Medical Billing and Coding Schools – The Best for 2024

Medical Billing and Coding is definitely one of the hot careers right now in the growing healthcare field.

Not only does it offer a good salary according to the national BLS data, it’s got all of the perks of joining the healthcare field (helping people in need, growing industry, high demand) but without the downsides like touching blood, a college degree, or long hours on your feet.

Medical Billers and Coders even get the flexibility to work in a variety of different settings like hospitals, private practices, or insurance companies, and can even work remotely from home!

BUT, to crack into the field, employers are looking for Certified candidates, and that means getting the right training is crucial.  Below, we’ve created a list of our favorite and best Medical Billing and Coding schools.  Read more about what we look for and our methodology below…but without further ado:

Here’s the list of Best Schools and Classes:

What Makes a Good School for Medical Billing and Coding?

With the demand for medical billing and coding specialists on the rise, many colleges and universities have begun to offer their own certification programs. Unfortunately, many of these programs are completely insufficient, not only in terms of the curriculum but the overall structure as well.

So what makes an institution the right one and why did we choose the certification programs we did?

Easy.

Just see what they offer. It should ideally contain one or more of the following criteria:

Online Programs

Online learning has become a popular alternative to traditional on-campus programs, especially for busy adult students. Just what are some of the benefits of online degrees?

• They promote a healthy work-life balance
• You don’t need to relocate for your education
• You have more time to do the things you enjoy
• You can keep working

For many students, becoming certified through an online program just makes sense!

Prepares You for Certification

Perhaps one of the most important things to look for when selecting a school is to choose one that actually prepares you for major certifications, in this case American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) Certified Professional Coder (CPC), and National Healthcareer Association (NHA) Certified Billing & Coding Specialist (CBCS), or AHIMA.

Self-Paced

Self-paced learning is efficient and effective. Think about when you were last in school. Wasn’t it pretty obvious that everyone learned at their own pace and in their own way? Online certification programs are superior, in our opinion, because they allow people to study when is most convenient for them.

If you’re a busy working adult, raising a young family, you’re going to have very specific windows of time when you’re available to study. That might be at six in the morning before the kids get up and you go to work, or at 9 pm when the kids are in bed and the house is finally quiet. Self-paced learning means you study when you can realistically fit it into your schedule.

There’s another benefit of self-paced learning that people often overlook, and that is that it promotes inductive thinking. When you are allowed to learn at your own pace, you improve memory performance and are able to come to conclusions about the information you’ve taken in. This is invaluable and the way learning should be!

Textbooks are Included

I don’t know if you’ve seen how much textbooks cost, but they can be incredibly expensive! It’s important to look for programs that provide textbooks and other learning materials because you’ll definitely need these to prepare for your certification exams.

An Immersive Learning Experience

While you’ll need textbooks, you should also look for online programs that are led by real professors, as these curriculums are always more immersive and engaging. These lessons can be videotaped so you can watch them at any time, and the insights offered by someone who has “been there and done that” are invaluable.

Support

Learning anything new inevitably means having questions. We chose schools that offered a robust support system so students could have their questions answered and get tech help when they needed it.

Externships are Part of the Program

We also selected training programs that have collaborated with healthcare institutions to provide necessary externship experience for MBC students following their training.

Why is this so important?

Learning from a textbook or video course is one thing, but gaining real-life experience is what will help you connect all the dots. Externships let you put your knowledge to the test.

In addition, you can show off this real-life experience on your resume, and that’s really valuable. In a scenario where there are two equally good candidates, the one with the experience (even if it is an externship) could get preference in the eyes of an employer. 

The Importance of Medical Billing and Coding Training

The healthcare industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and demand for medical billing and coding specialists is skyrocketing. While these professionals work in the background of the healthcare industry, they really are the people who tie everything together.

When patients come into a healthcare facility with a chronic disease, a sudden illness, or some type of health concern, everything about their care needs to be documented and reported. MBCs assign codes for everything that happens during that visit to categorize what kind of service, procedure, or medication they have received. This ensures that the patient’s insurance company pays for the visit and the healthcare facility is also reimbursed properly. It is the Medical Billing and Coding system that makes the healthcare industry work so seamlessly.

We have spoken to many medical billing and coding professionals over the years who have told us that their job is very gratifying. They understand that they are an integral part of a system that helps people in their greatest time of need.

What Types of Facilities Hire Medical Billing and Coding Specialists?

MBCs are hired in all sorts of healthcare facilities. Many professionals work in hospitals and private clinics, but MBCs are also employed by insurance companies, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing companies, and even healthcare lawyers. As an added bonus, a career as a medical billing and coding specialist means you may have the opportunity to work from home!

MBCs are proficient in assigning codes, understanding different insurance types, and how to submit a claim. They are also well-versed with the major laws, regulations, and guidelines related to medical billing. So essentially, any healthcare facility that needs assistance with any of this will hire a medical billing and coding specialist. That means as far as employment opportunities, the sky is really the limit!

Our Methodology

Wow! We’ve just covered a lot of information so let’s recap:

This article is based on our opinion after looking at numerous online certification programs offered for medical billing and coding. As we mentioned earlier, there are quite a few MBC certification programs out there, but they were not all created equal.

We sifted through each curriculum to identify the ones that offered some or all of what we consider the “Must Haves” for any certification program, and prioritized based on the following:

• Online programs
• Comprehensive preparation for certification exams
• Accredited universities over trade schools
• Self-paced learning
• Textbooks and other learning materials are included
• Externships are provided for valuable real-life experience

If you’re interested in a career as a medical billing and coding specialist, you could become certified and begin working in less than a year! What a great opportunity to work in an exciting industry helping people!