In the medical billing and coding field the Healthcare Billing and Management Association (HMBA) is known throughout the country. Its members are located in all states, it has a lobbying presence in Washington DC as well as a relationship with lawmakers, and it offers the nationally-recognized CHBME Certification – short for Certified Healthcare Billing and Management Executive.
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HMBA boasts a membership that is 30,000 employees and 600 companies strong. According to HMBA, most of the nation’s largest billing companies are members, and the association represents almost 80 percent of all claims nationally that are submitted by third party medical billing companies. HMBA states that its typical member profile is:
- Company with between 40-50 employees
- Company with annual revenue of between $2.5 and $3.5 million
- Company that processes around 375,000 medical billing claims annually
Founded in 1993, HMBA continues to adapt to the ever-changing environment of medical billing and coding in the United States, providing its members with valuable resources along the way.
Benefits and Membership
HMBA members have access to a message board where they can ask questions related to medical billing and management, and the agency also acts as the middleman between employers and employees through its Request for Information (RFI) online program. HMBA offers four annual conferences on topics related to medical billing and management, informative newsletters, and discounts for educational materials and billing/coding software.
HMBA takes advantage of its relationship in Washington DC with lawmakers to influence the rules and regulations of the medical billing and coding industry. For example, it collaborated with the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to create compliance guidelines for third-party medical billing companies. HMBA takes its intimate knowledge of these regulations and turns around to offer its members special education programs that focus on being compliant with federal regulations. Its signature Compliance Course is the hallmark of the fruits of this relationship, and focuses on important details that third-party medical billing and coding professionals should be aware of.
HMBA offers several different types of memberships, which require professional references and compliance with ethical standards:
- Principal Membership (company) – for third-party billing companies; starts at $495 annually for companies with between one and five employees
- First Party Biller Affiliate Membership (company) – for first-party billing companies, such as hospitals or physicians’ offices; starts at $495 annually for companies with between one and five employees
- Associate Membership (individual) – for employees of either third or first-party billing companies; starts at $170 annually
HMBA is one of the important agencies in the medical billing and coding field that professionals should know about, in the company of organizations like:
- Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI)
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- American Medical Billing Association (AMBA)
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies (CMS)
- American Academy of Professionals Coders (AAPC)
- HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
- American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)