2007 AAPC Medical Coding Salary Survey: Coders Cash In With Credentials
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View the entire 2007 Medical Coding Salary Survey.pd |
You cracked the books to study for the certification exam, you’ve pored over Coding Edge quizzes to earn CEUs, you’ve made it to every local chapter meeting — and it was worth it. The results of our 2007 Salary Survey reveal that certified coders earn an average of 17 percent more than their non-certified counterparts. )
The 5,155 coding professionals who responded to our survey offered insight that might surprise some coders, and gave concrete proof that certified coders are in high demand.
In fact, 42 percent of survey respondents said that certification was required for employment at their current positions. Further proving the importance of certification, a recent search of monster.com revealed 310 available medical coding positions, 128 of which required certification. That means that 41 percent of coding positions were closed to non-certified coders.
Coders who hold specialty credentials (such as CPC-E/M) brought in even more money. Eight percent of coders with specialty credentials earned over $85,000, whereas only two percent of coders with core certifications earned that much. Just one percent of non-certified coders took home over $85,000.
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Administrators and consultants brought in the most money this year, both averaging over $85,000 annually. Insurance managers and consultants saw the biggest income growth over the past year. According to our 2006 survey, insurance managers earned about $40,000, but this year they brought in $60,000-$65,000. Last year, coding consultants averaged $58,000, but in 2007 they earned over $85,000.
And if you’re considering a return to school, the evidence shows that you’ll be making a smart money move. Our survey reveals that salaries are strongly driven by education. While coders with some college earned $30,000- $35,000, those who graduated from college brought in $40,000-$45,000. In addition, coding professionals who earned master’s degrees collected over $85,000. This is a big leap from last year, when our survey revealed that those with master’s degrees brought in $55,000.
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Most coding professionals don’t need an incentive to stay in the coding field — the job has infinite rewards on its own. But to put the icing on the cake, our Salary Survey proves that experience pays. Coders who have been on the job for just one year earned $25,000-$30,000, but those who have worked in the field for 18 years or more averaged $45,000-$50,000 annually.
And your location might also drive your salary. Coding professionals in Washington, DC, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Nevada brought in the most income last year, and those in urban settings earned more than those in suburban or rural locations.
Fifteen percent of those surveyed have used the AAPC’s Career Edge, which is a free service that allows AAPC members to post their resumes for positions in billing, coding, transcription or medical records. In addition, Career Edge provides a searchable job bank so AAPC members can seek jobs that suit their backgrounds.
Noncertified coders earn (on average) $25K–$30K Certified coders earn $30K–$35K Specialty certified coders earn $35K–$40K
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Our survey also revealed that coders have a growing amount of autonomy at work. A full 52 percent of coding professionals told us that they are offered flex-time on the job, whereas only 24 percent of U.S. employers overall offer their employees formal flex-time programs.*
Resources:
*Spherion’s 2005 Emerging Workforce Study. www.spherion.com/press/releases/2005/Emerging_Workforce.jsp
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View the entire 2007 Medical Coding Salary Survey.pdf |
For more information, go to the AAPC web site at www.aapc.com and click on the Career Edge logo.
AHIMA Member 2006 Profile Data
The Results Are In: 2006 Salary Study
Updated Data as of October 2006
For many HIM professionals, salary levels are driven by their job titles, their education levels, and where they live. Each year AHIMA shares data trends related to these factors nationally. In 2006, we have more information than ever before on this topic, as a result of the first in-depth AHIMA salary study conducted this summer.
Salary Study Provides More Detailed Data
In past years, our salary information came from the data provided by members via AHIMA’s online profile tool. This year’s salary study presents similar data, but the results are more specific because respondents were asked to provide actual salary figures instead of indicating a range. More than 13,300 individuals responded to the survey.
The survey results reveal a wealth of information with multiple layers to explore. For instance, this data allows us to estimate that the average annual full-time HIM salary across all work settings is $55,676. But this number doesn’t tell the whole story. It doesn’t reflect the great diversity of those working in HIM (based on work setting, job title, education level, certification, and more). In this article, we’ll look more closely at these results.
Work Setting Matters
Where HIM professionals choose to work impacts the type of job opportunities available as well as salary potential. “Primary Work Setting” (above) shows that the hospital category continues to dominate as the primary category with 57 percent of respondents indicating that choice. But HIM professionals are represented in other categories as well. Eight percent of respondents work in physician offices, followed by those in consultant/vendor settings (seven percent), and in integrated delivery systems (seven percent).
Respondents are grouped in these primary setting categories, but they also indicated a more defined setting within that category. “Average Salaries by Work Setting” (page 2) shows average salary levels for those working in the broad setting categories. Those working in consultant/vendor settings ($84,383) and integrated delivery system ($70,501) boast the highest average salaries. The hospital category appears in the middle ($53,389), while physician office ($46,034) and long-term care settings ($46,017) salaries are at the lower end.
One of the factors impacting these averages is the variety of positions available within each setting. For instance, the hospital setting has the largest spectrum of positions in which HIM professionals work, while the number is much more defined in the consultant/vendor area.
