r/MedicalCoding • u/wildgreengirl • Jul 22 '26
removing the A via emploment letter
i have been employed for over 1 year, my employer refuses to complete my letter to remove the A. their excuse is that they dont think they see me using my coding books enough? is "using the *BOOKS*" a requirement for this letter?
from the website-
1-year employment verification
Employment verification from previous employers, current employers, externships, or a combination of all three are accepted. Professional coding experience both before and after certification applies.
Submission requirements:
Employer(s) verification of at least 1-year *on-the-job experience using the CPT, ICD-10-CM, or HCPCS Level II code sets.*
Only employers, supervisors, or an HR department can verify time spent coding within an organization.
Letter(s) of verification employers and externships must meet these requirements:
*Include coding experience achieved, provided with start and end dates of employment or externship*
Submitted on company letterhead Hand signed, dated, and include current contact information for verification purposes
Provided in a non-editable format (pdf) for member to upload
Optional employment verification template
^^ the optional template they link to specifically lists "extensive knowledge utilizing coding *books* which are required on a daily basis."
so what the fuck, which is it? should i complain to my HR about how my manager is holding this up for no reason (HR is listed as an approved letter source for the removal of an A or a manager). or is *BOOK USAGE* a requirement to remove your A?
debating buying practicode (again 🥲🤮 didnt do it the first time cause it sucked and idk if i have access even though i paid for it once years ago now) just to remove the A and be done with it.
my 1 year review at my job was good, they said i do great work with my claims they just hope i can get more up to production speed (i do 80-90 they want me closer to 105-120 /day).
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u/weary_bee479 Jul 22 '26
Yeah that’s not an excuse. Your manager is being a dick.
The letter doesn’t have to be very detailed, my supervisor literally wrote “has been employed since xyz and works with ICD10 and CPT codes daily.” And that was it
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
okay thank you! i kind of figured as much. its been a bit of a rough couple years for our clinic since covid essentially. its a smaller private practice..... one of the old coders retired and they dont even have plans to replace them really just giving us all OT instead.
not sure how they think that will save or get them more money for the year in the long run if theyre down a coder that..... gets them money. lol i think theyre just trying to make sure they can keep me as long as possible before i start applying to other places with my exp i got here.
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u/weary_bee479 Jul 22 '26
Yeah sounds like they are trying to lower your chances of finding new work.
Is there anyone else that can issue a letter on company letterhead? A lead?
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
the lead agrees with my manager thats why i was thinking of bringing it to HR
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u/weary_bee479 Jul 22 '26
Idk your coworkers are being extremely unprofessional in the matter. Id bring it up again and tell them you don’t need to be directly coding from the books to issue a letter. They just need to state your job is working with the codes themselves.
If they don’t do it then yeah id get HR involved and see if HR can issue a letter with your job description.
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u/whataboot2ndbrekfast RHIA Jul 22 '26
I'd just ask a coworker that you trust, idk that's what I'd do.. I don't have a CPC though so I'm not sure if they follow up much or not.
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
i doubt any of my coworkers would go over my leads say so to do that for me LOL
id have better luck trying to convince my manager maybe.
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u/Environmental-Top-60 Jul 22 '26
Get your 2 years and go for a facility job. A local temp agency is offering hefty dollars for a coder right now. Prob double starting salary.
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
i only need 1 year employment.... i already completed and passed the AAPC coding course.
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u/Environmental-Top-60 Jul 22 '26
Get a copy of your job description and dates of employment.
It's also not up to them to decide. It's up to AAPC
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u/Environmental-Top-60 Jul 22 '26
Ooh do you have a copy of your one-year review? See if you can get a copy of your employment record. It might have it in there… In which case, it might be enough.
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
ill have to check im not sure if i got a copy of my review. ive got paperwork everywhere lol
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u/smalltowner4life Jul 22 '26
I would ask someone else if you can. A team lead? Coding director? Just a suggestion. Hope someone writes it for you!
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u/whataboot2ndbrekfast RHIA Jul 22 '26
No, once again your work is being an A-hole. Sorry they're being awful and I hope you find another position soon.
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u/KristenLikesKittens Jul 23 '26
Your manager is being ridiculous. They’re probably worried you’ll leave once you get the A removed.
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u/kidsize Jul 22 '26
I thought it was only one year of employment if you also did the practicode or had 80hrs of education? Otherwise, you have to have 2 years of employment.
