Medical Billing Course.com and Medical Billing Business Resources have experienced rapid growth in the past six months. Tammy Harlan, CEO of Medical Billing Course, LLC attributes the rapid and substantial growth to several factors, but names a few as the primary reasons for the growth. “Since Spring 2008, we’ve noticed that many of our new students and new business owners are individuals opting to leave their current positions in other industries”, says Tammy. Tammy states that many new medical billing students and medical billing business owners are now coming from the housing market, real-estate, mortgage lending, construction and manufacturing firms and retail, due obviously, to the continued slump occurring in these markets.
In one of the chapters of our medical billing course, we jokingly tell the student to “take a break – head out to Starbucks and get some coffee”, but some of our students may need to drive a bit further to reach a Starbucks if the one down the street from them is among one of the underperforming coffee houses that has or is scheduled to be shut down. This is just a sign of our economic times.
It seems that individuals who currently hold positions in areas that are subject to extreme economic vulnerability (housing, real estate, mortgage lending, manufacturing, retail, etc.) or who have already been laid off are doing their research and are finding strength and security in the healthcare industry boom.
According to the section entitled, “Tomorrow’s Jobs” by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition:
Service-providing industries. The long-term shift from goods-producing to service-providing employment is expected to continue. Service-providing industries are expected to account for approximately 15.7 million new wage and salary jobs generated over the 2006-2016 period, while goods-producing industries will see overall job loss.
Education and health services. This industry supersector is projected to grow by 18.8 percent, and add more jobs, nearly 5.5 million, than any other industry supersector. More than 3 out of every 10 new jobs created in the U.S. economy will be in either the healthcare and social assistance or public and private educational services sectors.
Healthcare and social assistance—including public and private hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, and individual and family services—will grow by 25.4 percent and add 4 million new jobs. Employment growth will be driven by increasing demand for healthcare and social assistance because of an aging population and longer life expectancies. Also, as more women enter the labor force, demand for childcare services is expected to grow.
Public and private educational services will grow by 10.7 percent and add 1.4 million new jobs through 2016. Rising student enrollments at all levels of education will create demand for educational services.
Professional and business services. This industry supersector, which includes some of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. economy, will grow by 23.3 percent and add 4.1 million new jobs.
When you take these statistics and put them together, (i.e. growth in healthcare, growth in service oriented businesses, growth in professional and business services, growth in educational services) amidst a slump in many other industries, you can see why we are experiencing sudden, rapid growth. “I think people are tired of waiting around to see if things will get better, and they are deciding to take their future, security and financial well-being into their own hands by educating themselves in facets of the healthcare industry, including medical billing”, says Tammy. Upon completing the course, a portion of our graduates go on to pursue a career in medical billing, while others go on to begin their own home-based medical billing business.
When you add even more statistics, trends and economical changes into the mix, having to do with:
Gas Prices
Childcare Risks and Costs
Parents desire to stay at home and raise their children
It becomes obvious as to why more and more individuals are beginning their own small/home-based businesses. Small businesses create more than two-thirds of all new jobs. Do you think that with a statistic such as this, programs geared towards assisting and protecting the small/home-based business are now and will continue to be implemented? Of course they will and that is just another reason why beginning a small business isn’t as scary as it used to be. I believe it’s actually scarier now to rely on corporate America for employment, pensions and security than it is to become self-sufficient in your own small or home-based business. The economy needs small business.
On June 4, 2008, the Senate approved $101 Million Budget Increase for Small Business Programs that will benefit America’s entrepreneurs. You can read more about these programs by going to: http://sbc.senate.gov/topic_record.cfm?id=298726&. I predict that we will see many more programs, like these, geared towards the assistance and protection of small and home-based businesses.
Entrepreneurs such as real estate brokers/agents and mortgage lending company owners are transitioning well into medical billing business ownership. According to Tammy Harlan, “They are naturals. They are used to dealing with the needs of multiple clients from all backgrounds. They are not intimidated when dealing with physician’s, maybe because they have lent money and/or sold houses to physician’s and realize they are – just people – like everyone else.”
“This is an exciting time for us”, says Tammy, “Because of the services, support and products we provide, we are able to watch a student go from beginning a course in medical billing to signing a client in their own medical billing business!” Ammie Lyons, Student Services Coordinator for Medical Billing Course.com remarks, “There just isn’t anything as rewarding as watching a person learn, develop and educate themselves in medical billing and then turn that into a successful business or career for themselves! It’s very fulfilling to watch!”