# Coding and bad credit



## ngayle (Jul 20, 2009)

A friend of mine has dropped out of coding classes a few weeks before finishing. She is filing for bankruptcy and thinks that this will make her unemployable. Does anyone have any information on how credit and more so bankruptcy  affect your ability to get a job as a medical coder?


----------



## apache069 (Jul 20, 2009)

This wont affect her at all. If that was the case there would be millions of people unable to get a job because of a prior bankruptcy. Now, some employers I have heard do credit checks, but dont let her bankruptcy prevent her from applying for employment.


----------



## marianne202 (Jul 22, 2009)

*It Very Well Could Matter!*

As a college instructor I get calls from companies all the time looking for coders.  Federal positions, especially at prison hospitals or facilities will not hire you, cannot hire you if you have problems with bad debt or credit issues.  I also know that some employers bond their coding employees since they deal with the financial aspects of the companies.  In this case bad credit issues can affect the ability of the employer to bond your friend, thus making her unemployable for them.  Since most insurance companies now use your credit report as a way to determine responsibility when it comes to insurance she may also be prevented from getting professional liability insurance / Errors and omissions insurance.  I always recommend coders carry this insurance to protect themselves.  So she is right to think it will impact her professionally because it will. Think about it would you want someone who couldn't manage their personal finances responsible for your companies finances?  Should that be the sole reason to drop out of school...no, but this may just be a convenient excuse since she obviously has other things going on in her life right now.  She will need a good professional job to pull herself up and out of this credit issue down the road so encourage to stay in school, even if she may encounter some resistance to a dream coding job early on, she will have some training to get a good entry level job and work her way back up as her credit also builds back up.


----------



## amys911 (Jul 22, 2009)

I understand what everyone is saying..however, I do not agree that "there is a lot to say about people who have good credit or bad credit".  Sometimes people get into situations that are beyond their control and I don't think that is a good way to assess someones level of responsibility. I have good credit, but I would never judge someone based on their credit history, since it remains on your credit report for 7 to 10 years. I just dont think thats fair!


----------



## Lisa334 (Jul 22, 2009)

Marianne,

You say people are looking to hire Coders. I have graduated from a billing and coding program with a certificate. I am currently employed as a PSR, patient service rep, at a doctors office. I don't care for it but its a job. How would I go about looking for a Coding job after I'm certified? Where are the best places to look? And are the Externships from AAPC worthwhile? Thanks in Advance for your help--Lisa


----------



## rthames052006 (Aug 5, 2009)

amys911 said:


> I understand what everyone is saying..however, I do not agree that "there is a lot to say about people who have good credit or bad credit".  Sometimes people get into situations that are beyond their control and I don't think that is a good way to assess someones level of responsibility. I have good credit, but I would never judge someone based on their credit history, since it remains on your credit report for 7 to 10 years. I just dont think thats fair!



Maybe the words I used were not the correct ones.  I have a friend who had a situation when she went thru a divorce, yes the bad credit part showed up on her credit report but got cleared up within a years time and when you do get things back on track that shows up on your credit report also which is a good thing because that way you can say yes I did have some issues but as you can see from my "current" credit report those issues have been cleared up.  Unfortunately our credit report is what all creditors look at and judge us by.  

Just my opinion here.


----------



## codingaddict (Nov 19, 2009)

As someone who has recently filed bankruptcy let me add this to your bank of information. You are not (regardless of what others say) your credit and yes I understand sometimes that is all they have to judge us by and I think it is horrible. I was out of work for 2 years as my son was sick with cancer after he passed away I had to file and then try to get a job I didn't have any problems with that so tell your friend to finish school and not use that as an excuse to drop out.


----------



## SCPool (Nov 19, 2009)

employers would look more at your friend dropping out of classes then they would look at the bankruptcy. Just let them know that dropping out would have more of an impact then the actual bankruptcy because the act of dropping out of classes of any kind can be seen by an employer of someone who can't handle stress very well and in coding (from what i have seen in admissions at the LTCF i work at)stress is a daily part of the job. if the applicant couldn't handle the classes then what says they can handle the job.


----------



## ddiec (Nov 19, 2009)

*Medicaid coding for H1N1 (swine flu)*

Does any one Know the Medicaid code for H1N1 influza vaccine? Per CMS instructed use CPT G9141 and V04.81 for Medicare and Medicaid, but my claims get rejected from Medicaid as reason: Invalid CPT code. Can you help? Thank you.


----------



## TamCox47 (Dec 3, 2009)

I agree with you.  There are alot of people losing their jobs right now, due to the recession.  Along with job loss comes credit issues, especially when you are not making as much as you once was.  The lady that commented on who would want someone doing their financials when they can't handle their own, hopefully she does not lose her job someday and get put in this position, sounds like she does not have a clue about what is going on out there with people.  I really do not think that peoples credit ought to be accounted for, especially in these hard times, there are probably more people with less than perfect credit than with good credit.


----------



## mhcpc (Dec 4, 2009)

I don't think filing bankruptcy necessarily means she won't be able to find a job.  Especially in tonday's economy. A lot of very responsible people are out of work and finding themselves in this position.  Tell your friend not to give up!


----------



## CrysLednum (Dec 4, 2009)

I work for a physician practice in Maryland and we do background checks only.  We don't do credit checks - I think for the reason that in this current economy people that may not normally have had credit issues in the past are having them now.  However, the background check is really the barometer in our practice as to the "character" of the person - although I am sure exceptions are made for individual circumstances (I am not in management, , this is just an opinion). 

In my opinion, I think if a credit issue was brought up at an interview, the only thing is to answer honestly. Hopefully your experience and credentials will determine your employability - not a credit score.


----------

