I'm personally much more furious over the fact that AAPC has decided to 'hold their membership's livelihood HOSTAGE' because of a government mandate! AHIMA is requiring their coders to have a specific number of CEU's that are specific to ICD-10 in order to maintain their certifications (CCA-CCS-CCS-P). I was also told by one of my AHIMA colleagues that AHIMA doesn't require you to maintain membership every single year in order to hold your certification. AAPC is all about the almighty $$$! But holding our ability to make a living hostage because of this monstrosity, is ridiculous!
Several years ago, an RN friend of mine received a certification in Infectious Disease. When I congratulated her on her accomplishment...she looked at me, and said, "As long as you purchase their over-priced books, and pay them $1000 for their test, they'll certify anyone. Certifications are a racket invented to make money! They do NOT authenticate knowledge!"
With the way AAPC is handling ALL their certifications recently and this whole ICD-10 thing, I think I agree wholeheartedly with my friend, the RN!