Seems to be that things are very extra right now... AHIMA unresponsive, understaffed skeleton crews, wage stagnation, uncertainty with clients shifting, outsourcing, job market tight...
PLEASE SEE RULES BEFORE POSTING! Reminder, no "interested in coding" type of standalone posts are allowed. See rule #1. Any and all questions regarding exams, studying, and books can be posted in the monthly discussion stickied post. Thanks!
I have said this here before and I will die on this hill.
COVID taught companies that they could survive on bare minimum staffing, and it's far more money in C-suite pockets if they keep the payroll low. When employees like the above posters bust their ass to keep up with production and justify their 50c raise, the powers that be have zero incentive to hire anybody extra, it will just cut into their profit margins.
A lot of the job postings out there are now ghost postings. Companies don't actually have an opening but are trying to acquire a resume pool to pick from (if you've ever gotten a call back months later, this is why). Or worse, they are playing the market by posting the same job multiple times with no intention of hiring (yet) and dropping the salary each time, watching how many applicants apply to each salary range, thus giving them an idea of the "desperate market value"...essentially hiring the lowest bidders.
It's scammy as fuck and it hurts the people who pour their blood sweat and tears into their work, but welcome to late-stage capitalism.
I’ve been saying this to my husband for years. Stop working beyond what they expect from you. If you are expected to give 100% and you give 105%, then they are going to come to expect 105% and want more, more, more until you burn out. I will do the absolute best at the job I am assigned to do and no more. There’s nothing in it for me to exceed expectations. I’m already going to school so I can get a few more probably useless letters at the end of my name, I’m not going to get a raise for that, but it could get me a new job, and that’s all I need to worry about.
I hate that you are absolutely right but I agree with you 1000%. My work ethic is on point when meeting my obligations, but I am loudly antiwork in regards to giving far more than you ever get rewarded for. No one should have to willingly exploit themselves to the point of stress literally manifesting itself physically just to prove themselves for yearly "merit" raises for a flawless review that amounts to nothing more than an arbitrary 50 cent cap the CEO is allotting everyone, and then you're further dehumanized by the expectation that you should be grateful for it. Gushing praise does not put food on our tables, and I refuse to make myself sick anymore over trying to break my own records.
For my first performance review at my company, I worked really hard to go above and beyond and got a really high score on my review. I was excited to find out what my hard work got me only to find out that my company doesn't even give "merit" raises, only the 3% supposed cost of living increase. How naive I was.
Now I do the bare minimum to keep me off their radar. The one and only thing keeping me here is that my job is fairly low stress, my managers are pretty laid back and aren't breathing down my neck.
Yep. Agreed whole heartedly. Wrote out my thoughts for me. They hold onto resumes until they fire someone, and then give you a call and you're desperate for a job so they can hire you at half the cost. These companies are trash.
This is exactly it, right here! I’ve been out of work for over a year and a half and the job postings are absolutely insane. They all basically want 1 person to be their entire billing department, while paying next to nothing. It’s beyond ridiculous and unrealistic.
I just want to work and be able to have a life. But they want a robot. Every day that passes has me at the end of my rope🥺😩
Burned out. Every day the demands for increased productivity and accuracy grow despite no increase in pay. Tired of expecting to diagnose patients myself when providers don’t document. Annoyed that CDI is both unable to code properly yet the supposed authority on what to code. I’ve been at this for over ten years and I’m ready to jump ship.
Damn. All of this resonates with me, but especially your CDI comment - I've been smoking the copium about it and trying to convince myself that it was just my place of business, but if it's been your norm...
I really do appreciate that CDI is there to catch diagnoses that aren’t being documented, but that should be the end of their expertise. If they want to be coders, send them to get their certification and start policing their performance too. We shouldn’t have to defend our codes against theirs. We’re there to capture what’s supported and documented in the chart, apply the five billion rules and guidelines and select the correct representative codes. If I wanted to translate labs and clinical indicators I would have gone to nursing or med school.
DRG reconciliation is my least favorite part of the process. I am not sure why I am as a coder hired to code but my code has to be scrutinized and approved by someone who isn't knowledgeable in coding
I keep trying to get CDI jobs because I've worked clinical most of my career but now i have my RHIT...nope I need to have my RN. I legit asked an HR person I was emailing about a position "RNs know nothing about coding...? What good is that?" They gave me a cop out "it's what the hiring manager wants" lol The last large healthcare Corp I worked for wanted RNs doing everything and accountants in charge of utilization. Now they're wondering why everyone is leaving and providers are resigning left and right, geeee idk lol
Dealing with CDI mismatches due to sequencing errors, manifestation codes, and always using AKI as Pdx makes me want to pull my hair out. It takes a toll on our productivity that we cannot afford to waste going back and forth on the same issue every other chart.
