Incomes on the rise after being flat for six years

Incomes in healthcare risk management are inching upward after six years of stagnation. The jump isn’t much, but at least the trend is in the right direction.

The median income for healthcare risk managers in this year’s 2015 Healthcare Risk Management Salary Survey is in the $100,000 to $129,999 range. (See the graphic enclosed in this issue.) That salary is up slightly from six years in which the median income was in the $90,000 to $99,000 range. The consistency of that figure was seen by some as a good sign for risk managers when many healthcare professionals were losing their jobs or seeing a decrease in income.

The increase in income might signal that risk managers can look forward to an improving career outlook rather than just trying to hold on to what they have.

The percentage of respondents reporting income in the $100,000 to $129,999 range is 28% this year, a significant jump from last year’s 20.83%. Those reporting income in the $90,000 to $99,999 range jumped from 6% in 2013 to 16.67% in 2014, and that figure is holding steady this year at 16%.

The most impressive change is in those reporting income of $130,000 or more. That figure was 16.67% in 2014, down from the previous year’s 19% and 18% the year before that. Now that figure is up to 36%.

Eighty percent of respondents have worked in healthcare for more than 25 years. (See graphic below.)

The median salary increase over the past year was 1% to 3%, holding steady for several years now. (See graphic below.) The number reporting no change in their income was only 12% this year, significantly lower than last year’s 31% and the previous year’s 38%.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents work for nonprofit healthcare organizations, and 16% work for for-profit providers. (See graphic below.)

What is your annual gross income?