GettingJob What's a reasonable pay rate for a remote coder?

[Ruth Sheets]

I'm posting this question here because it can best be answered by people working in remote coding positions. It was a chat question asked during the April 2015 Q&A Webinar, and I'm assuming it is in regards to a remote coding position. If you have knowledge/ opinion regarding this question please reply to this post. Thank you!

I am a CPC located in California. I was asked to do some coding for an orthopedic surgical group. They offered me $5.00 per report and said that this is the going pay rate, however, they would not give me the average number of surgeries that the doctors perform per week. Can you tell me if $5.00 per report is acceptable?

 

[Alicia Scott]

This is a great question Ruth and I think it will help a lot of people. I have not this type of coding so can't give specific insight. However, it seems like a good deal to me. Remote work usually gets paid a little more. They don't have to pay overhead for you so they can pay more.

It is not a matter of how many they do but how many you can code in a day. Hips and knees are pretty straight forward for the most part. When you get into the spine, well that is another story.

What I can offer insight wise is in HCC contract work for an MA plan. It usually pays $20 - $27 an hour. They expect 98% accuracy. A standard goal is for you to code 5 charts an hour and maintain about 40 a day. Now keep in mind you may pull a 30 page chart or 1000 page one. That will slow you down a bit. Page number does not always mean a more difficult chart though. It could be full of what I call fodder information you can't code off of like lab work and EKG strips.

Roles make a difference as well. A coder for a clinic can code X number of charts but an auditor might be able to do twice that many for the same office.

I look forward to seeing what others have to say. You don't have to tell us what you make but a pay scale and how many charts you can do in a day would be interesting.