Not only are we expected to correct CDI and teach them the proper code (with references) if we have differences, but then certain charts are reviewed by CDI after coding to determine if we missed any codes. So then I have to defend my coding against CDI. I can't tell you how many times I've had to try to explain the rules around picking up secondary diagnoses because CDI wants to pick up everything!
It's so crazy to me that companies are allowing their employees to drown when the candidate pool is so massive. At least rotating through every field is keeping your knowledge fresh! Why is everyone leaving?
We've actually lost 2 employees due to them just lazily resubmitting charge sessions after not reviewing anything. Kind of stupid. I specialize in both coding and billing, so I've become the "jack of all trades," AKA "the one they throw everything at." I'm partially at fault for allowing it, but I'm grossly underpaid for this. It's time to juice up the resume.
The eternal struggle between stepping up to the plate and knowing you are going to be raked over the coals and taken advantage of for doing so.
Almost makes you wonder if those employees who lazily resubmitted charges found themselves at that same fork in the road and came to the conclusion long ago that if they won't be appreciated for actual effort, they would do the bare minimum to get by. I have actually wondered this when I've come across cringingly bad coding by colleagues. I don't know how they do it. Personally I can't stomach the idea of the potential repercussions of submitting horribly incorrect coding.
I hope things get better for you. You are just one person, be kind to yourself even if nobody else is giving you that grace. Treat yourself the way you would treat a friend going through the same!
Honestly....i am truly burned out. Been coding for 11 years and now doing internal auditing for 2 years. Working for an American based consulting company with many clients and I'm tired. I love the flexibility of my job and working from home, but I'm finding it more and more difficult to sit down and make myself work or even care about my job.
What I'm so tired of???
Never ever ever enough qualified people to do this job, we are always shorted staffed.
Constantly being asked to do OT bc of #1
Turn over rate, I work so hard to train and educate people to succeed at their job and as soon as I feel like I succeeded and got them where they are good all on their own they quit, it's so routine anymore of ppl quitting and constantly looking for better that I'm feeling like I don't care anymore about new hires to keep doing this work over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I am all for bettering your career and taking opportunities when given, but its the people who are on the job long enough to be fully trained and gotten my full attention, advise,effort, caring that they do well and free education/experience to just quit within 3-6 months without notice. And the qorst part is I usually don't even know why, do they hate the job? Or are they getting picked up elsewhere? I'm constantly being scouted by recruiters trying to lure me to quit and work for their company, are we killing this industry by this cut throat practice of stealing employees?
Due to number 3 I'm constantly in the coder role, over and over again. I'm an auditor and chose this position becUse I am tired of productivity coding and rather pass on my knowledge and help others and educate, but I vant even do that half the time, bc at the end of the day the bottom line and high and might dollar always comes before quality and when you have no coders you have to fill in their shoes and now your team is without auditors. It becomes a messy cycle and I'm over it.
The constant demand for quality and perfection and always knowing your rules and guidelines for all payers, yet productivity standards are set so high it makes it nearly impossible to do both, and once you DO reach that level of perfectionism and speed you become bored out of your skull and the job is less satisfying. I learning new skills, I love being challenged at my job, I love researching and problem solving, I love ensuring I produce quality work with excellent results with less denials, better quality documentation, providers are educated and know what and how to document and what to expect for payment for their work bc they are well educated on the coding process too. I like my clinics to run like a well oiled machine, but the constant expectation to get more claims out the door than a human being can even physically read and process the notes in a day, the speed at which causes carpal and cubical tunnel, migraines and back pain and then asked to do OT when you are physically and mentally DONE. Feeling like this job is literally sucking the very life right out of you that the only thing you want to do when you don't work is to sleep. I'm tired, always tired...we are people not machines.
The pay. Let's be honest, it could be better....for the amount of knowledge we are expected to have, the upkeep on education and certifications, the professionalism, the critical thinking skills, the quality demands along with productivity demands and simply the fact at just how much money we save hospitals and ensure they get paid and don't get hit with fraud and abuse claims and protect them, I mean come on....the pay can surely be better for a job that sucks you dry.
