by RS Coolidge

Created on: January 18, 2009   Last Updated: March 17, 2009

Advances in recent years has enabled life expectancy to increase dramatically. Unfortunately, People still get sick and with advancing age, being sick becomes almost a routine. When the price of being sick has to be paid, insurance companies have to settle the claim. But who makes the claim? The answer is a group of health care professionals known as Medical billers.

The duty of a Medical biller seems simple on paper: they submit and follow up claims to insurance companies for services rendered by a health care provider. Often, however, problems erupt when the insurance company disputes what they are being billed. When this happens, the Medical biller must make adjustments to the claim, fix any errors and negotiate with the insurance provider until an appropriate settlement can be reached.

There are two main reasons why Medical billing is one of the fastest growing areas in health care. First, as more people age and exploit the health care system, more claims have to be filed. More claims means more Medical billers are needed to file them. In addition, because the government and insurance companies spend more time researching and attacking claims fraud and abuse, more Medical billers, specifically qualified ones, are needed to prevent, detect and report any fraud they may encounter.

Given the high demand for Medical billers, it is no surprise that the Medical billing profession comes with many perks. One such perk is pay. Experienced Medical billers can command and receive salaries as high as $40/hr. Another major perk is flexibility. Since Medical billing can be done with little supervision, Medical billers can work not only from an office but from home as well. Medical billing is, in fact , one of the very few professions that can be done exclusively from home.

Considering all the great perks that come from Medical billing, its easy to assume that its hard to become a Medical biller. However, such is not the case. Formal training in Medical billing usually takes at most 2 years of vocational school to complete. Certification is not required but is strongly recommended. When the total time for training and certification is factored in, the time required to become a Medical biller is still much less than what is required to earn a 4 year college degree.

The only constant about time is that it always goes forward. As long as we continue to be slaves to time, to the aging process, and to our own mortality, we will continue to get sick and require medical attention. As long as such treatment costs money, the Medical biller will not only be in demand but will also be greatly rewarded.

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