement just out of school.
You will not be able to find a business that will hire you for medical billing unless you have either had some schooling or past work experience.
Where Can You Go For Training?
It might not be a bad idea to check around in your local area for a college or tech/vocational school with a medical billing program. These schools may additionally have options for you to complete your courses online or mostly online.
Penn Foster is also a highly recommended option for online training in medical billing and coding. They have been accredited for over 50 years through the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, which makes them a solid and trustworthy choice.
Their Medical Billing and Coding Career Diploma program is fully online and self-paced, so you can work through it on your own schedule.
The program prepares you to sit for the Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) exam, and Penn Foster actually covers the cost of the exam for graduates, which is a significant perk. They also offer flexible, affordable payment plans to make the program accessible.
This is the training program I would recommend to readers looking for a reputable, accredited online option for medical billing from home.
Is Medical Billing 100 Percent Home-based?
What you will find when you begin looking for medical billing jobs from home is that most doctor's offices, pharmacies, and insurance companies that hire medical billers do not offer a work from home option to start.
In most cases you will not be able to work from home until you've worked onsite for a certain period of time.
Once you prove yourself working onsite, you may then be given permission to do the work from home.
If you are getting into medical billing primarily because you want a work from home career, keep in mind that there are some companies out there that may never be willing to let you work from home.
You will need to check and make sure that the potential to work from home at some point is there before agreeing to employment if that is important to you.
That said, there are established companies that do hire remote medical billers. Some worth looking into include Ensemble Health Partners, Humana, and Guidehouse, all of which have been known to post remote billing and coding positions.
Searching their careers pages directly or using a job board like FlexJobs to filter for remote healthcare billing roles is a good way to find current openings.
Starting Your Own Medical Billing Business
Many work from home medical billers do run their own home businesses. You can either attempt to dive right into this after getting the schooling you need, or you can take time to work under someone else first before trying to go it alone.
As with any home business, there will be some start up expenses. These will include home office equipment, a business license, medical billing software, reference books, and more.
However, medical billing is something that there will likely always be a need for since health care is always in demand, so if you go about things the right way, you may be able to do well with your home business.
More Information
Penn Foster's medical billing and coding program page has a lot of detailed information on what the work involves, what you can earn, and what the training covers. It is a good place to start if you are seriously considering going down this path.
Good luck if you decide to pursue medical billing from home!
Looking For More?
If so, FlexJobs is a good way to find them if you create an account and do a search. Their job board isn't free, but I've been a member and found it to be really useful for me because all the job leads fit the following criteria:
- All jobs are either remote or flexible in nature
- Scam-free (all jobs vetted by humans before posting)
- No ads or junk on their site, so you can browse distraction-free
- Hundreds of jobs posted every day across tons of categories
- Respected, long-standing, and truly useful
They let you try them out for 14 days for $2.95. So there is not much risk if you just want to create an account and see if you find anything you may want to apply for.
Anna Thurman is a work at home blogger and mom of two. She has been researching and reviewing remote jobs for over 15 years. Her findings are published weekly here at Real Ways to Earn.