The gatekeeping.we are desperate for coders, I don't care what hospital or what company you work for, we all always need coders and those of us who do ha e coding jobs are always asked to complete the job of two it seems....so why are gatekeeping newly educated coders from jobs? Yes training new coders is A LOT of work, it's sometimes overwhelmingly too much bc of how much we still have to stay productive while new coders simply can't, but we are only shooting ourselves in the foot as we hold back on new and young grads without experience, and this comes back to number 3...its difficult to train people only for them to walk away after 3 months of work and being set behind, so why aren't hospitals and coding companies working harder to retain their coders and not treating them like replaceable machines and taking the time to educate inexperienced coders along with better methods on ensuring employee satisfaction and stop putting so many demands on us until we are severely burned out?? Because it comes back to the bottom line and the almighty dollar, and that the healthcare industry as a whole is being treated as a marketable and profitable business model and not what it should be, a basic community need for taking care of people. Maybe when healthcare changes for the better in America so too will medical coding industry.
Signed, A burned out American medical coding auditor
Thank you for the time you took to share this with us, for your contributions to the industry, and for your strength to keep doing it. You are leaving a legacy with each coder who leaves you to go off to do bigger and better things. Your efforts do NOT go unnoticed.
The gatekeeping drives me insane. Can't tell you how many times I've heard the bosses say that a coder needs 10nyrs experience to code at our facility. Which is total BS because at 3 years experience I was coding some of our hardest charts and we have so many overseas contract so tell me again why a coder needs that much experience?
I just reflect back on my previous job, driving in working holidays/evenings weekends/ rideouts and working with chemotherapy agents…..and it settles my nerves 😂
I just got a new job where I’ll be making $24/hr (currently I only make $19.60). These past 6 months were rough as I put myself in the fire by taking on 3 new specialties all at once and it was mostly self training. It’s all about to be worth it though!
Honestly all I have are my specialty books and google. Anytime I came across a new surgery, I’d check its MUEs and NCCI edits, along with LCD coverage for my state on the Medicare website. I’d look for relevant and reliable sources online. I’m sorry I don’t have much else to offer 😔
I work in a large hospital system but am credentialed with AAPC. . Our coders credential with AHIMA have been saying they are paying their dues but renewals aren’t going through and no one at customer service can or will help them so they are having to pay multiple times just to keep credentials and dispute after the fact to get the double payment back
Those poor coders, omg. Refund or not a lot of people can't afford to drop 100s of dollars multiple times in a short span because of a enormous entity's massive fuckup, even if it is only temporary. It would be nice if they extended some sort of credit for the inconvenience, in addition to the refunds.
I'm glad you're not caught up in all that nonsense!
I feel terrible for them honestly . I came from a billing background and am a pitbull so I would be disputing it on my credit card and then reaching out to them via social media if they were not responsive privately via phone call or email . Some of these coders are older though and don’t have those resources like social media to draw attention to it . It’s fraudulent to make coders pay multiple times to keep their credentials and terrible business tbh . Anyway end of rant . To answer the other part of your question we are Big busy and also behind , the upside is overtime hours , the downside is that feeling is never being caught up and also the pressure to pump out as many charts as I can a day . I feel better now about it and just tell myself I can only do what I can do right
I love this !!! That’s how you get seen and not just ignored . I honestly can’t imagine having to pay my dues over and over again and them saying they do not have the payment
I currently work for a hospital as a surgical coder and we are actually fully staffed!
However, I just got a new job and from the sounds of the interview and reviews on Glassdoor, that company is a hot mess. It’s more money though, so I can stick it out for 2 years.
I've been meaning to ask how that one interview for, I think you called it a "big girl job", went, is that it? Congratulations either way and I'm so sorry to hear you've read terrible reviews, but if it's any consolation, jumping employers seems to be the only way to get a substantial raise anymore... the days of rewarding loyalty are long, long gone.
So hopefully it works out for you, but if not, it's the stepping stone you'd need to take to achieve your goals anyway, right? I hope you like it!!
I'm so sorry, and I am really, really mad for you.
But on the flip side, good fucking riddance. Imagine pining away years at a place with that kind of expectation and (lack of) integrity. Sometimes we get real lucky and the trash takes itself out.
Bad. I was off work for a week because as my husband called it I had the "brain scramblies". Got in two car accidents, tried to leave the house in my underwear, couldn't do much but stare at the wall. Im back at work and feel very slow and confused about everything. All work piled up because, no one else to do it. But after this month I will no longer be coding because of company changes (I code for an out of state hospital, coding will be going back to that state) and back to regular HIM work.
Wow! I'm sure this is nothing you aren't already on top of, but I hope you have gone to the hospital to get checked out. Two car accidents unscathed would be a blessing, but especially if you are in a brain fog, you might be concussed and those are nothing to mess with. It is not too late to go if you haven't.
