# "CPC-A Elimination?" from March 2012 Coding Edge



## semaxwell1 (Feb 21, 2012)

Letter from the Chairman and CEO, Reed E. Pew, from the Coding Edge Magazine March 2012.


"CPC-A Elimination?" 

In January's _Coding Edge_, AAPC outlined a new proposal to eliminate the Certified Professional Coder-Apprentice (CPC-A) credential. We asked for your input on this throughout the month of January. We received *526 votes **with approximately two-thirds against the proposal and one-third in favor of the idea. *We also received *over 400 comments *with those votes. Although 526 votes from a membership of 112,000 is not a lot and could indicate indifference to the idea, we are taking the votes and comments very seriously. We will have an announcement regarding this idea prior to AAPC's 20th National Conference in Las Vegas (April 1-4). If we do move forward with this, the implementation date will be moved to *January 1, 2013*.​
Wow...I'm very surprised at the low response from the members, not even one percent of the members responded. With such a low response, I won't be surprised if AAPC drops the proposal.


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## chshaffer41@gmail.com (Feb 22, 2012)

*I too was very surprised..*

I too, was very surprised at the VERY low response by the members.  There were some pretty strong opinions posted on this forum.  I am wondering if everyone who posted on this forum,  also posted a comment at the web address that was provided...?  It seemed like there were many, many posts to this thread, and that it was a very hot topic, for a Very, very long time.  If this subject is such a small amount of indifference to the majority of members, then that should guide the AAPC in a much quicker decision to resolve the issue and put this behind us.  I think it has gone on long enough.  Don't get me wrong, I had my own very strong opinions on this subject. It has seriously affected my personal situation on how to proceed with my decisions to move forward with my goals in per suit of employment in this industry, but frankly, I am really dissapointed in the amount of time this has taken from me.  Again this is just my own personal view.  I have voiced my opinions, and I still beleive what I feel should be done. However, after seeing how little of a concern  this is to the many, many members, (based on the responses to the proposal), this survey has shown,  I have come to the conclusion that all of us CPC-A's need to be grandfathered in and let the employer decide if they want to train us, or are willing to hire us based on the experience we have, and be done with this whole process.  Get rid of the Scarlet "A".  Also, according to the numbers, (the two-thirds against),  there is a majority that are not in favor of the proposal of another test to be given, so just leave it at that and let the individual prove to a potential employer that they have what it takes, and let the potential employer make the decision based on what they are looking for. Again, this is only my opinion, but I am ready to move on, and to do what I need to do, to start moving forward.  I don't think another month of consideration is going to make this decision any easier, I would prefer a final answer sooner.....but that's just my 2 cents.....


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## tuttiifrooti@yahoo.com (Feb 23, 2012)

*Cpc-a eliminator*

I have been looking for a coder position since I passed the exam. I have over 10 years experience in medical insurance billing and coding. But unfortunately every employer want you to have a least five years of coding alone. Im in agreement in removing the "A"  from the CPC because for all that goes into passing the exam alone. I have put in so much work in to reach my goal to become a coder and be let down due to experience required.


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## semaxwell1 (Feb 24, 2012)

As I had posted on another thread, this seems very vague_* "on-the-job experience (externships accepted) using the CPT®, ICD-9-CM, or HCPCS Level II code sets".*_

For some, this could mean just filling out billing forms checking off the same codes every day (small private practice, small specialty clinics, etc) to others who extensively work with codes by extracting them from large reports/charts of a variety of specialties (hospitals, ASCs, etc).

However, your resume, and hopefully your interview, will display what type of "experience" you have. With that, the potential employer can decide if you have the "experience" they are looking for.

But from reading many posts (here and other forums), it seems as if some employers won't even bother reading the resume if they see the scarlet *"A" *on it. Then it's the employer's loss and ignorance for doing that.


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