The next level of detail regarding the consultant/vendor category adds some perspective. “Average Salary: Consultant/Vendor Settings” (below) shows that those working as independent contractors report earning the most ($95,028 on average), those working for vendors average a bit less ($81,579) and those at consulting companies fall in between ($82,121).
A closer look at the hospital setting (see “Average Salary: Hospital Setting,” on page 4) shows how the type of hospital impacts average salary. Average salaries at acute care hospitals ($54,117) and long-term acute care hospitals ($54,580) are the highest, while salaries at ambulatory surgery, hospital-based facilities ($41,620) average quite a bit less.
What’s In a Title?
Clearly, job titles play a key role in determining salary levels. “Average Salaries by Job Title” (below) shows a large range in average salaries, with a variance of more than $76,000 between the administrator/CEO/COO group at the top and customer/client representative at the other end of the spectrum. As in the care setting chart, it’s important to note that average salaries can be affected by the size of the groups reporting. For instance, the finding for the general category of “director” reflects the salaries of a few thousand respondents, while the figure for the more defined and less prevalent title “IS/MIS director” reflects just 40 respondents.
Looking at job titles in different work setting categories reveals additional insight. “Average Salary by Setting Category,” below, shows a range of common HIM job titles (director, manager, and coding professional) with average salaries listed for each work setting category. Not all titles are prevalent in all settings. The asterisks in this table indicate areas where there were fewer than 30 respondents.
The data indicates that directors working in a hospital setting gain higher average salaries than those working in long-term care, but lower average salaries than directors in the physician office setting. Average coding salaries show less variability than those of managers or directors. However, there is still an $11,000 gap between the average salaries of coding professionals in an integrated delivery system compared to those in behavioral/mental health.
Examining the Role of Education
Education level can also make a difference when it comes to salary. “Education Level” (below) illustrates the various levels of education represented by the respondents. For example, the percentage of respondents who have a baccalaureate degree is almost the same as those who have an associate degree; each represents about 34 percent of the sample. Those with an advanced degree make up 11 percent.
“Average Director Salaries by Education” (below) clearly shows the impact that education has on salary. The data shows some distinct stepping stones. While the average director salary earned by those with an associate degree is $60,613, that number grows to $75,126 for those with a baccalaureate degree, and to $86,728 for those with a master’s degree.
Earning an industry credential is another way to distinguish skill level and attract a higher salary. “Average Coder Salaries by Credential” (below) shows average salaries for coding professionals holding various coding-related credentials. Those with AHIMA’s mastery-level credentials (CCS-P and CCS) are garnering higher average salaries than those who have the entry-level AHIMA credential CCA and the CPC credential offered by the American Academy of Professional Coders.
Location, Location, Location
Where you work can also affect how much you earn. Overall, average salaries by state (below) show a wide margin between the $73,229 average in California at the high end and the $39,658 North Dakota average on the other end. This represents an 85 percent difference between the two.
When looking at specific job titles and how salaries differ geographically, various patterns emerge. For instance; Hawaii and California lead the list of states paying the highest average director salaries, followed by primarily northeastern states, New Jersey, Washington, DC, Connecticut, and Maryland. For managers, New Mexico and Colorado were among the top five states in terms of average salary. For coding professionals, Massachusetts showed the highest average salary, followed by both eastern and western states: California, New York, Colorado, New Jersey, and Washington.
An Added Bonus
Another area covered in the 2006 salary study was salary increases and bonus compensation. Eighty-nine percent of survey respondents reported receiving a salary increase in the previous 12 months. The majority of respondents (52 percent) reported an increase in the three to five percent range. Another 34 percent reported their increase to be two percent or less and the remaining 14 percent reported earning six percent or more.
Various reasons were given for the salary increases earned. Merit increase (54 percent) and salary adjustments (21 percent) were the most often cited reasons. Job changes (nine percent) and promotions (six percent) contributed to the increases of smaller segments of the respondents.
The final two graphs above provide insight into the frequency and amount of bonuses. Only 26 percent overall reported receiving any type of bonus compensation. For those who did, the overall average bonus received was just over four thousand dollars. Those in certain work settings were more likely than others to receive a bonus. Again, the consultant/vendor setting (see “Percent Receiving Bonus by Work Setting” below) led the list with 46 percent of those respondents receiving a bonus. This contrasts sharply with the 14 percent working in an educational institution or long-term care setting who reported bonuses. The nonprovider setting category, which includes such settings as government agency, pharmaceutical, insurance, corrections, and others, also was more likely to award bonuses.
The average amount of bonuses awarded (see “Average Bonus by Work Setting” below) also varied greatly by setting. The average bonus reported in the long-term care setting was $2,489, at the low end, and the consultant/vendor average was $7,787 at the other end. The hospital setting again found itself in the middle with an average of $3,091.
The survey results support conclusions from previous research that decisions about education, credentials, job titles, and geographic location can make a difference to HIM salaries. The bottom line: consider all of these things as you plot your professional future. This article will be available online to reference throughout the year here.