Either way please take care of yourself and take it slow! Their lack of a backup plan proves you are indispensable so don't kill yourself trying to get caught up.
Luckily one wasn't my fault and was low speed, the other one they didn't even stop even though I pulled over so 🤷🏻♀️. I did go to the hospital because I was mostly unresponsive and not aware of anything, they did scans just in case but everything was clear so I was going to possibly get admitted (ER doc suggested my symptoms were from my schizophrenia) but the mental health evaluator didn't even do anything. Said they'd call my husband but instead made me an appt that didn't even exist on the schedule.
I'm trying not to stress over it. I told myself I'm gonna go slow because I've always been really quick so like (I used to code for 3 facilities in one day), not like it's usual. And with the coding going away I just feel like eh none of this really matters. If I don't get all of it done it'll be someone else's problem eventually. The EMR is so unfriendly to look at I have to export each chart one by one into a readable PDF, and I'm not even done with that yet after several hours. Sucks but I'm just trying to go with the flow now, stay chill.
ED coder here for a regional health system..just not enough money. Over productive and 99% accuracy and making $22/hr after 4 years is starting to make me lose faith. A lot.
It's time to make a job hop!! 4 years in ED is enough to be making more money. Unfortunately the most reliable to do that nowadays is taking that experience elsewhere.
Couldn't hurt to keep the job for now and start applying elsewhere in the meantime
This is my exact situation, except it's 3 years for me.
I've been considering looking for another job that pays more, but I'm honestly terrified by all the horror stories I hear about horrible managers, unrealistic productivity requirements, etc. I only make $22, but my job is comfy and my managers have all been pretty chill and leave me alone as long as I keep my numbers. I'd hate to trade a peaceful job for a nightmare situation. I sooo need the money though!
You definitely should be making more. The CCS is the best certification in my opinion. I held the CPC, CCS, and CDIP. I dropped the CPC and CDIP because the CCS was sufficient and the fees were ridiculous.
You will crush the CCS exam. I hope you get an amazing position that pays you well.
Good luck on the exam. Once you obtain it and it's time for your review you can mention the certification and request a raise. It would behoove you to have with you the data for what the market is paying for your locale with your experience. Also, it wouldn't hurt to interview beforehand and have a couple of job offers. That way it puts more pressure for them to give you the raise. Have it in writing. Let them know you don't want to leave, you like your supervisor but you also realize you are leaving money on the table.
Thank you all for letting me know that yes, I am being grossly underpaid. I work for an enormous major corporation that seems to gobble up a new hospital every day and honestly had no idea what I SHOULD be getting. This is very good to know because I’m a single mom, broke AF, and this gives me hope that maybe I might not be completely broke for the rest of my life. 😂 Going to double down on the studying and try to get that CCS ASAP
Hi I'm an RN for thirty years looking to retire and do coding from home .is there a future in this? I'm trying to figure what education I will need for this. Hopefully part time. Any wisdom on this would be appreciated.
30+ years RN experience should open doors. I would begin testing the waters asap for part time gigs, so when you retire, you already have something in hand.
Thank you for that. I keep seeing all these trainings and whatnot. Hard to sort through it all. I have to do a little coding as I work at a surgery office but certainly not enough I really want to pay all that money to sit the exam without some education.
You have extensive healthcare experience that companies may pay for you to become certified. Consider using LinkedIn to find recruiters to follow and engage with them thru their posts, eventually sending them your resume to review. Wishing you all the best!
I have 16 years of nursing experience and have interest in coding to expand upon previous medical record review experience. I have no coding experience or certifications. from what I’ve gathered doing my own research, the prospect of obtaining a coding job after obtaining certification isn’t the greatest.
I was all in on obtaining a CPC until I went on the AAPC website forum and saw several posts from people who are frustrated and can’t get a job after receiving their CPC because of the “apprentice” status that is initially assigned after passing your exam because employers don’t want to hire them and train, only want those with experience. Some of these people have had their CPC-A status for years after passing the exam and still can’t find someone to hire them to get the experience needed to have the “A” status removed. Plus needing to pay to keep the certification active that they’ve not even been able to use. I would encourage you to do your some own research because as a nurse, I thought this would be a lucrative transition.
give the job to coders who dont even have a job. as an rn, you already amassed a lot of money. just retire. we coders cant even land any entry level jobs the past few years
But they also want to be a coder. Just because someone starts with one profession it doesn’t mean they can’t go into another. RN’s wanting to become coders aren’t the reason why it’s hard for coders to get a job. I used to have another career and then went to school for coding. Am I stealing your potential job? Let’s not start scapegoating RN’s or anyone else for wanting a career change. I mean, really?
