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How to hire a billing coder

Billing coder hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring billing coders in the United States:

  • In the United States, the median cost per hire a billing coder is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
  • On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new billing coder to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a billing coder, step by step

To hire a billing coder, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a billing coder, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step billing coder hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a billing coder job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new billing coder
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    Before you post your billing coder job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a billing coder for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a billing coder to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a billing coder that fits the bill.

    The following list breaks down different types of billing coders and their corresponding salaries.

    Type of Billing CoderDescriptionHourly rate
    Billing CoderFinancial clerks do administrative work for many types of organizations. They keep records, help customers, and carry out financial transactions.$14-21
    RaterThe duties of a rater depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, it is their responsibility to rate products, services, or systems according to criteria or a set of standards, ensuring quality and compliance to regulations... Show more$11-30
    Medical Billing, ReceptionistA medical billing receptionist serves as the main point of contact in a hospital. Their responsibilities revolve around greeting patients and attending to their needs, gathering and maintaining records, and checking-in patients... Show more$13-19
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Patients
    • ICD-10
    • Data Entry
    • Medical Terminology
    • Home Health
    • HCPCS
    • Procedure Codes
    • Charge Entry
    • Medicaid
    • Family Practice
    • Surgery
    • E/M
    • Medical Billing
    • CPT-4
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
    • Review documentation to assign or confirm E/M, CPT, HCPCS, modifiers and ICD-9 codes.
    • Process insurance claims to various carriers like Medicare, Medicaid, commercial, and private insurances.
    • Verify patient insurance and/or Medicaid eligibility status and produce 'no insurance' letters for non establish patients.
    • Use EMR to submit claims.
    • Correct coding of CPT, HCPCS and ICD-9 codes necessary to ensure appropriate reimbursement.
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your billing coder job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A billing coder can vary based on:

    • Location. For example, billing coders' average salary in new mexico is 37% less than in district of columbia.
    • Seniority. Entry-level billing coders 33% less than senior-level billing coders.
    • Certifications. A billing coder with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a billing coder's salary.

    Average billing coder salary

    $37,554yearly

    $18.05 hourly rate

    Entry-level billing coder salary
    $30,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 13, 2025
  4. Writing a billing coder job description

    A billing coder job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a billing coder job description:

    Billing coder job description example


    Under the supervision of the Practice Administrator, the Mental Health Biller/Coder will register patients, verify demographics and insurance/financial information, prepares & batches all charges for charge entry and identifies proper ICD-10 & CPT-4 codes. This position requires interacting with Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses and Licensed Social Workers who are generating patient encounters as well as management, other professional staff, and Insurance Company Representatives .


    EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT(S):


    + High school diploma or GED required.


    + Minimum of three years’ experience in a medical setting or an AAS in Secretarial Science with 1 year in a medical setting.


    + An understanding of Medical and Psychiatric Terminology.


    + Person should have a minimum of one-year experience coding using ICD-9-CM and CPT-4 codes.


    + Requires attention to detail with moderate volume of data entry including quality assurance.


    + Must possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills.


    + Knowledge of personal computer applications such as MS Word, Excel, Access, Outlook and Soarian billing systems.


    + Be able to multitask, with excellent organizational skills.


    + Certified coder (CPC) preferred.


    PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION:


    + Will oversee accuracy of insurance/financial information of patients, using available resources.


    + Will Identify and bill secondary or tertiary insurances as appropriate.


    + Will Process daily charges in EMR System and data enter charge batches as needed.


    + Will insure documentation meets standards of care for billing, and communicate with providers when documentation does not meet standards.


    + Will manage the Encounter Billing Exception Worklist and related worklists that hold claims from billing.


    + Will obtain pre-authorizations as required for procedures.


    + Will follow up on unpaid claims within standard billing cycle timeframe using open encounters report.


    + Will evaluate patient records to determine that correct ICD and CPT codes are being used.


    + Will contact physicians and other health care professionals with questions about treatments or diagnostic tests given to patients with regard to coding procedures.


    + Will notify Practice Admin of any issues/trends that would result in lost revenue.


    + Will answer all patient or insurance telephone inquiries pertaining to assigned accounts, in a timely manner.


    + Will set up patient payments and collect them and run collection reports as needed.


    + Will understand and stay up to date on insurance carrier billing and payment policies.


    + Will complete Mandatory Education assignments and participate in other relevant training as assigned.


    + Willing to help with billing/charge entry at Child & Adolescent Mental Health, and Personalized Recovery Oriented Services as needed.


  5. Post your job

    To find the right billing coder for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with billing coders they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit billing coders who meet your education requirements.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your billing coder job on Zippia to find and recruit billing coder candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    Your first interview with billing coder candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

    You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new billing coder

    Once you've decided on a perfect billing coder candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

    You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

    After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new billing coder. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a billing coder?

Hiring a billing coder comes with both the one-time cost per hire and ongoing costs. The cost of recruiting billing coders involves promoting the job and spending time conducting interviews. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider the cost of billing coder recruiting as well the ongoing costs of maintaining the new employee.

You can expect to pay around $37,554 per year for a billing coder, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for billing coders in the US typically range between $14 and $21 an hour.

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