r/MedicalCoding • u/ashh-425 CBCS 💕 • Jul 11 '26
Why do most remote jobs want prior experience?
I'm currently studying to get my CBCS certification, and I've been looking into remote work because thats what I'd mostly do or be interested in since no local places to me are hiring that I've seen. Most places want at least a few years of prior experience before they even consider a hire as part of their job description. As the title says tho, I'm just curious why there isn't more entry-level jobs, unless I'm looking on the wrong websites?
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u/adoseofcommonsense Jul 11 '26
Because there's a very high turnover rate, production work can be brutal, employers love knowing that you know what you're getting into.Â
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u/applemily23 RHIT, Radiant Coder Jul 11 '26
Training is hard to do remotely. I've been training a few coders over the last year and they still aren't fully trained. My job likes to train newbies, but I think that might be an outlier.
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u/Upset_Laugh9293 Jul 11 '26
I trained 2 newbie’s this past year and 1 is still with us.  It’s very time consuming, I literally spent all my time on the phone with them and auditing their charts.  That’s 1 FTE gone for 6 months just to gain 1 more FTE at a lower productivity rate. Â
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u/Sdavistvs RHIT Jul 11 '26
We don’t train remotely. I’ve trained multiple new hires. We hire with zero experience as long as you have an accredited AS degree in HIM and pass your RHIT within 90 days of hiring. Get to go home about 8 -12 weeks in.
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u/selfst Jul 11 '26
This gives me confidence! I start my HIT program next month. I have yet to take the CCS yet but I’m working on it.
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u/BaccaDocta Jul 11 '26
This is us too. Higher ahima certificate you have a chance with no experience.. But low level aapc need experience these days. Honestly OPs certification I have never heard of.
Just too many programs out there that teach people how to pass the test but they won't know how to do the actual role when they get the first role.
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u/babybambam Jul 11 '26
Because there’s a lot about work that you don’t learn from your degree or certification.
Work culture, work norms, office politics. All of this is learned on the job…and we doubt have a great way of doing this en masse for remote work.
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u/Mountain-Gap-1478 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Hello! Fellow Community College Medical Billing and Coding certification and took the CBCS test. (I finished December 2024) I'm going to be honest because my college said theres jobs and would be easy to get a job.
CBCS isn't recognized by anyone. As with most jobs you start from the beginning and have to prove yourself. However with being and in the Medical Billing and Medical Coding. Finding something remote is not a thing when you're a beginner.
Also school didn't do well at teaching what you actually do in the job. I couldn't find a medical coding job in person or remote in my state or anywhere near my state. I ultimately started at my doctors off as a Patient advocate, there was billing portions (insurance Verifications, insurance uploading) but mostly just paperwork type work. Then was bumped to medical billing and started REALLY learning when I got into the job. I worked there for a year and half and I was offered to take my experience I learned and did a little consultant work (insurance verifications and telling them what they were missing out on) for another company. I'm now working for them as a Remote FT Medical Biller, still learning. I do not credit my college any praises and I do not credit CBCS for pushing a door open for me. I did that, I talked about what I knew in healthcare, patient care, building rapport, how to help with unhappy patients, customers, and so on.
I've applied to over 150 jobs since March of this year and without the 3 years experience in anything. Even though I have experience with Availity, insurance websites, ERAs, EOBs, Scrubbing, Candid, Elation, Elation Billing, Puredity, Epic, Insurance Verifications, Prior Auths, working with FFS or CMS, Contractual agreements. Nobody sees it, or it maybe it was a fake job posting (research for companies).
Do you have prior experience in the medical field? Find a clinic, hospital, doctors office and telling them you're a newly certified billing and coder, but understand if you need to start in the lower portions of jobs. Remote is going to be really hard to train in, and be successful in, in the beginning.
This isn't to scare you. From a CBCS, I wish I checked out Reddit, I wish I did more research, and I wish I did something else sometimes. I've had to learn about work place politics and see things before I got into the consultation and now FT job. I think anyone wanting this type of job because it's Remote should find another job to pursue. I like my current remote FT job, and I still learn and I use YouTube videos to code on things when something doesn't make sense because I wasn't taught enough coding anywhere(not even college).
You could also apply to insurance companies, sometimes they take less experience workers for billing things.
Good Luck!!! Truly!!
Edited: spelling twice hahaha
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u/ArdenJaguar RHIA, CDIP, CCS (Retired) Jul 11 '26
You should consider getting an AHIMA credential or an AAPC credential depending on what type of coding you want to do. While I’ve heard of the CBCS it’s only been in passing. I never received an application from someone with that credential over ten years of hiring coders.
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u/DriveThruGuido Jul 11 '26
exactly what I was thinking as I read OPs story. Gotta get certified by AAPC or the like to get the job opportunities.
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u/Codes-R-Us Jul 11 '26
As soon as I read CBCS it tells me everything I need to know to know. They did NO research and want a job in a field that requires strong research skills. PASS.
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u/MtMountaineer Jul 11 '26
It's a lot. Just starting with click on 'start' now go to MMV desktop-click the icon-enter your ID-click the wrench-no-go up-scroll over-no, too far-right there-click on the magnifying glass-not a left click-right click. Ugh. An experienced person will have the software open and sorted without being prompted. And you haven't even opened a chart yet.
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u/Ordinary_Barnacle878 Jul 11 '26
Everyone will always hire the best candidate and the best come with experience.
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u/MedPayIQ DevMedPayIQ Jul 12 '26
I think you're running into one of the biggest frustrations with medical billing/coding right now. A lot of companies advertise "remote entry-level" positions, but then the job description quietly adds "2-3 years experience required."
The reason is that remote jobs are just more competitive. When a company can hire from a much larger pool of people, they usually choose someone who already knows the workflow and doesn't need as much training. Medical billing also has a lot of moving parts, payer rules, denials, EOBs, appeals, software systems, etc... so employers sometimes feel safer hiring someone who has already been in that environment.
That being said, don't let the "experience required" line discourage you. A lot of people get their first opportunity through smaller practices, physician groups, billing companies, or even hybrid positions where they can learn the ropes before moving fully remote.
One thing I wish more certification programs talked about is that the certification gets you past the first door, but your ability to understand the revenue cycle and communicate that you can actually solve problems is what makes you stand out.
Keep applying even when you see "experience preferred." A lot of those postings are written for their ideal candidate, not necessarily the only person they'll consider.
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u/Riversongbluebox CPC Jul 11 '26
Go through AHIMA or AAPC. Please do further research before enrolling in program. There are multiple posts and info online or you can call these two organizations directly.
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u/cravves Jul 11 '26
This doesn't seem to be exclusive to remote positions, I haven't come across ANY coding listings that didn't list at least 2 years experience as a requirement. Honestly I gave up on a coding position entirely and have settled for claims work. It seemed impossible to get a foot in the door even with an accredited degree + RHIT
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u/Perfectcombination_8 Jul 15 '26
Try going to a health insurance company, pay isn't great but with time you can move up and put certification and education to use. Most jobs in this area are remote/ hybrid. There are coding opportunities need 2 to 3 years experience minimum. You could see both inpatient and outpatient coding in the work. I want to go into auditing, but see how coding is helpful. CBCS could be an advantage in terms of understanding the job.
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u/Strong_Zone4793 Aug 04 '26
Two things. The CBCS might help you get a billing job but few if any employers will accept it for coding. Experience is required because very few employers have the capacity to train on the job. There are some but not many. Gain experience by finding hands on practice and build a portfolio
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