Become a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant with Medical Billing and Coding
In this online Certified Medical Administrative Assistant with Medical Billing and Coding course, you will learn what is required to succeed, including the foundations of medical assisting, professional behavior, legal and ethical issues, effective communication, and managing patient interactions.
The medical billing and coding program curriculum offers valuable training in legal, ethical, and regulatory concepts central to this field, including HIPAA compliance, official coding guidelines, and third-party payer requirements. You will understand all phases of the revenue cycle—from patient registration to reimbursement and collections. You will learn medical terminology as you study word parts and the structures and functions of the human body.
Upon completing the course, you will be prepared for the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) certification exam offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) and receive a voucher that covers the exam fee. You will also receive a voucher for one of the following medical billing and coding certification exams:
- Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) exam offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA)
- Certified Professional Coder (CPC) exam offered by the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC)
- Certified Coding Associate (CCA) exam offered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)
Job Outlook for Certified Medical Administrative Assistant with Medical Billing and Coding
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job market for medical assistants will grow at an accelerated rate of 15% through 2033.
Certified Medical Administrative Assistant with Medical Billing and Coding FAQs
What is the salary for a medical biller and coder?
According to the AAPC 2024 Medical Coding and Billing Salary Report results, non-certified medical records specialists average $53,749 per year, while certified medical records specialists average $62,689 annually—16.6% more than their non-certified colleagues.
What is medical billing and coding? What do medical billers and coders do?
Medical billers and coders are responsible for processing patient data including medical records and related insurance. In this position, you will code a patient’s diagnosis and then request payment from the patient’s insurance company. You will play an important role in ensuring that healthcare providers are quickly and accurately paid for the treatment they give patients.
How much does a medical administrative assistant make?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median medical administrative assistant salary is $43,380. Your exact salary will vary, and jobs are available everywhere, but the areas with the highest paying jobs for administrative medical assistants include Washington, California, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and Oregon.
What is a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant?
An administrative medical assistant manages all the front desk activities for a hospital, doctor’s office, or other medical facility. This is an integral role in healthcare as it allows doctors and other medical staff to focus on caring for patients. A Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) is a certification earned by those who have proven their expertise in efficiently and effectively running healthcare offices. This nationally recognized designation is something that many employers are searching for in one of the fastest-growing careers today.
Upon earning your CMAA certification, you can confidently handle correspondence, answer calls, schedule appointments, operate computer systems, maintain files, update and maintain patient information, and create operation reports for any medical practice, essential duties for any administrative medical assistant.
What does an administrative medical assistant do?
Duties of administrative medical assistants include checking patients in, scheduling appointments, filing insurance claims, updating patient medical records, and communicating information to patients and other medical departments.
Does this course prepare you for a certification?
Yes. This course prepares you to sit for the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) exam, offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA). You will receive a voucher for the exam after successfully completing the course coursework.
This course also prepares you for three other certifications: 1) Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) exam, offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA), 2) Certified Professional Coder (CPC) exam, offered by American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), and Certified Coding Associate (CCA) exam, offered by AHIMA. You will receive a voucher for the certification exam of your choosing after successfully completing the course. Online certification exams through NHA and AAPC are offered in the US only.
Can I test-out of medical terminology content if I have previous knowledge of medical terminology?
Yes. This course includes two, optional, Test-Out Exam features that will allow you to test out of content and graded assessments if your score demonstrates the level of mastery required (80%). It does not count toward your overall score in this course if you do not achieve the minimum score required for mastery. Please note: Third party funded students may not be eligible.
Prerequisites and Requirements
There are no prerequisites to take this course.
Certification Requirements:
In order to sit for the national certification exam, candidates must have a high school diploma or equivalent. Certification exams offered by AAPC and NHA are only available online to candidates located in the US. AHIMA only offers in-person exams in both the US and Globally.
Instructor
Stacey O’Brien
Stacey O’Brien has more than 10 years of experience in medical coding and reimbursement. Ms. O’Brien has been a risk adjustment coder for a Medicare advantage plan, audited medical records for a consulting firm, and currently supervises the coding and electronic claims submission process for a group medical practice. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a CPC coding certification from the AAPC.
Carline Dalgleish
Carline Dalgleish has worked in medical office administration for over 30 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Information Systems, a master’s degree in Leadership, and a post-baccalaureate certificate in Health Information Management. She is a Registered Health Information Administrator and an AHIMA Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer. Dalgleish is the author of an ICD-10 coding system and also owns her own consulting firm, AnnGrant Educational Services.
Nancy Smith
Nancy Smith has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Her clinical experience includes working as a medical assistant for a network of rural health clinics, and as a medical coder, insurance claims specialist, and medical records auditor. She worked as a medical office manager for ten years, where she recruited and trained all medical assistants. Nancy holds a bachelor’s degree in vocational education and has developed and taught medical assistant programs.
LaTisha Cottingham
LaTisha Cottingham has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. She has six years of teaching experience in the field of medical billing and coding and Medical Assisting. Currently she is employed as an HIM Analyst for a Long-Term Care establishment that is based out of Alabama. Previously she was employed as the lead instructor for the Allied Health Department for a local career institute. LaTisha’s field of expertise is in the area of physician-based inpatient coding and Emergency Department coding. The certifications that she holds are as follows: a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT), a Certified Professional Coder (CPC), and a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA). In preparation for ICD-10-CM, LaTisha received her ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer Certification from American Health Information Association (AHIMA), where she is currently a member. LaTisha is also a member of the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) and the National Healthcare Association (NHA) where she is a test proctor.
Lydia S. Stewart
Lydia S. Stewart, RN, BSN, currently serves as the Revenue Cycle Manager at a large regional medical center. Lydia has been a Registered Nurse for 23 years, 15 of those years specializing in Critical Care Nursing and supervision. She is responsible for Medical Audits, Charge Capture, and governmental compliance audits and reviews. Lydia is a member of the Louisiana Medical Auditor Association and Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).
Bunny Reeves
Bunny Reeves is the senior ambulatory surgery coder at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. She trains student coders at Maimonides Medical Center and previously trained and supervised entry-level coders at Staten Island’s St. Vincent Medical Center. Reeves is a Certified Coding Specialist, accredited by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).
Hilary Khouri
Hilary Khouri has ten years of experience in the medical field. After college, she began her medical career working in the front office of a group practice handling daily administrative tasks. Her medical experience also includes working at a healthcare consulting firm, where she reviewed electronic health records for completeness and educated providers on documentation improvement in addition to performing risk adjustment coding. She holds a bachelor’s in fashion merchandising from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is a Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) through the University of Alabama.
April Adams
April Adams, M.S., RHIA, CDIP, CPC-I, CPB, CPMA, has worked in the healthcare field since 2011, transitioning from a high school biology and chemistry teacher to a specialist in medical coding and auditing. She focuses on HCC, clinical documentation improvement (CDI), and DRGs and has taught health information management (HIM) courses, including medical terminology, law and ethics, coding, and revenue cycle management since 2018.
Medical Terminology Instructors
Our medical terminology course section is taught by multiple experienced instructors. Click here for a full list of these instructors.
Registration and Enrollment
This course is 100% online. Start anytime.