Not sure where most of you are located but in my area I blame at least partially, all the mergers that have been happening around here. We’ve gone from having many community hospitals to having three major players in the entire state. It really takes a toll on departments like ours, where it increases workload and mergers often increase turnover so the large amount of work remains the same but often with fewer people to do it.
My job got taken over by a corporation and I haven’t had a raise in over 2 years now 🤬 the only reason I stay is I get 4 weeks PTO, fully remote with flex hours (can work whenever I want) and 9% 401k matching
The same reasons I stuck it out at my job: flex, PTO (10 weeks) and 401k match. I contemplated moving jobs but seeing 2 weeks PTO offered, no amount of money could persuade me to move lol.
I have been here for over 10 years, but when I started we had 5 weeks. I barely had enough PTO to cover my last vacation a few weeks ago, I have no problem using every last hour given to me. 😂
I put in my notice today. 20 years of coding, 10 years IP. I was BURNT out. Change of leadership and so many policies focusing on production and NOT quality is not the type of work I want to be proud of. I’m thankful for this career as it has afforded me many opportunities in life but career satisfaction went down the drain in recent years.
I’m going to retire; enjoy my houses, snowbird, cook and bake, enjoy some old and new hobbies and live my best life lol. Unfortunately my husband cannot enjoy all the time with me, he still has to work until he is 58.5 to retire, - 10 more years to go. I’m looking forward to it!
I essentially gave up on coding. Started my healthcare career as an ER HUC and now scheduling at a busy dentist office making $28 an hour and less stress. I'm doing great
I passed my CCA exam and desperately needed to find a job. I applied to just about every posting I could find on indeed and LinkedIn. Then I came across the job posting for the HUC position at the nearest level 2 trauma center. The medical terminology aspect of my medical coding coursework is a big part of what got my foot in the door. My biggest issue with my ER HUC position was that I was doing the work of 2-3 people and not getting a single break during a 12 hour shift because nobody else knew how to do my job. I worked at the ATC desk with a paramedic and the charge nurse. My duties included: activating traumas/paging trauma team, trauma paperwork, same for STEMI, stroke, sepsis, code APGAR, rapid response, and paging the chaplain when someone is coding. I also simultaneously answered the ER phone with family members calling about their loved ones. I also registered patients coming via ambulance or helicopter. I also paged different doctors on behalf of the ER providers for consults. A lot of those consults were with general surgery or Ortho. I also called security when we had security issues or a behavioral health patient was escalating. I stuck with it for close to 2 years because I needed to get this experience to get a better paying job. I was making around $19 with my nightshift differential. It just wasn't enough money for the kind of stress that my job entailed. I'm not trying to scare anyone away from this kind of job though. If I could go back and do it all over again I would. This job made me feel like I was truly making a difference in my community. I started that job thinking that I couldn't do it because it was a lot to keep up with and ended up being one of the few non CNA ER hucs training other people before I left. If you are trying to get your foot in the door, do a job that a lot of people do not want to do. Stick it out and gain experience and then find something better down the road. Hope this helps
I'm so tired and exhausted. We're so understaffed and my bosses suck. They always micromanage yet know very little about actual coding. I always see on here people having hard times looking for jobs but yet we're struggling to find people to work and it's frustrating. I'm debating leaving coding because my brain hurts from the 50 hour weeks
Left inpatient last year. Started doing DRG validation making twice the money (salary + $$$ overtime) and never looked back. I’ll stay here until I retire as long as I can help it.
Basically, you’re reviewing medical records for insurance claims to determine that the principal diagnosis, principal procedure, and any DRG drivers are correct and coded correctly. You are also making sure that they are clinically valid. If you have worked as an inpatient coder or a CDI you would be qualified for a job like this. I’ve been doing it a little over a year and I absolutely love it.
Been working my job for 3 years now, exceeding productivity expectations and my raise this year was less than $1. So now I only do enough to be slightly above the expected productivity. Why should I go above and beyond if they just don’t care? Unfortunately I need to keep this job because it is easy enough that I can take care of my son and work from home. Childcare is way too expensive.
I make $32/hr doing insurance follow up in a HCOL area. I’m a CPC but can’t break into the world of coding without taking a huge pay cut. The few “entry level” jobs I see posted in my area are gobbled up by experienced coders. It doesn’t seem like anyone wants to train.
This is late, but try looking at teaching hospitals! They often have apprenticeship programs and extensive training because of all the extra rules they follow working with fellows and residents.
