Frequently Asked Questions about the
Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program
1. How do I enroll for the Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program?
Download and complete the Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program Enrollment and Payment Form. You may also stop by the office to pick up a form or call (830.372.8047) to request that one be mailed to you. You may mail or hand carry the form and your payment to the Center for Professional Development, Tschoepe Hall Suite 125, 1000 W. Court Street, Seguin, TX 78133.
2. What are the academic requirements to enroll in the Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program?
You should have a high school diploma or equivalent (e.g., a GED).
3. What is included in the cost of the program?
The $1499.00 cost of this 70-contact hour course includes the tuition, books, and all materials.
4. Can I get financial aid to take the Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program?
Continuing education courses such as the Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program are not eligible for financial aid through Texas Lutheran University. However, you may apply for a personal Sallie Mae loan through TLU’s partner, Condensed Curriculum, International (CCI). Click here for the application form and instructions. For information about the Sallie Mae loans, contact Condensed Curriculum, International (CCI) at 1.800.441.8748.
In addition, some students may qualify for assistance from the Texas Workforce Commission to participate in the Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program. For more information, contact your local Workforce Center.
5. Do I get college credit for taking the Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program?
The Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program is a continuing education program for which you earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) not academic college credit. CEUs are a nationally recognized measure of skills or work-related training gained in a continuing education course that meets established criteria. One CEU represents 10 class hours of participation. Thus, you will earn seven CEUs for the Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program.
You will receive a continuing education CEU certificate after you have completed the training successfully. Reprints of CEU certificates are available for $5.
6. Where are the classes held?
The classes are held in Tschoepe Hall, Room 130. Please see the campus map.
7. Where can I park?
You may park in any lot on the TLU campus, including the one adjacent to Tschoepe Hall, after 5:00 pm without a parking permit. Please do not park in a space designated as handicapped.
8. What is the refund policy for the Medical Billing and Coding Professional Program?
Refunds may be requested from the Center for Professional Development.
The refund policy for this program is as follows:
a. 100% prior to the first class day
b. 100% if class is cancelled by TLU
c. 80% during the first class day
d. None thereafter
9. What is required of the students?
The public expects a good deal of health care personnel in knowledge, behavior, and dress. Therefore, as you begin your transition to your planned career:
- Act ethically.
- Dress professionally.
- Interact courteously.
- Present high quality work that puts you in the best possible light.
- Take responsibility for your own preparation and learning.
- Set goals and monitor your own progression to their accomplishment.
- Attend every session and arrive on time for each course session. Being absence or tardy in this class is considered a violation of professional ethics unless you have a medical excuse.
10. What support will I have in finding a job as a medical billing and coding professional?
- You will receive a Graduate Packet with specific guidelines for preparing a resume, writing a cover letter, preparing for an interview, following up on an interview, and conducting a job search.
- Additionally, your instructor will be a medical and billing coding professional from the area who will share helpful hints in locating a position.
- The Center for Professional Development notifies local medical facilities of the program and encourages them to consider program completers for employment.
11. How much will I earn as a medical billing and coding professional?
According to Salary.com, Medical Records Coding Technicians in the Seguin area earn from $28,500 to $43,000 with an average salary of $35,300. Medical Billing Clerks earn from $22,000 to $32,000 with an average salary of $27,500.
12. Where do medical billing and coding professionals work?
Medical billing and coding professionals work in physician practices, hospitals, pharmacies, long-term care facilities, chiropractic practices, physical therapy practices, and other health care providers that all depend on medical billing and coding for insurance carrier reimbursement.
13. What do medical billing and coding professionals do?
Medical billing and coding professionals keep records, calculate patient charges, and review files. Duties include reviewing records, calculating charges for a patient’s procedures and services, preparing itemized statements, and submitting claims to third-party payers. Medical coders are responsible for the collection of physician charges and patient data to ensure that claims are submitted to insurance carriers accurately and in the most efficient and expeditious manner.
Additionally, medical coders determine codes for physician procedures and diagnosis using ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding protocols for third-party billing purposes.
14. What is the job outlook for medical billing and coding professionals?
According to the US Department of Labor (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos103.htm), “Employment is expected to grow faster than average. Job prospects should be very good; technicians with a strong background in medical coding will be in particularly high demand. Employment of medical records and health information technicians is expected to increase by 18 percent through 2016—faster than the average for all occupations—because of rapid growth in the number of medical tests, treatments, and procedures that will be increasingly scrutinized by health insurance companies, regulators, courts, and consumers. Also, technicians will be needed to enter patient information into computer databases to comply with Federal legislation mandating the use of electronic medical records.
New jobs are expected in offices of physicians as a result of increasing demand for detailed records, especially in large group practices. New jobs also are expected in home health care services, outpatient care centers, and nursing and residential care facilities. Although employment growth in hospitals will not keep pace with growth in other health care industries, many new jobs will, nevertheless, be created.
Job prospects should be very good. In addition to job growth, openings will result from the need to replace technicians who retire or leave the occupation permanently. Technicians with a strong background in medical coding will be in particularly high demand. Changing government regulations and the growth of managed care have increased the amount of paperwork involved in filing insurance claims. Additionally, health care facilities are having some difficulty attracting qualified workers, primarily because employers prefer trained and experienced technicians prepared to work in an increasingly electronic environment with the integration of electronic health records. Job opportunities may be especially good for coders employed through temporary help agencies or by professional services firms.
15. Do I need to pass an exam?
After obtaining the suggested practical work experience, students who complete this course could be qualified to sit for the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) - Certified Professional Coder Exam (CPC or CPC-H - Apprentice); the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Certified Coding Associate (CCA) exam, and/or other national certification exams.
16. How can I find out about the different exams?
- The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) provides certified credentials to medical coders in physician offices, hospital outpatient facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, and in payer organizations. All members of AAPC agree to a Code of Ethics that ensures high levels of professionalism, integrity and ethical behavior. There are three AAPC certifications: CPC™, CPC-H™, and CPC-P™.
- The mission of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) is to be the professional community that improves healthcare by advancing best practices and standards for health information management and the trusted source for education, research, and professional credentialing. To ensure that its members meet professional standards of excellence, AHIMA issues credentials in health information management, coding, and healthcare privacy and security. Members earn credentials through a combination of education and experience, and finally performance on national certification exams.
- The mission at the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT) is to enhance the professional stature and employability of its clients through credentialing. NCCT does this by offering national certifications that assess candidate knowledge and skills through examination; by providing accessible, cost effective, and relevant continuing education; and by creating professional networks that promote communication among the stakeholders of the professions it serves.
17. Where can I get more information about medical billing and coding professionals?
See the websites listed in 16 above.
- Nature of the Work
- Working Conditions
- Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement
- Employment
- Job Outlook
- Earnings
- Related Occupations
- Sources of Additional Information
See also the
Summary Report for 29-2071.00 - Medical Records and Health Information Technicians on O*net Online.
20. Where can I get more information?
For general information, contact
The Center for Professional Development
Suite 125 – Tschoepe Hall
1000 Court Street
Seguin, TX, 78155
830.372-8047 or 372-6833
For additional information about the program, call Condensed Curriculum, International (CCI) at 1.866.441.8748.
For information about the Sallie Mae loans, contact Condensed Curriculum, International (CCI) at 1.800.441.8748.
