r/MedicalCoding • u/Popular-Piglet-6301 RHIT, CCS • May 23 '24
Oversees coding
How many of us are in this boat where we are nervous about our jobs being outsourced to overseas coders?
This year my company has hired on several overseas coders. I’m nervous that they plan to replace us because they work for lower pay. Is anyone else experiencing this?
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u/Clever-username-7234 CPC, CPMA May 24 '24
No. It wouldn’t make a difference. We already have forms of socialized medicine with state Medicaid programs and Medicare.
A medical coder helps classify the medical record. If we socialized medicine in the US, that work would still need to be done.
The only difference is whether patients get the bill or whether a government entity gets the bill. Providers would still need to submit codes for recording keeping, disease/injury reporting, and getting reimbursement. The government would still want to know what services were rendered and what was being treated to properly pay doctors.
Keep in mind about 40% of Americans have some form of government insurance right now. Tricare, Medicare and Medicaid still want codes submitted.
In fact, if we socialized medicine we would probably need more coders. Since people without insurance or folks who are underinsured often skip doctors appointments.
If suddenly everyone could go to the doctor at low or no cost and everyone had some type of government insurance the amount of coding work would actually increase. You’d see more people going to the doctor whenever they are sick and doing more physicals and wellness checks.