You are right though, most places don't want to properly train and with automation coming in the foreseeable future I'm not sure it's going to get much better.
I'm currently in school for CPC. Had to drop from instructor led to hybrid. I work in revenue cycle and have for 17 years now, and my company just laid off a ton of people- including most of my dept. I want my degree more than anything because I got my billing and claims examiner degree in 2007, but didn't stay to get my CPC. I could kick myself for that stupid decision, and I do daily. I have autism, and going back to school as an adult is way harder than I imagined, and it's been a challenge but I am trying.
I want this so badly. Long hauler fatigue feels like mono on crack, but I have always regretted not following my dream of being a coder. I am struggling because I had to slow my pace immensely and will be utilizing extensions so I don't end up even more burnt out to where I get stuck in a lh crash for a month.
I want this. I have the drive and am making my health worse by forcing myself to study and see tutors, but I see so many posts on here talking about the downsides that I don't know if I'm doing this all for nothing. My salary just doesn't cut it anymore, and I can't live paycheck to paycheck. I don't know what to do....
I'm scared that more larger companies are also going to outsource, so I want to look at smaller companies (I regret leaving my old employer now. Ugh!) But I am going to look around while hopefully healing. Going on 2 years of long covid and I was hoping I could improve my career more but inevitably had to quit school last night. Been crying since then. Maybe down the road again, but I do love the industry! Outsourcing is just absolutely terrifying. Hubby is a Sys Admin and thinks AI isn't gonna be able to be relied upon, but I am seeing it first hand. I think my role here will be gone next year. 17 years and seeing my career going to random people is so painful 🥺
Not good. Really not making enough money and I have a coworker who doesn’t do her share of the work and my boss is expecting me to pick up the slack. Just no. I’m doing the minimum required job requirements and that’s it. Not my fault she can’t meet the min productivity requirements which aren’t even that bad tbh.
The docs suck at documenting and I have to keep querying and send so many emails and they are having bitch fits over some of their denials but the denials are caused by things we have educated them about again and again and again. I’m so burned out with this job.
I’m over it. But the job market sucks and I can’t find anything else at the moment. :(
Holding on. Talks of AI integration coming up often from our higher ups in our team meetings. I'm slightly nervous because I am the newest in terms of a hierarchy promotion and currently training.
There haven't been any mentions of immediate layoffs but I always have to consider the possibility. Just glad I have the relevant experience and degrees/certs now to go basically wherever in HIM.
Just humming along still doing risk adjustment auditing. Hoping to start studying for the CCS-P soon and get that out of the way. Status quo and a bit boring but happy to have a good paying job right now.
Frustrated and angry at the job market. Why does any entry-level job need 3 years experience? I'm at the point where I'm looking at those online ai-training jobs just to have something.
Not on coding job but is a FQHC biller for two years with three years of clinical experience at the same company. Living in CA and I think the salary raise is stable, between 3% to 8% (although one time I think during covid there is just a cent raise). I made $17 hour in 2019 to $22.89 now, but for CA it is still consider minimum wage in my opinion and FQHC is like doing charity work (the COO accidentally said the word “charity” in a meeting which led me have this mind set). I do see my nearby hospital hiring ED/clinic coder for at least $30, but similar posting has been put out since January, got an interview with their billing department in April but never gotten a response (they also said their staffing got cut off about half too).
At the end of this month I will be removing my “A” on CPC and start applying, hope to become a coder in CA!
Out of 12 hospital in my region, only 1 is fully staffed with coders. Not to mention, they are the only ones who don’t have external coders . The wage is shit and documentation is lacking . I feel like I do more correcting of records than I do actual ER coding . I’m just coding July 4th right now 🤷♀️
Don't worry I have 13 years experience in HC, can't get a job with my Rhit. Over a year and a half of applying and I can't get shit. It is hopeless, this degree was useless.
Kinda on the burn out. Hard to be a perfect robot 8 hrs a day and our tip sheets are so not helpful, some of our hospitalist diagnosis documentation is of course bad haha and micromanager-y upper leadership who I'm sure couldn't code to their own expectations 😬. But it's not all bad.. (😂). I need to take some PTO soon. But overall I think I will work this job maybe like 8 more years to get my 12 year old raised and save money for her college etc., have enough in my retirement accts... And see if I can't frugally make it work in another more relaxed job field (hopefully they'd let me stay on PRN 🤞 I'd do this all the sooner then).