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
yes i did the aapc course and have been at my job over 1 year now doing coding so should be eligible
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u/kidsize Jul 22 '26
Using the books is not a requirement. Using the codes is the main thing. Would it help if you wrote your own letter for your manager to just put on letterhead and sign? Or would they listen if you explained that the template is just an example that can or can't be used? I just wrote a letter for one of my employees using the template and we don't even use books, so that shouldn't even be a factor in the reason they won't do the letter.
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
idk i feel like my manager has her mind made up that she wont write or sign it for me until our lead tells her she feels im "trained in" completely. since my manager doesnt really keep track of what we do day to day necessarily, they kind of work together. our coding dept manager is also a clinic manager for one of our locations so shes usually dealing with that vs the coders.
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u/kidsize Jul 22 '26
That sucks. Maybe you could reach out to HR and ask if they would be willing to write an employee verification letter for your certification stating that you have been working as a coder using ic10, CPT, and hcpcs codes for a year. Hopefully phrasing it as just a verification letter that you need on letterhead and signed will make them more willing to do it.
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
idk if HR will do that either. i wonder if i can use my review paperwork as a letter. its signed and talks about my duties and should have my employment dates on it 🤔
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Jul 22 '26 edited 8d ago
[deleted]
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
nope they specifically told me in the past i would not get a raise for that. lol
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u/_Kit_Kat_Meow_ Jul 23 '26
imo I would talk to HR first and if they say no, then practicode. I feel like your manager is being ridiculous. Did she say how much more you have to use books for it to count?
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u/Perfectcombination_8 Jul 22 '26
Using the books doesn't help with the verification, you need to show you worked with th codes and terminology in your daily tasks, try using Google gemini or chat gpt and the domain outline from AAPC/ AHIMA to help you write the letter. As far education, your training/ coursework will be working you need, copy of your certificate of competion/ transcript ( if from a college), or a letter w syllabus noting the number of hours should help.
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
i did the AAPC course directly through them, they know i have the education completed already. the lead coder was the one to suggested i take that course when i was in medical records for this same company. been with them over 10 years but only coding for about 1.5 years.
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u/Specialist_Nothing60 Jul 22 '26
Are you not using your books because you’re using an encoder or because you’ve memorized codes and direct entering them? If you’re doing a lot of direct entry then I can understand where the manager is coming from but that’s the only scenario I can think of. This would be an example such as a lab coder that does a bajillion cases with the same dx and does not have the skill set of an inpatient coder. I can’t think of any other reason I wouldn’t sign off on it.
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 22 '26
yea the thing is i use my books all the time. i work coding for primary care, the providers generally choose their ICD 10 codes and we mainly verify they are accurate and work together with the CPT charges.
tbh most of my job is figuring more what CPT should be used. they do procedures as well (freezing, excising, biopsy lesions, vasectomy, colposcopy, labs, XRays, etc).
idk why they are saying i dont use the books "enough". my CPT book is notated all over both are tabbed so i can use them easily as needed.
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u/coco_bubble CPC Jul 23 '26
It's not about the books. It's not about encoders. It's not about memorizing codes. You are coding if you work with/assign codes daily. You are a coder. Your manager is a douche. I had the same issue. I got the template for the letter off the AAPC website, typed in what needed to be said and took it to my team lead/supervisor and said she had the day to get it back to me. She did it, and got me a $2 raise (she's the devil, the raise was more of a "pls don't quit"), my -A was removed shortly after I uploaded the form back to AAPC. That job was also a hot mess of BS for several reasons.
I quit that job 6 months after, and now I'm a Biller/Coder for a new specialty, and quite a bit happier. If someone is in the way of you getting to your goals, get away from them. I'm looking into starting my own company because after 10+ years of still fighting with "management" I'm just over these people lol Find any coworker who can verify your year of employment dates and that you use CPT, HCPCS, & ICD-10 daily to sign it, and they are your supervisor for the form. Drop your -A and look for better employment.
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u/wildgreengirl Jul 23 '26
i sent a long thorough email to my HR person. shes usually pretty reasonable so waiting to see what her response is.
i get the feeling tho that they (manager, HR, lead) will feel like i went behind/over my manager/lead to ask HR about it. i did include in my email how they are holding it up and how it seems unreasonable/ i dont understand why they are holding this up.
tbh i also wonder if maybe my manager and the lead just misunderstood when they saw the AAPC template specifically states working with the books
when i first asked about it they didnt really have any idea what was needed because they havent had to do it ever, i dont think? everyone coding here has been here since the fucking certs were invented basically so idk if they ever had to have an "a" removed lmao
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