subject: Medical Billing Certification: Certification Examination for the Medical Billing Specialist [print this page] Medical Billing Certification: Certification Examination for the Medical Billing Specialist
Medical billing is already a booming and growing industry, necessitating the education and medical billing certification for professionals. However, with the passage of the healthcare bill in March of 2010, this industry will be expanding exponentially to care for the new chiropractic, nurse practitioner and healthcare professional offices needed to care for additional patients.
Searching for a job in this field will soon require certification examination in order to prove your educational knowledge and ability to perform the appropriate tasks and maintain an adequate level of reimbursement for the medical practice. Most billing professionals deal with private insurance companies and a variety of governmental agencies who pay Medicare or other medical claims.
You will also be responsible for collecting co-payments from patients directly. In order to become certified you must first complete coursework that prepares you for the certification examination. There are several different agencies which offer medical certification in billing and coding. One of these is AAPC. Program was founded in 1988 to help improve the standards by which medical coding professionals were educated and subsequently certified.
They currently have a membership of over 100,000 of which more than 64,000 are certified. This particular agency offers in both certification examination as well as the education required to pass the examination and the post certification and continuing education credits required to maintain the certification. Allied Health Schools is another program which offers both medical billing and coding certification to give you a competitive edge in the job market.
They also offer specialized certification, beyond just the basic level, that can help to boost your career and improve your advancement potential. Certification is also offered through the American Medical Billing Association. The exam is strictly voluntary and was created specifically for medical billing professionals.
Although there is no state or federal regulation that requires a medical billing professionals become certified, it is the goal of most of these certification agencies to provide an examination that is demonstrates ethical standard of knowledge and recognizes competency of the individual who completes it.