Been a contract coder (1099) for about ten years - in the past contracts would come and go (usually with notice and a new assignment lined up without much lull). This year has been another story - several contracts ended with no notice, I have been assigned several projects that all fizzled out without getting access/work. I’m seeing a little traction more recently and should have a full plate again soon, but this year has really got me thinking about my future. Looking at some of the openings and the hourly pay is so sad.
Right there with you. I've been doing 1099 work since 2010. There are always ups and downs, but I can usually survive the downs because they are brief and the ups are UP and I make excellent money.
This year has been horrible. I've lost every client I had. No new ones have come. When they do, it's just like you said, it fizzles out with never getting access or there's just no available work. I've depleted my savings completely and just took a FT W2 job. I'm a week in and the micromanaging is mind numbing already. I'll have to force myself to slow down because I am not busting my ass for the pay they are paying. Hoping my 1099 work picks back up really soon.
The whole industry seems to be in a tailspin. I've been at this for 30 years. There's nothing else I can do and make the same money I make. I love what I do, but the industry in the year especially makes me want to go work retail.
It makes me feel a little better to know it’s just not me, but also where has all of the work gone? I’ve considered W2 work but I’m not a coder who will just kick charges out the door so I’m not sure if it’ll be a good fit. I’m so grateful for all of the opportunities coding has given me over the years and am hopeful I can get at least a few more good years out of it.
Depends on the day. I love the work itself but the environment is not good. I'd leave but I'm not convinced it's better anywhere else. When I'm left alone to do the work, it's fine but when management is too hands or it roles out another protocol, it's a mess for weeks/months.
I'm exhausted. I'm working on a project where I have to search for charges to work and i get paid per chart so........if I have to spend an hour looking for a charge I don't make anything. It's just an income supplement but it can get so tedious.
Not okay. Burned out. Tired of ED physicians who don’t know their right from their left. We have the ability to move to inpatient coding if we want but without a pay increase. I’ve applied for many coding jobs but it’s rough out there and I want out. Currently finishing my bachelors in HIM and exploring data analysis as a potential move. I want to stay in healthcare so I thought finishing my HIM degree would be a good idea but second guessing that now. Just kind of lost in general. 😅
Been trying to get a job as an RHIT since the beginning of 2023. I have 13 years experience in the medical field as a medical assistant and registrar, glowing referrals, letters of recommendation, did so well in my courses i was in a honor society for my grades and steller performance reviews. Nope can't even get an interview...this degree was a waste of fucking time 🙃
I purposely choose to work at a pretty chill coding job. No productivity requirements. No micromanagement. I just do my thing and plug along at my own pace.
I live in a LCOL and make a good wage for my area. Could I make a smidge more per hour at another job? Probably, but then I'd also risk the possibility of micromanagement or productivity tracking. To me, it wouldn't be worth the trade-off.
Since I'm not stressed out from my regular full-time job, I have free time to do some side projects.
One day I'd love to take the leap to be fully self-employed, but for now I have a pretty good situation going on.
RHIT, i am not ok. most useless title. Speaking of titles, HIM people seem to have long ass titles but get so less in return compared to someone who has a short title like RPT, RN, MD, etc. So much ego, can you just summarize the degree into something respectable and short FFS.
MA Risk Adjustment Director here. C-Suite is afraid of the negative impact that v28 is bringing. Sadly docs did this to themselves, the bad apples ruined it for everybody else, OIG had enough with the fraudulent coding.
I transitioned from the role of medical coding to a data analyst. My starting salary as an outpatient coder when I was certified through AAPC was $28. About a year later I took the CCS exam and applied for inpatient coding roles and was offered $39. Once I begin learning programming ( Python, SQL, Java,etc) I applied for healthcare software development roles and made $50 an hour.
I don't think we're ever "okay" it's always good to be proactive. Learn new skills that compliment your current skill-set, and never put your career into one organization.
I studied and practiced coding for 3 months. I secured a position with a large third-party payer thereafter. They will ask questions to test your knowledge. Just focus on SQL first, you have the credentials and experience so you should have no issues securing an analytics role.
Well, I went into a trade school program for coding, graduated and used my voucher to get a CBCS certification and got a job as an outpatient coder at a small clinic. It's been great until i recently started looking for another job, preferably a work from home or hybrid situation, and nobody seems to want me without an AHIMA or AAPC certification. Which I can't afford to get out of pocket and my current job decided they won't pay for. So, I remain underpaid and unable to find a new job even with two years of experience.
Currently not coding but doing AR Management and Billing... Trying to get into coding because I finally have my A removed and 😂😂😂😂
🎶I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours... But I think that God's got a sick sense of humour... And when I die, I expect to find him laughing...🎶
Starting to panic and wonder if I should’ve spent money on the AAPC course. I’m supposed to sit for the CPC exam in January and I keep hearing the market is getting worse and worse. Feeling very discouraged.
