Getting Your Medical Coding Certifications

Afford and Succeed at Getting Your Medical Coding Certifications

If you have a passion for helping people, if you want to make a difference at the same time as gaining a secure career, don’t let money stand in the way of your success. Through a medical coding program, you can work toward a certification that will enable you to work in a variety of health care settings across Texas as well as at home.

There are a number of financial aid options available for students to ensure that aspiring medical technicians in all situations are able to meet their goals and graduate successfully.  

What Does a Medical Coding Program Cover?

When you choose to take a medical coding program, you will learn all the skills you need to work as a medical records technician. You will acquire both theoretical knowledge and gain hands-on experience about a range of topics, including:

• Health insurance paperwork, legal issues, and fraud.
• Office procedures and administration.
• Business communication skills.
• Medical codes, terminology, and bookkeeping.
• Official transcription, records management, and charting.
• Computer applications, databases, and keyboarding.
• Patient care.

Most full-time programs last around 36 weeks, whereas evening, weekend, and online courses may take longer to complete.  

How Much Does a Program Cost?

Tuition costs around $1,000 to $4,000 for online programs or between $15,000 and $30,000 to learn on campus. On completion of the program, students may be eligible for medical coding certifications, such as the Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS), Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA), or Electronic Health Records Specialist (EHRS), all of which allow you to work at hospitals, doctors’ offices, care facilities, clinics, insurance companies, and government agencies in Texas or to work from home for a private company. The cost of taking exams for any of the certifications is $105.  

How to Use Financial Aid

There are several options to gain financial support for your studies, including grants and scholarships (where you never repay the balance) and loans, which are issued with a repayment plan that works for you. Veterans and dependents of veterans can take advantage of additional military financial assistance, such as military benefits. To find out what may be available to you, consult with a financial aid officer at your school. For those already working in health care, there is another option: petitioning your employer to pay for your studies. Being that you need a medical coding certification to work as a medical records or health information technician in Texas, funding part, if not all, of the cost of your studies may be a good option for your employer, as this will turn you into an even more valuable asset to the company.   At first glance, taking a medical coding program may seem like a large investment, but when you consider that you will be making around $16.42 per hour — or $34,160 per year — it is clear that studying for a certification is a smart choice for your future. Plus, with the numerous financial aid options available, you can significantly cut costs, meaning that taking such a program becomes quite affordable.