Medical Billing and Coding Jobs in the US: 2026 Starter Guide

Most of the day is spent at a computer inside an electronic health record and a billing or encoder system. ONET lists core tasks including protecting the security of medical records, reviewing records for completeness, accuracy and compliance with regulations, scanning health records into electronic formats, and classifying diagnoses and procedures into the healthcare industry's numerical coding system (ONET OnLine, 2026). BLS adds that these workers validate and enter patients' health information into electronic health records systems and may act as gatekeepers for access to patient files (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).

In practice that means a queue of charts or claims, a daily volume and accuracy target, and queries back to clinicians when documentation does not support a code. Billing-focused roles lean toward claim submission, denials, appeals and payer rules; coding-focused roles lean toward code assignment and audit.

BLS notes that workers typically sit at a computer for prolonged periods and most work full time (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Hospital coding departments sometimes run evening or weekend coverage, while clinic and physician-practice roles are more often standard business hours in the employer's time zone. Work setup splits by employer: health systems may require on-site or hybrid work at first, while outsourced coding and denials work is more often fully remote with employer-issued equipment and VPN access.

Keep this picture in mind as you read the pay table and application steps below, and the live openings further down the page.

Hiring is spread across several employer types, each screening differently. AAPC states that passing the CPC exam and earning CPC certification qualifies you to work at a physician practice or medical office, a walk-in clinic, a lab, a telehealth company or a home health agency (AAPC). The wider occupation held about 200,700 jobs in 2025 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).

• Hospitals and health systems — inpatient and outpatient coding, HIM departments and clinical documentation teams; often posted on their own career pages first.
• Physician practices and specialty groups — smaller teams where billing and coding may sit alongside front-office duties.
• Walk-in clinics, labs and imaging centers — high-volume outpatient work with narrower code sets.
• Telehealth companies and home health agencies — frequently remote-friendly, with payer rules specific to those settings.
• Revenue cycle management and outsourced billing companies — contract with providers and hire in volume, often remotely.
• Healthcare staffing and contract agencies — backlog and coverage work, usually hourly; useful for first experience.
• Payers and plan administrators — audit, risk adjustment and claims review, usually wanting prior coding experience.

Check which of these dominates in your metro area before narrowing your search; the openings listed at the end of this page will show you quickly.

Pay depends on setting, credential, code-set complexity and state. Use the official sources below rather than figures quoted in job ads or training adverts.

State and metro figures differ widely from national numbers, and both sources let you filter by location. For context, BLS projects employment of medical records specialists to grow 8 percent from 2025 to 2035, described as much faster than average (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Once you know the range you are aiming at, work through the steps below and then the openings at the end of the page.

1. Confirm the baseline. AHIMA requires a high school diploma or equivalent to sit the Certified Coding Associate (CCA) exam (AHIMA, 2022-05), and CareerOneStop lists the occupation's requirement as a postsecondary certificate with no work experience (CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor).
2. Choose a credential path. Entry points include AAPC's CPC for professional and physician coding and CPB for billing, AHIMA's CCA, and NHANow's CBCS, which a career guide notes some employers may require (HealthJob.org). AAPC states its online billing and coding courses require 4 to 8 months to complete (AAPC). Compare community college programs with provider courses on cost, schedule and whether the exam is included.
3. Check the exam rules before enrolling. AAPC's Job-Ready Program CPC and CPB certifications require a passing score of 70 percent or higher (AAPC). The CCA is computer-based, must be scheduled at a Pearson VUE testing center, and has a passing score of 300 (AHIMA). Passing the CPC exam without two years of professional coding experience gives the CPC-A apprentice designation (CCI Training Center, summarizing AAPC requirements).
4. Write a one-page resume aimed at charts, not generic admin. List code sets, EHR or encoder software, your credential and number, externship hours, and any accuracy or volume figures.
5. Set up a compliant payment and tax arrangement. Employee roles need direct deposit details and withholding forms; contract work usually means invoicing and self-employment tax. Check requirements with the IRS and your state tax agency, or a licensed tax professional.
6. Build profiles where employers look — a professional profile, your state workforce job bank, and the career pages of nearby health systems, clinic groups and billing companies.
7. Apply with a short, specific note naming the setting, your credential or exam date, your remote setup, and your availability in the employer's time zone.

With a draft resume ready, move to the checks below and then the openings at the end of the page.

• Verify the business is registered. Search your state's Secretary of State registry and confirm the legal name matches the offer letter.
• Confirm nothing is payable by you. A state consumer-protection agency warns that being asked to pay up front — for certification, training materials, background or credit checks, or a recruiter fee — is the number one sign of a work-from-home scam, and flags medical and claims-processing 'start your own billing business' offers selling bogus client lists and software (Georgia Department of Law's Consumer Protection Division): https://consumer.georgia.gov/work-home-scams
• Watch the softer signs. Unpaid 'training', vague responsibilities, pressure to buy software from the employer, or requests for sensitive personal data before an offer are flagged as red flags in remote billing and coding work (RemoExperts).
• Get pay terms in writing — hourly or salaried, pay frequency, overtime treatment, and exactly how any production bonus is calculated and audited.
• Confirm time zone and shift expectations, including weekend or evening coverage and when productivity targets begin.
• Check the credential deadline. BLS notes employers may prefer certified candidates or expect certification shortly after hiring (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025) — ask who pays for the exam and by when.
• Confirm equipment and security — who supplies the computer, VPN and monitors, and what HIPAA and workspace privacy rules apply at home.
• Read independent reviews on a well-known employer review site, and check your state attorney general or Better Business Bureau complaint records for the company name.

With those checks done, the live openings and next guides are directly below.

The listings below show medical billing and coding roles currently advertised across hospitals, clinics, billing companies and remote employers, so you can see which settings and credentials are in demand near you. Use the buttons on this page to filter those openings and to move on to the related guides on certification choices, remote setups and resume preparation.