Why The Salary Of Medical Coder Will Continue To Rise

The need for healthcare professionals has been soaring for the past few years, maybe even dating back over twenty years ago. Because of the demand, salary for the profession is also increasing, which is great for you if you're looking for a career in the health care field, specifically if you are or looking to become a medical coder.

According to the the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, dated 2007, the average health information technician, including medical coders, made $31,450. Those who worked in large cities and/or the pharmaceutical industry made significantly more, as in over $53,000. These equate to about $15 to $25 an hour for a 40 hour a week job. These make for a compelling reason to go to school to train as a medical coder, including an online medical coding education for flexibility in time.

Also, wages vary based on responsibilities. Big hospitals with high volume of patients process a large amount data. Not surprisingly, medical coders and billers who work for them are paid more than the national average. Medical coders and billers also work for small clinics. But these positions pay less.

And great news for the medical profession. Pay should increase in the next few years. There are two major economic forces that cannot be ignored that will push the need for medical care — the stimulus plan passed by Congress in 2009 and the growing senior population in the US.

But first, let's see how medical coders fit in the health care puzzle. Any patient's medical records that are created are entered onto a computer system. These are essentially doctor's prescription, treatment, medication, etc. It is up to the medical coders to enter these data into the system accurately so that the patient may receive continuous care.

So how do the stimulus plan and aging US population increase medical coder salary

1) The Health Care Information Technology Modernization

The need to lower health care for all is a top priority. You heard the speeches, over 40 million Americans are either uninsured or under-insured. If the way information is shared among health care network is modernized by computerizing the data, the cost of storage will go down and the speed of access will increase. By doing so, savings can be passed on to the consumers in the form of lower insurance premiums, out-of-pocket costs, medicine, etc.

To realize the cost savings, medical coders are needed to enter the data into the comptuer system. As more and more health care organization upgrade their system, the demand for medical coders shall also rise.

2) The Aging US population

It's no secret that people are living longer. Partly because of the improvement in medicine, the population of seniors, i.e. those over the age of 65, is increasing. And they'll need medical care. According to the US Census Bureau, the percent of senior citizens rose from 6.5% in 2000 to an estimated 12.4% in 2006. Senior citizens are the most diligent medical patients. They often schedule doctors appointment routinely. The more care they need, the more medical records are required and generated.

There's little doubt that the future of the health care industry is up. With the problems that Americans have with losing jobs to outsourcing, health care could be a bright spot for future job seekers. It is difficult to outsource health care personnel because the patients are here. For someone looking for a medical coding career, the outlook could not be better, but you still have to complete your education by attending a medical coding college.

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