subject: Medical Billing And Coding - How Long Does It Take To Become A Medical Insurance Specialist? [print this page] If you're interested in medical billing and coding as a career or just thinking about whether it would be right for you there are a few things to take into consideration. There are a wide variety of ways to go about getting the best education, training and/or certification to get a job as a medical insurance specialist.
It's very possible that you can learn what you need to know and pick up the required skills through on-the-job training as a medical insurance specialist or certified medical biller or coder. If you get a job in a billing service or healthcare facility and get work in the right department, you may be able to learn right on the job. If this is the case it's easy to move into the medical billing and/or coding position you want. This is actually the cheapest and best way to go about getting an education or training in billing and coding. However it may be the hardest way also since most people aren't employed in a related field.
You may have to enter this field by getting formal training. The kinds of courses you'll need are in medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, medical billing practices, medical coding practices and software applications.
Sometimes you may need to take additional courses in English, communications, and other types of education courses, which will depend on the school and the training program or the set course for the certification or degree.
There are several different ways you can go about getting medical billing training or medical coding training or both as a medical insurance specialist. You can get training through specialized online schools (but credits won't or may not transfer to colleges and universities in most cases- so keep this in mind.)
Community colleges or two-year colleges offer courses and training. Some four-year schools - colleges also offer programs. When you have completed the program you will either get a certificate or an associate degree.
You'll get a certificate for the one-year program and an associate degree for the two-year program. With the associate degree you'll be taking other classes to fulfill the associate degree requirement. In both cases your credits should transfer to other schools if needed, but this needs to be checked out before you sign up.
This is really all it takes to become a medical insurance specialist or medical biller or coder in terms of training or education. You can check out all the schools online and compare notes with your local colleges and universities and see which are the cheapest and best way to go is. Online schools have a lot of advantages but in some cases you may be able to take the courses you need online through your local colleges as well. Compare, compare! There is financial aid available also.
