Is the Medical Assistant Degree Better than the Diploma?

Should I go for the medical assistant diploma or is it better to aim for  a Health Information Management (HIM) major?

Prospective medical coding and billing students often ask: "Should I aim for the coding diploma or will I earn more money with a higher degree ?" From my experience and many seasoned medical coders and billers agree that to do medical billing and coding a diploma or degree is not necessarily the key to better pay or faster promotions, especially not at first and also not when your ultimate goal is to handle the medical billing for medical practices, even from home. 

Reality is, most doctors don't care whether their medical coder has a degree or diploma. Their main concern is to have someone who can do the job, and do it well. Doctors set their own pay scales and reimbursement in medical billing is negotiated, often based on your performance, however, if your goal is to work for a health insurance company or hospital facility then your pay is usually in wages. If your aspirations are to manage and become a HIM Operations Supervisor then a degree is typically needed.

If a medical coding and billing diploma can get you a foot in the door, and you do the same job as your counterpart with a degree that's good enough for the doctor. One advantage, however, of having earned an academic degree is when it comes to additional education. Some of the earned college credits for courses can be transferred and applied toward a higher related degree. This is where the time and money spent on the medical assistant degree will be well worth it.

Defining the Medical Biller's Role

Medical Billers Seek Answers to Questions Online

I constantly come across questions from aspiring medical billers, many of them are new to this occupation, who post their questions in online forums for medical billers and coders. For example, someone recently asked in a very popular medical billing forum at Medical Billing and Coding NET:

"I am French and I've been in the United States for a year. I intend to stay and find a good job. I am interested in the medical billing career but am wondering whether this is a field that hires foreigners. My plan is to enroll in a medical billing and coding program at a local community college in New Jersey but before I do so, I want to make sure that I will be able to get a job, being that I am not a United States citizen and speak with an accent."