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 in 2019-2020 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	4,799
Basic Certificate	2,283
Associate Degree	1,566

What Medical Insurance Coding Specialist Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to medical insurance coding specialist/coder and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these 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 a medical insurance coding specialist/coder major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• 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?

People with a medical insurance coding specialist/coder degree often go into the following careers:

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 94% 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	25
Black or African American	362
Hispanic or Latino	248
White	738
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	193

How Much Do Medical Insurance Coding Specialist Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $34,540 to $44,010 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

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 careers associated with medical insurance coding specialist/coder require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to medical insurance coding specialist/coder have obtained the following education levels.

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

In 2019-2020, 459 schools offered a medical insurance coding specialist/coder program of some type. 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	85
Certificate (2-4 Years)	4	0
Associate’s Degree	101	43
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	28,132
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician	8,607
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant & Medical Secretary	8,181
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller	6,986
Medical Office Assistant/Specialist	4,793
Hospital & Health Care Facilities Administration/Management	4,284
Medical Office Management/Administration	3,474
Health Information Management	2,978
Other Health & Medical Administrative Services	2,148
Medical/Health Management & Clinical Assistant/Specialist	1,087
Medical Reception/Receptionist	693
Long Term Care Administration/Management	409
Clinical Research Coordinator	303
Medical Office Computer Specialist/Assistant	243
Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist	141
Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk	114
Medical Staff Services Technology/Technician	28
Health/Medical Claims Examiner	15
Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor	12
Disease Registry Data Management	10

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.