Remote Background Investigator Jobs in Renton, WA

Medical Coders — Outpatient, Inpatient & Surgical (VA Puget Sound Health Care System)

Remote (United States)  |  Full Time and Part Time openings  |  Monday–Friday, Pacific business hours

Position Overview

We are staffing a three-year health record coding contract for the VA Puget Sound Health Care System (Seattle, WA) and are hiring credentialed coders in three specialties. All work is performed remotely from your own U.S. location in the VA national encoder product and VA electronic health record. The contract standard for every specialty is a 95% accuracy rate, with coding completed within five calendar days of assignment (outpatient and inpatient) or within one week of the date of surgery (surgical). Hours are expected to grow roughly 10% per year over the option periods.

Openings by specialty:

Outpatient Encounter Coder — Full Time (~40 hours/week)

Codes approximately 30,000 outpatient encounters per year: primary and specialty care visits, radiology, laboratory and other ancillary services, E&M using the facility's policy and encoder calculator, and New Insurance/Late Check-Out encounters. Productivity benchmark: 10 encounters per hour. Primary coder and day-to-day contact for the facility's HIM coding staff.

Inpatient Facility Coder — Part Time (~450 hours/year, about 9 hours/week)

Codes approximately 900 inpatient discharges per year — acute, observation, nursing home, and domiciliary episodes — assigning ICD-10-CM/PCS codes, POA indicators, and DRG, and abstracting the full stay from admission to discharge. Productivity benchmark: 2 encounters per hour.

Surgical Coder (Surgery, Anesthesia & Pathology) — Part Time (~300 hours/year, about 6 hours/week)

Codes approximately 1,200 surgical cases per year from the VA surgery package, including anesthesia and pathology services; creates anesthesia encounters where none exist and captures anesthesia start/stop times and other CPAC data elements in case comments. Productivity benchmark: 4 encounters per hour.

Candidates may apply for one specialty or, if credentialed and experienced across specialties, for a combined role covering more than one.

Key Responsibilities

•     Assign and validate ICD-10-CM/PCS, CPT, and HCPCS Level II codes and modifiers from VA EHR documentation in accordance with the current Official Coding Guidelines, Coding Clinic, CPT Assistant, and VHA coding guidelines where VA has determined differences.

•     Apply NCCI bundling edits; assign modifiers to override edits only where documentation supports it; verify multiple CPT codes are not components of a more comprehensive procedure; recognize when an unlisted code is required.

•     Identify encounters that are not billable (resident supervision, Agent Orange or ionizing radiation exposure, telephone care, insufficient documentation) and enter the standardized reason in the encoder for Billing.

•     Raise queries through the facility's process for conflicting, ambiguous, or non-specific documentation; identify duplicate or erroneous encounters.

•     Abstract required data elements into the national encoder and EHR; complete source documents only under an approved contingency plan.

•     Re-review coded work when questioned by VA staff, billing edits, denials, or retrospective review, and correct or substantiate the code selection with references within five calendar days of notification.

•     Meet turnaround standards (five calendar days outpatient/inpatient; one week from date of surgery) and contribute to the weekly status report and monthly QA results provided to the facility COR.

•     Maintain ≥95% accuracy on internal QA sampling and VA audits; participate in corrective action plans if required.

Qualifications & Experience

•     Active credential from AHIMA (RHIA, RHIT, CCS, or CCS-P) or AAPC (CPC or COC/CPC-H). No other credentials are accepted under this contract.

•     Minimum two years of ICD-10-CM/PCS, CPT, and HCPCS Level II coding experience; baseline ICD-10 CEU requirements for your credential completed and current (AAPC holders must have passed the ICD-10 proficiency assessment).

•     Specialty experience: Outpatient — high-volume outpatient/professional-fee coding across primary care, specialty clinics, radiology, and laboratory. Inpatient — inpatient facility coding with MS-DRG or equivalent grouping in an acute-care hospital (CCS, RHIT, or RHIA strongly preferred). Surgical — operative-report coding including anesthesia and pathology (CPC, COC, or CCS with multi-specialty OR experience preferred).

•     Formal training in anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, pathology and disease processes, pharmacology, health record format, and reimbursement methodologies.

•     Working knowledge of NCCI edits, modifier assignment, and the Official Coding Guidelines; ability to apply VHA coding guidelines where they differ from official guidance.

•     U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain a favorable VA NACI background investigation (Low Risk). Must be physically located in the United States.

•     Demonstrated accuracy at or above 95% and the ability to document code selection with references when questioned by VA staff.

•     Experience with the VA national encoder product and VA EHR is strongly preferred; experience at a VA facility of similar size is a plus.

Compensation

Pay rate (all specialties): $38.01/hour (Service Contract Act wage determination rate combined with Health & Welfare fringe). These are remote positions performed from your own U.S. location; no per diem, travel allowance, or relocation applies. Any facility-directed travel beyond a 50-mile radius is pre-approved and reimbursed at Federal Travel Regulation rates.

Application Process

•     State which specialty (or specialties) you are applying for.

•     Submit a current resume and a copy of your active AHIMA or AAPC credential.

•     Provide three professional references (name, title, organization, phone, email) from supervisors or coding/HIM leads who can speak to your coding accuracy and productivity within the last five years.

•     Because these positions support a VA Medical Center, a signed Letter of Intent confirming your availability to perform under this contract is required with your application, as required by the VA for submission with our proposal.

•     Selected candidates will complete VA background investigation forms, VA privacy and cybersecurity training, and the Contractor Rules of Behavior before starting work.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Accommodations are available upon request at any stage of the hiring process.

Allmed is a National Staffing and Recruiting company offering short and long term staffing solutions.
We have been serving large Fortune 100 companies and providing career opportunities to job seekers for over 25 years. We specialize within the medical and healthcare industries offering temporary and permanent placement options. Our team takes the time to recognize, assess and listen to the goals of both our clients and employees. Our team is dedicated to providing the highest quality services and best qualified medical professionals throughout the United States. We stand by our promise and guarantee success and satisfaction between our clients and employees.