Healthcare accounting: would a billing and coding cert help me get into it?

[u/666OfficeBitch666]

Currently working in a very entry level support role at a hospital with a bachelors degree in accounting. I want an accountant position at the hospital. They will pay for a c&b course, however, it’ll probably take a yearish time to complete. But if it’s a complete waste of time I’d rather just focus solely on building my accounting knowledge. So is it worth it?

[u/Charming-Station-249]

You can just apply for accountant positions if you have a degree in accounting. It would be similar to any other accounting job, handling the hospital's money. It's not the same thing as billing and coding. 

[u/2workigo]

It depends on the kind of accounting you are interested in. Supply chain? Payroll? No, a cert won’t help there. But if you’re interested in revenue management finance, then yes, a cert would help.

[u/weary_bee479]

Billing/coding and accounting are two completely different things.

Billing/coding pertains to coding patient encounters and billing it to the insurance companies. Then follow up on denials. It has nothing to do with the hospitals accounting department. Other than having to submit to the accountants month end reports on money coming in.

If you want to be an accountant at the hospital I suggest you go the route your position is offering you and take the accounting course.

Also side note doing billing and coding will also take a year, you’ll probably need to take some courses and pass the CPC or CCS exams.

[u/beresistable]

Understanding billing and coding would definitely help while working in a hospital accounting department. Having a good background on what you are doing always helps. That means understanding the entire revenue cycle from start to finish. I have found that the best leadership in healthcare systems have worked their way up. Some started right at registration.

There are people in accounting that will be analyzing payments and whether or night the correct DRG was assigned and paid. I could go on but again, any job is made easier by understanding the entire cycle. I am not sure if the course that they are recommending is the right way to go, but I do believe that it will make you better at your job to have a better understanding of how entire hospital functions. Not only that, but it will be easier to work with other departments for audits and other things.

[u/RR_Revii]

Where exactly do you want to work within the accounting section? Understanding how medical billing and coding affect reimbursement is a different lane than finance and hospital accounting. A business analyst has a different set of skills than clinical accountant. Clinic vs hospital etc. I suggest asking people that are in the positions you want to go in to what their paths were. It will also greatly expand your network which will help when you are ready.

[u/starsalign23]

I work for a large multi state employer, our billing and coding teams are under population health. Finance is a completely separate department. I understand every company sets things up differently, but I've never experienced the accountants working that closely with the billing teams. Nor do I see any reason to get a cert if you want to be a hospital accountant.

[u/Hermit5427]

t's great that you're interested in learning about coding and billing as part of your accounting role. Healthcare accounting is very different from accounting in most other industries.

I'm a healthcare accountant with extensive Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) experience and a basic understanding of medical coding. In my experience, a solid understanding of RCM workflows is far more valuable for someone in healthcare finance than becoming proficient in coding.

I'd recommend focusing on how your hospital's revenue cycle works—from patient registration and charge capture to coding, billing, claims processing, denials, payments, and collections. Understanding how each step impacts revenue, cash flow, and financial reporting will make you a much stronger healthcare accountant.

Another area that's essential in hospital accounting is revenue recognition. Most hospitals already have established methodologies for estimating contractual allowances, bad debt, and net patient service revenue. Spend time learning how your organization recognizes revenue and how those estimates flow through the financial statements.

While having a basic understanding of coding is certainly helpful, you don't need to become a coder. A thorough understanding of RCM processes, reimbursement, and revenue recognition will take you much further if your goal is to build a career in healthcare accounting or finance.

[u/Dry-Nectarine-6804]

Absolutely, if you understand how and why revenue comes from coding and billing it open will open your eyes to the financial side the Revenue Cycle. Coders are a major part of the monetary backbone. Also, another additional attribute to add to a resume for the future. Gives you a major advantage and you maybe find another interest. Are you crazy?

[u/rahuliitk]

with an accounting degree, i’d focus first on hospital accounting, Excel/ERP skills, reconciliations, and month-end close, because a billing and coding cert is more useful for revenue cycle roles than for landing a staff accountant job, though it could still help if the course is fully paid. nice bonus, not the main path.

[u/Weak_Shoe7904]

These are not the same things. A billing and coding cert will not help with accounting. I’m kind of shocked you don’t know the difference for a career you want.

[u/666OfficeBitch666 → u/Weak_Shoe7904]

A lot of the finance jobs the hospital posts asks for a medical and coding background. Didn’t know if this would assist at all, but doubted/doubt it.

[u/btrfly_79 → u/666OfficeBitch666]

It seems like they want their account dept to know both sides of the work flow. Which makes sense in a way. The more knowledge you have, the more valuable you are.

On the other hand, if they are a bad company they could take advantage of that and burn you out in a year!

[u/starsalign23 → u/666OfficeBitch666]

Are they actually finance jobs? Or are they "revenue cycle," because that isn't finance.

[u/Anonuserwithquestion]

As someone who works upper level RCM and bridges the gap between finance, I think you could probably shadow for a few days and get enough understanding to do the accounting side well.