Medical Billing and Coding Schools in Rhode Island (Programs & Salary Information)

Rhode Island has a strong economy and those working in the health industry receive a higher salary than in other states.

Medical coding and billing is an administrative task that can be completed from home.

If you’re interested in such a career path, read on as we have all the info you need to get you started!

Medical Billing – Requirements, Exam, Certification

To become a medical biller, you need to first enroll and graduate from a training program and then pass a certification exam.

As a medical biller, you’ll have to create the invoices for the treatments received by the patients.

There are, however, other important requirements to meet:

• Having an associate’s degree is recommended but not imperative
• Knowing or learning about these subjects:
  • Anatomy
  • Medical terms
  • Pathophysiology
• Becoming and remaining a member of the AAPC
• Take the exam and score at least 70%

AAPC administers the exam which costs $399.

If you pass you’ll receive the certification as a professional biller (or CPB).

AAPC allows those who failed to re-take the test for free if no more than 1 year passed.

Medical Coding – Requirements, Exam, Certification

AAPC is also the institution in charge of medical coding which it invented to make certain processes easier and faster to complete.

This occupation has 4 specializations, with 3 of them being more specific than the fourth.

The specializations are:

• Certified Outpatient Coder
• Certified Inpatient Coder
• Certified Risk Adjustment Coder
• Certified Professional Coder

Becoming a medical coder does come with some requirements:

• Having a high school diploma, but the GED is also accepted
• Understanding anatomy
• Understanding medical terms
• Scoring at least 70% on the exam to obtain the certification from AAPC

There are 150 questions on the test which is 5 hours and 40 minutes long.

Candidates can consult these books during the exam:

• AMA’s CPT Professional Edition
• Their choice of ICD-10-CM code manual
• Their choice of HCPCS Level II code manual

Attending some training classes before taking the exam increases your chances of passing.

There are some code sets that are used more than others:

• CPT,
• ICD-10-CM,
• HCPCS Level II

Getting Trained

Getting trained for either profession can be done either at AAPC or at any college from the table below.

Enrolling in a college rather than at AAPC means you can earn a degree which can be very useful for your career.

Many individuals choose to earn 2 certifications, for coding and for billing.

AAPC organizes classes for all the subjects you’ll need to know for your future profession:

• Medical billing
• Medical coding
• All other needed subjects:
  • Anatomy
  • Medical terms
  • Pathophysiology

If you want to know what a medical biller learns about, these are some of the topics:

• The medical codes
• The types of insurance plans
• Local and national coverage determinations
• Payer policies,
• The rules and regulations in the healthcare industry, related to billing
• The life cycle of a billing claim in the medical world

Medical coders learn more about:

• The codes they’ll work with
• The rules they follow
• The organization of the code

AAPC allows their students to study at their own pace and generally allow about 4 to 6 months for them to complete the classes.

Expected Salary and Other Information

In Rhode Island, the average salary for a medical biller and coder is higher than in the rest of the country.

Of course, the more experience you have, and higher degrees, the more your salary will also increase.

Regional Salary in Rhode Island

The best employers in Rhode Island for this administrative field, are:

• Hasbro Children’s Hospital,
• Kent Hospital
• South County Hospital

All these employers offer perks such as time off, a retirement plan, various health, and life insurance plans.

Do know that medical coders and billers can work from home, and this is why many other individuals choose this career path.

Medical Billing and Coding Classes by City

Medical Billing and Coding Classes by State