Medical Billing and Coding Schools in Alabama
The following are three of the biggest employers of medical billers and coders in the state of Alabama:
DST Health Solutions
- Address: 2500 Corporate Drive, Birmingham, AL 35242
- Phone Number: 205-437-6000
- Website: www.dstsystems.com
DST Health Solutions is one of the foremost application services providers in the healthcare industry, a position they’ve maintained since their founding more than 40 years ago. The goals of DST Health Solutions are to improve care management, reduce administrative costs, and improve operational efficiency. DST works with a wide range of clients including physician clinics, hospital staffing companies, Medicare and Medicaid risk plans, HMOs, PPOs, TPAs, management services organizations, and national health insurance carriers. The company offers competitive salaries and benefits packages including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, long- and short-term disability, paid holidays, paid sick leave, and a flexible vacation policy.
University of Alabama Hospital at Birmingham
- Address: 1802 6th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233
- Email Address: N/A
- Phone Number: 205-934-4011
- Website: www.uabmedicine.org
With 1,157 beds and over 16,361 UAB Medicine employees, the University of Alabama Hospital at Birmingham is one of the largest and most highly rated hospitals in Alabama. The hospital has over 1.2 million patient visits to its outpatient clinics each year. Employees of the University of Alabama Hospital have access to an enormous benefits package, with many benefits being paid in full by the employer. Some of these benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance, mandatory and voluntary retirement plans, flexible spending accounts, life, disability and accident insurance, long-term disability, paid holidays, sick days, and personal days. The hospital even offers a tuition assistance program.
Providence Hospital
- Address: 6801 Airport Boulevard, Mobile, AL 36685
- Email Address: N/A
- Phone Number: 251-633-1000
- Website: www.providencehospital.org
Providence Hospital is one of Mobile’s premier medical and surgical facilities. The hospital includes 349 beds and services roughly 15,000 inpatients and 150,000 emergency room and outpatient visitors each year. Providence Hospital employs a staff of more than 550 employees and specializes in outpatient diagnostics, rehabilitation, obstetrics, cancer, cardiac catheterization, and open-heart surgery. The hospital originally opened in 1854 and relocated in 1987 to a massive 277-acre campus on the western end of Mobile. Providence Hospital employees enjoy a number of benefits including retirement plans, a comprehensive insurance package, and paid sick days, vacation days, and holidays.
Medical Billing and Coding Salary in Alabama
In early 2010, the University of South Alabama, in cooperation with Career Step (a Utah-based healthcare training firm), announced that they would begin offering online courses for those living in Alabama and wishing to obtain a medical billing and coding job. Today, the University of South Alabama continues to offer medical billing and coding classes through Career Step, and has also partnered with ed2go (formerly Gatlin Education Services) to offer open enrollment online medical billing and coding classes. In addition to helping people get into their first career, Alabama medical billing and coding courses like those at the University of South Alabama are specifically designed to help Alabama residents who have their registered nurse certification switch to a home-based medical billing and coding job.
Below is information on the state of employment for medical billers and coders in Alabama, which has been derived from information provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
For the best job prospects, medical billing and coding professionals are encouraged to earn national certification through the AAPC, the nation’s largest medical coding training and certification association. To earn AAPC certification, potential medical coders must become fluent in ICD-10-CMN, CPT, and HCPCS Level II coding, and demonstrate proficiency in those areas. Students can prepare for the AAPC certification examination from medical billing and coding classes provided by colleges and universities. Some programs are offered over the Internet or in blended format, with online and face-to-face instruction. Some programs even include the examination as part of the medical billing and coding program.
Top Cities in Alabama for Medical Billing and Coding Careers
Below is a list of the top cities in Alabama that employ medical billers and coders. Included is employment information for each city, which has been compiled from information provided by the BLS.
1. Birmingham, AL
Birmingham employs roughly 920 medical billers and coders, with the average worker making $18.07 an hour and $39,350 per year.
2. Tuscaloosa, AL
Although the city of Tuscaloosa only employs around 140 medical billers and coders, these workers make an average of $16.71 an hour. The average annual salary is $36,120.
3. Huntsville, AL
Huntsville employs roughly 250 medical billers and coders that make approximately $19.18 hourly and $39,900 annually.
4. Mobile, AL
Approximately 350 medical billers and coders are employed in Mobile. These workers earn an average of $15.77 per hour and $32,800 per year.
5. Columbus, AL
Roughly 250 medical billers and coders work in Columbus, having average hourly and annual salaries of $17.55 and $36,490, respectively.
6. Montgomery, AL
Montgomery employs around 240 medical billers and coders. These workers earn a mean wage of $15.59 an hour and $32,420 per year.
7. Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, AL
The Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville metropolitan area contains around 60 medical billers and coders, who make an average hourly wage of $12.87 and an average annual wage of $26,770.
8. Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
The Florence-Muscle Shoals metropolitan area employs approximately 50 medical billers and coders, with the average worker making $17.25 an hour and $35,880 a year.
9. Decatur, AL
Around 50 medical billers and coders work in the city of Decatur. They earn an average of $14.49 per hour and $30,140 per year.
10. Auburn-Opelika, AL
The Auburn-Opelika metropolitan area contains around 90 medical billers and coders. They earn an average hourly rate of $13.92 and an average annual salary of $28,950.
11. Dothan, AL
Dothan employs around 90 medical billers and coders, who receive an hourly wage of $14.56 and an annual average salary of $30,290.
12. Gadsen, AL
The city of Gadsen employs roughly 50 medical billers and coders, with the average worker earning an hourly wage of $15.31 and an annual salary of $31,840.
