Medical Insurance Coding Specialist

 

Types of Degrees Medical Insurance Coding Specialist Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medical insurance coding specialist/coder graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	6,262
Basic Certificate	2,611
Associate Degree	1,668

What Medical Insurance Coding Specialist Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, medical insurance coding specialist/coder majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Majors

Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Skills for Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Majors

A major in medical insurance coding specialist/coder prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Majors

As you progress with your medical insurance coding specialist/coder degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Can You Do With a Medical Insurance Coding Specialist Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with medical insurance coding specialist/coder:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Medical Assistants	29.0%	$33,610
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	13.5%	$40,350

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Medical Insurance Coding Specialist?

This major is dominated by women with about 95% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of medical insurance coding specialist/coder majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	38
Black or African American	293
Hispanic or Latino	295
White	842
International Students	2
Other Races/Ethnicities	198

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder, too. About 0.1% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Medical Insurance Coding Specialist Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $34,540 to $44,010 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to medical insurance coding specialist/coder. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Medical Insurance Coding Specialist

Some degrees associated with medical insurance coding specialist/coder may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for medical insurance coding specialist/coder careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	32.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	34.2%
Some College Courses	15.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	19.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	0.3%

Online Medical Insurance Coding Specialist Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	309	91
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	0
Associate’s Degree	100	36
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Medical Insurance Coding Specialist Worth It?

The median salary for a medical insurance coding specialist/coder grad is $34,540 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Trades Related to Medical Insurance Coding Specialist

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to medical insurance coding specialist/coder.

Major	Number of Grads
Health Care Management	30,702
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician	10,010
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller	9,004
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant & Medical Secretary	7,581
Medical Office Assistant/Specialist	4,981
Hospital & Health Care Facilities Administration/Management	3,981
Medical Office Management/Administration	3,470
Health Information Management	2,942
Other Health & Medical Administrative Services	2,251
Medical/Health Management & Clinical Assistant/Specialist	1,257
Medical Reception/Receptionist	730
Clinical Research Coordinator	291
Long Term Care Administration/Management	221
Healthcare Innovation	193
Medical Office Computer Specialist/Assistant	118
Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk	109
Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist	83
Regulatory Science/Affairs	73
Medical Staff Services Technology/Technician	25
Disease Registry Data Management	15
Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor	11
Healthcare Information Privacy Assurance and Security	7
Health/Medical Claims Examiner	4

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.