At some point in the mid to late 1990's, health care organizations and establishments became acutely aware of the health insurance industries growing penchant for cutting costs wherever and whenever possible. This, in turn, made staffing a veritable nightmare for hospitals, clinics and other larger facilities as the paperwork associated with insurance claims required teams of knowledgeable billing and coding professionals and the office space to house their efforts. Training for these positions is relatively expensive, as the procedures used by insurance companies has become increasingly complex.
By design, the education industry afforded another option with programs aimed at those who wish to make a career of medical billing and coding. The upside was an influx of well trained talent to handle the demands placed on health care facilities while the downside for those same facilities came in the form of increasingly higher salaries and compensation. In order to make the process more manageable, many have now moved to outsourcing as a method for handling the medical coding and billing process.
With outsourcing, issues surrounding limited space are eliminated, as are having to provide insurance benefits and training for employees. While outsourcing does cost more in wages paid per claim completed than in-house staffing, the associated savings from medical benefits and office space make it far more reasonable than the latter option.
The increasing reliance on outsourced firms or individuals has been a catalyst for small business development, with many former 9 to 5 workers opting to instead offer the service either full or part time from home. Those who are dependable and have low rates of denied or delayed claims often have their choice of which facilities they wish to take on as clients. Competition for competent firms or individuals has further increased compensation, making outsourced medical billing and coding a lucrative venture for many.
The future of independent medical coding and billing specialists seems to be relatively secure, especially with the influx of baby boomers entering the age where healthcare is a real concern. Another positive for those involved in the business lies in the insurance industries' further classification of procedural coverage and the finite definitions associated with them. As it becomes more complicated to handle the process of medical billing and coding, the probability of changes to the current state of affairs becomes less likely.
