The Best Online Medical Billing and Coding Classes of 2023 (2024)

Best Online Medical Billing and Coding Classes

Best Online Medical Billing and Coding Classes

• Prerequisites: Varies by program
  
• Cost: $299 for exam application
• Offers self-paced path: Yes

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) offers eight certification programs in health information with excellent reputations in the industry.

AHIMA offers eight certifications in medical records management, professional and facility coding, documentation improvement, and privacy and security. The certification programs focus on inpatient and outpatient coding, which are better suited to hospitals and inpatient facilities.

Health professionals with AHIMA’s higher-level certifications—the Registered Health Information Administrator Exam (RHIA) and Registered Health Information Technician Exam (RHIT)—make considerably more money than those with lesser certifications. Higher-level certifications require extensive experience before signing up for courses, which cost around $299 each.

• Prerequisites: High school diploma or equivalent
• Cost: $6,795 for the certification
• Offers self-paced path: No

Hutchinson Community College offers an affordable path to earning a Healthcare Coding Specialist Certificate.

Students interested in pursuing a medical coding and billing career can earn a Healthcare Coding Specialist Certificate at Hutchinson Community College. The online program consists of 45 credit hours and can be completed in three semesters.

For students who want to advance their education further, most credits earned in this program apply to the Health Information Technology Associate in Applied Science degree.

Tuition at Hutchinson Community College is affordable, even for out-of-state students. In-state students pay about $120 per credit hour, and out-of-state students pay around $151 per credit hour.

• Prerequisites: AAPC preparation course or sufficient knowledge in medical terminology, physiology, and anatomy
• Cost: Certified Professional Coder (CPC) course starts at about $2,999 for members
• Offers self-paced path: Yes

The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) offers a huge variety of certification programs, supplementary courses, and practice exams.

The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) offers a wide range of classes at very reasonable prices. Its website offers an extensive knowledge base with a wide range of resources to help students succeed. AAPC is the world's largest healthcare training and credentialing organization, with 200,000 members.

AAPC offers a huge variety of certification courses at various price points. Students can engage in any level of learning, from simply taking the certification test to enrolling in a full course load of different specialties.

One note of caution: Job seekers who take the lowest certification routes report that jobs are difficult to find without experience. Cheap certification is attractive but far less valuable in the job market.

Additional benefits of learning through AAPC include networking, mentorship, and online apprenticeship to provide practical experience. AAPC certification programs focus on physician and outpatient coding and are better suited to doctor's offices, clinics, and other outpatient settings.

• Prerequisites: A human anatomy and physiology course
• Cost: Registration fee starts at about $2,000
• Offers self-paced path: Yes

Florida A&M’s self-paced medical coding program gives busy students an opportunity to learn on their own schedule.

The medical coding program at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University is offered through the university's Office of Continuing Education and provides accreditation only online. The asynchronous format enables students to complete the coursework on their own timetable.

The school recommends following a pace of three modules, each consisting of three courses. Each one should last no more than 15 weeks in total. After completing the program,students will receive a Medical Coding Certificate of Completion.

They may choose to sit for the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), Certified Coding Associate (CCA), the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), or Certified Professional Coder (CPC) national certification exams.

The total registration fee for all three modules is roughly $2,000. Registering for individual modules is also possible, though this approach increases the total cost.

• Prerequisites: High school diploma or equivalent
• Cost: Tuition start at about $3,439 per semester
  
• Offers self-paced path: Yes

UC Online’s curriculum prepares students for the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) and Certified Coding Associate (CCA) exams, and students can earn an Associate’s degree in just one year.

The University of Cincinnati has a fully remote asynchronous program. Full-time enrollment students can earn the certificate in as little as 12 months.

Upon completion of the program, students can sit for the CCA or CPC national certifications, or they may choose to transition to the Associate Degree Program in Health Information Systems.

Unlike some college programs, the only necessary prerequisite for UC's medical billing and coding program is a high school diploma or equivalent. After graduation, 88% of UC Health Information Systems graduates were employed in healthcare-related jobs.

Ohio residents can expect to pay a total tuition cost of about $3,439 per semester with full-time enrollment. Non-resident full-time students will pay around $3,619. Resident students enrolled part-time will pay roughly $288 per credit hour, while part-time, non-resident students will see a cost of approximately $303 per credit hour.

• Prerequisites: IUPUI coursework
  
• Cost: Tuition starts at about $299 per credit hourfor in-state residents
• Offers self-paced path: No

The medical coding certification program through Indiana University’s School of Information and Computing integrates classroom instruction with applied technical experience in a healthcare facility.

This is a fully online program in an asynchronous format that offers 28 credit hours. Upon completion of the certificate program, students will be eligible to sit for the CCA exam.

The Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Undergraduate Certificate in Medical Coding program has several prerequisites. Before you can sign up for the course, you must have completed Physiology for Health Care Management, Anatomy for Health Care Management, Computer Concepts for Health Information, and Medical Terminology.

Credits earned through this program are eligible to be applied toward a bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management, also offered at IUPUI.

Though costs will vary depending on residency and other factors, expect to pay around $8,500 for full-time enrollment if you live in-state. Out-of-state tuition is considerably higher.

Article Sources

1. University of Cincinnati Online. Bachelor of science in health information management.

2. U.S. News & World Report. Online medical billing and coding associate degree.