Medical and health services managers entry level salary

Health care administrators are the behind-the-scenes managers of health care facilities. They create and implement policies or strategies that help health care providers meet the needs of their patients. They also participate in the planning required to keep health care providers’ services available at competitive costs.

Job Description

Health care administrators wear several hats to do their jobs. Keeping the nation's health care provider facilities running efficiently requires knowledge of government regulations, private insurance requirements, inventory and personnel management, budgeting skills and even basic customer service knowledge. They work at medical facilities, such as hospitals, large group practices or nursing homes and health maintenance organizations.

Education Requirements

Entry-level health care administrators need to have at least a bachelor's degree. Although you can get your degree from a liberal arts college, employers expect you to have a major in health or medical administration. Some employers prefer to hire candidates who have a master's degree. A master's degree program generally takes two or three years more after the four-year bachelor’s degree. These programs often have a supervised work experience that requires an additional year in school.

The 2016 median annual health care administrator salary was $96,540. Half of all health care administrators earned less than this amount and half earned more. Salaries for 2016 ranged from $56,970 for the lowest 10 percent to $172,240 for the highest 10 percent. Several factors influence the median salary of health administrators, including location, type of facility and education.

Industry

Generally, health care administrators work in offices. In 2016, hospitals employed 36 percent of the 350,200 workers in this field. The next largest segment worked in physician's offices, at roughly 11 percent. Nursing and residential facilities accounted for 10 percent. This field has three main job specializations. Clinical services managers usually work in hospitals and larger physician group practices. Health information managers are responsible for information management systems for patient records and billing in various medical settings. Nursing care facilities managers specialize in building operations, licensing and budgetary requirements to support these providers. Many people specialize in one of these health care management segments throughout their careers.

Years of Experience

Gaining experience in this field results in higher salaries, but entry-level bachelor's degree holders earn only 58 percent of the salaries paid to master's degree holders when they start working. They remain behind in salaries throughout their careers. One progression of entry-level health administration salaries for bachelor's and master's degree holders looks like this:

Bachelor's degree

• 1-2 years: $24,730-$58,175
  
• 5-6 years: $35,161-$72,985
  
• 10 or more years: $45,781-$80,957
  

Master's degree

• 1-2 years: $36,827-$75,000
  
• 5-6 years: $55,730-$97,154
  
• 10 or more years: $95,990-$130,000 

Job Growth Trend

The job outlook for health care administrators is better than average, with an anticipated growth of 20 percent between 2016 and 2026. This rate is higher than many other jobs in the health care field, including physicians and surgeons. An increasing demand for all categories of health care administration skills and the aging U.S. population will create 72,100 additional jobs for health care administrators by 2026.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the annual median salary for health and medical services managers, a category that includes healthcare managers, is $104,280. With so many positions included in this occupation, the salary range is just as broad.

Salaries for healthcare managers vary significantly by state. The highest salaries tend to be in states with a shortage of healthcare workers and increasing senior populations, a demographic that requires more healthcare services than younger groups.

Here’s how the BLS ranks healthcare management salaries in all 50 states.

Professional certifications, an advanced education, and specialization can expand your skills and potentially increase your opportunities and salary as you grow in this career.

Healthcare managers work in positions that involve planning, directing, and coordinating medical and healthcare services. Specific responsibilities may relate to an entire facility, a specific department, or a group medical practice. Positions also exist in non-clinical work environments such as insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and consulting groups.

The salary you earn can vary by factors including your position, workplace, education, experience, and geographic location. The BLS reports that the top 10% of healthcare managers earn $195,630.

While work experience is typically necessary to pursue positions in healthcare management, professional certifications, an advanced degree, and specialization can expand your skills and potentially increase your opportunities and salary as you grow in this career.

Salary Comparison

The career pathway to healthcare management isn’t unique to this profession. You can succeed in many fields with similar education and experience.

This chart, based on BLS figures, illustrates salaries for positions that require a level of education and experience similar to those of many healthcare management positions.

Job Outlook

With the right credentials, prospective healthcare managers can expect to find an increasing demand for their skills. The BLS projects employment of medical and health services managers to grow a staggering 32% through 2030.

“The healthcare management occupation is increasing at a rapid rate in the United States due to baby boomers retiring and individuals aging and living longer,” says career and leadership coach Christina G. Hall, MHA, ACC, LSSGB, improvement manager at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and founder of CGH Careers, LLC. “This leads to a greater demand of healthcare services for those in need.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 10,000 baby boomers will reach retirement age every day through 2030, at which time all baby boomers will be at least 65 years old.

Other factors are also contributing to growth in the field. The widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs), an expanding focus on risk management, and the emergence of new approaches to treatment and delivery of services have also increased the demand for healthcare managers.

What Factors Can Affect Your Salary?

Your professional credentials can play a role in the types of positions and salaries that you’ll be qualified to pursue. Consider how these factors can impact your earning potential:

Education:

Role/specialty:

Certification:

Experience:

Becoming a healthcare manager requires education and industry knowledge. Experience can start with an internship and progress to an entry-level position as an assistant manager.

Salary by Workplace

Where you work can also affect your salary. For instance, the same role or title can include different responsibilities in different workplaces, and this can affect your pay. Here’s a look a some roles, potential responsibilities, and BLS salaries.

Salary by Metropolitan Area

A high cost of living and a shortage of qualified candidates can often boost salaries in a city or region. The BLS reports that of the 15 highest-paying metropolitan areas in the nation, 11 are in California.

How Can You Earn More as a Healthcare Manager?

The factors that can play a role in your salary are the same ones that can determine whether you advance. Here’s how.

Experience

The amount of experience necessary to move into healthcare management varies by employer and position. Positions at the highest levels of an organization are won by rising through the ranks.

“Anyone who is in top positions had to have started out as a manager or a director,” Bartell says. “They don’t just sail into those positions. Some people attain that level after five years [post-graduate degree], but you don’t launch up to the top. You have to pay your dues.”

Education

Industry experts agree that a bachelor’s degree is usually the minimum requirement for entry-level healthcare management positions like assistant managers. Moving past that level may require additional experience and education, depending on your goal and the organization.

“Your undergraduate will probably get you to a certain level,” Bartell says. “There are a lot of people in the healthcare ecosystem who have bachelor’s degrees and they may be out four or five years, and then they realize that they’re probably not going to get the next big job or accelerate without the master’s.”

Certification

While certifications aren’t required for positions in healthcare management, earning one or more of these credentials can demonstrate your commitment to your field. There is a wide range of certifications related to general healthcare management and specialties.

For healthcare office managers, a Certified Medical Manager (CMM) credential can change the trajectory of your career and impact your earning potential, Bennett says. “A CMM can help you progress from an entry-level salary to a mid-level salary.”

Here are three certifications that healthcare managers can shoot for, depending where they are in their career.

With professional insight from:
Cathy Bartell, MHA
Associate Director, Sloan Program in Health Administration in the Cornell University School of Public Policy and Chair, National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) Career Trajectory Group

With professional insight from:
Christina G. Hall, MHA, ACC, LSSGB
Career and Leadership Coach, Founder of CGH Careers, LLC, and Improvement Manager at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

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