How Much Does a Certified Medical Coder Make

If you're wondering how much does a certified medical coder make, especially in these challenging times then do read on. Joining the industry of medical coding may be the right one for you because it offers great career opportunities with high salaries. Medical coding is on the rise, and there is a healthy demand for certified professionals. The increased need to provide universal access to health care and the increased use of electronic means makes medical coding a growing industry in the years to come.

The figures and analysis here are from the 2012 AAPC Health Care Salary Survey, and they reveal that people in the health care industry continues to be well compensated from the work they do. The list of professionals that responded to this survey includes educators, auditors, practice managers, billers and coders.

According to the survey, the recession in 2008 may have affected this industry like any others, but the years that have passed brought back new opportunities. From the recession, professionals in this industry have reported not only an increased opportunity for growth, but better decision making skills in their workplace.

Average salary for a medical coder

According to the 2012 survey, the average medical coder can earn $47,870 annually. This average medical coding salary involved both the non-certified and certified medical coders, but if you break down the actual earnings of non-credentialed and credentialed medical coders, you will get a significant difference on medical coding salaries. The figures below shows the salaries of medical coders according to their certifications or credentials.

1. A Certified Professional Coder or a CPC gets to earn $47,796 annually. 

2. All coders holding AAPC credentials get to earn $48,033 annually. 

3. Those with specialty credentials can earn $54,145 in a year. 

4. A Certified Professional Coder-Payer or CPC-P earns an average of $55,255, which is $3,800 higher than last year's average. 

5. A Certified Professional Coder-Hospital Outpatients or CPC-H, on the other hand, earns $56,466 with an increase of $1,800 from last year. 

6. A Certified Professional Medical Auditor or CPMA earns $59,365 with an increase of $3,200 from last year.

Salary for certified medical coder

Based on the figures, you can clearly see that those who are credentialed get to have higher salaries although there is a slow and steady growth of medical coding salaries from previous years. This means that those who have credentials get the most advantages out of their work from financial to professional development.

The medical coding salaries not only differ by the credentials, but also by the workplace. All workers have an increased salary by 9.7% as compared to last year's statistics. Those who worked in facilities earned more, but have the least salary raises. Those working in solo practice may have lower salaries, but have the most increase from $40,290 in 2010 to $45,312 in 2012.

The job responsibilities of the medial coders also dictate the amount that they get. More so, education and credentials greatly affects the rate of medical coders. Also, there are more jobs today that need medical coders with credentials than before. This means that credentialed medical coders are more in demand as years pass by so getting one for you is beneficial.

There are a lot of factors that affect the medical coding salaries, but one thing is sure, getting credentials, choosing your work setting and getting further education will place you at the top of the highest paid medical coders.