i want to either get trained in medical billing and coding or medical transcription what pays more?

This is a hard question to answer. MTs start out making $8-$10 an hour but by the end of the first year are making $18-$20 and they work at home.

Doctors office coders w/o certification make about $12 an hour. Hospital coders make much more about $20+ with GREAT benefits.

Billers in office do not make a lot. At home billers doing electronci claims (watch out for scams) can make BIG money. If you get clients and do both coding/billing at home, and are paid a % it can be very good money.

If you want a good solid work at home job, I’d go w/ MT.

Also, I respectfully disagree w/ the person saying that due to HIPAA laws that MTs/billers/coders will have a hard time working at home. In some states like New Mexico there are bills being passed into law that will REQUIRE all medical records to be electronic. If they are electronic, then they are on a server, and if they are on a SECURE server, they can be accessed by at home personnel SECURELY via FTP and encryption programs. It is NOT expected that HIPAA will adversely affect at home MTs. However, there will need to be precautions put into place…secure PCs, locked files, disks being stored in locked file cabinets, use of encryption to send files in, etc.

Medical billing and coding are probably relative. I am in the industry. I do know that you would be much better off starting out as a medical biller, then doing coding. I have worked with many people who have taken medical coding, thinking they will go straight into it, and they always start off doing billing. Not sure why this is. The salary rate for someone new to medical billing (in a hospital) is roughly around $14.00/hr. Hope that helps a little.