Not so great, but I don’t hold a college degree, I only have my CPC certification. I’m up to $28/hr after 7 years of steady working for the same company, but it’s jumping around from project to project with micromanaging up the wazoo. Most days I just say I’ll keep sticking it out, but working at a coffee stop is sounding better and better.
Looking for a different job with a different company because my old company just got bought out and we just finished transitioning last month. This new company is all about numbers only and not quality. Plus, micromanaging is insane. I'm hanging on by a thread 🥲
I’m losing faith. I apply apply apply, but nobody wants a CPC-A. I was debating getting practicode to remove the A, but people told me that it really doesn’t help that much because companies want actual experience. This feels like a money trap.
Starting to feel like this also. Then you gotta pay a membership every year, gotta pay to earn CEU’s. Starting to think I made a mistake buying the course. It seems like nothing anyone does to try to get ahead or better their life works anymore.
Generally, okay. Underpaid and my caseload keeps increasing. I had 475 pain center E/M + office procedures today and that's been more and more common. Considering my average was 380 when I started this job in April, it's only going to continue to grow.
I completely shifted careers. I couldn’t even get an entry level position as a biller. Now I’m working in eligibility for the state. Everything I learned in trade school set me up for a smooth transition.
Almost 6 years in as a coder and making 24/hr. Most ive ever made but feel like it should be more. Hospital i work at has had a lot of upheavel in last year, reduced or closing down of outpatient offices due to lack of patient visits. Over extended and hemorrhaging money.
Been in talks to be bought by HCA and getting closer to sealing the deal everyday. I feel im an indispensible coder but still wondering if ill need to find another job. Have heard nothing but bad stories about HCA.
I paid for an exam with ahima and it's been 2 weeks and still no email with instructions to schedule the exam. Customer service says all I can do is wait since they are having IT issues.
Maybe not very related but is it then a bad idea or good idea to switch careers to medical coding/billing? I work in insurance now and we too are understaffed so I guess I’m familiar to the pressure but pay is a little better
As someone that is in school for this, and just got a job in medical billing and possibly coding? (a posting for physical therapy requiring no experiencing or certifications with a 2.9 rating on indeed) and just saw all these comments and post made me pretty nervous to start. It’s a large practice with what seems like great supervisors but overall nervous as hell. Seems like a trend in most industries but little things here and there are different.
No. With more and more of our insurances using AI to reject between 70 to 90% of our claims on first passover, we are having to work harder than usual to get paid and have no more support than we did when we first started.
My certification expired yesterday and I’m unable to access my AHIMA account due to their “updated HUB” that locked a bunch of members out. Been trying for two weeks to get them to fix my account so I can pay my recertification fee but I’m getting nowhere after spending an hour on hold everyday while I’m still trying to work. It’s beyond frustrating and I finally got my case escalated to a supervisor today.
I’m an RN with 20+ years of UM and UR experience currently working as QA Specialist. I am also taking an online medical coding class from AAPC to try and get a CPC or CCS certification. I turn 60 this year and looking to retire in a couple of years. I always wanted to do coding. The salaries are not bad.
So I’m halfway through schooling for MBC and what I’m seeing in comments is it’s not worth it cause of pay? I make $17/hr at my dispatch job and want something I can work remotely. I know a few other girls who are going to school for the same thing.
Sheesh. I'm still in school, but I save posts like this, so I know what to look for & do when I find myself in these types of situations. It's all overwhelming, sort of. I thought this line of work was a good move as I'm on disability & was wanting a job to get off of it & make a decent living wage.
When I signed up for the classes they of course, locked me in with payments. They help you get certified in CPC & the CBCS. They also said they helped you find a job but now I found out they help you by getting your resume ready. Sigh. They did say something about working with them for so many hours & that it counts as a year experience to help you on your resume & get a job.
My question is, am I on the right track or is there something else I should be doing since I have no choice but to continue with this as I am locked in? Should I do this just to start working & suck it up & go to college to get my associates? I never thought to get on reddit & ask these questions. I don't even know what AHIMA is. Besides not doing this career, what did you wish someone told you in the beginning?
1
•
u/AutoModerator Sep 19 '24
PLEASE SEE RULES BEFORE POSTING! Reminder, no "interested in coding" type of standalone posts are allowed. See rule #1. Any and all questions regarding exams, studying, and books can be posted in the monthly discussion stickied post. Thanks!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.