Salary Survey
How does your salary stack up against your peers’?
Know all you can about your profession — here are the numbers
Making the most of a case management career — indeed, any career — means knowing everything available about the industry, including the average salaries and demographics of others in similar positions.
With useful information, employees can judge how their facilities work in comparison to their peers’ and if they are being compensated fairly for the work they do. Hospital Case Management’s annual salary survey results have been compiled to assist readers in that endeavor.
The questionnaire was mailed to readers with the July issue. Confidential responses were compiled and analyzed at the Atlanta offices of HCM’s publisher, American Health Consultants. This report presents the results we deem most important or interesting to HCM readers.
Most readers who responded indicate that they earn healthy midlevel salaries. Of those participating, 34.5% report annual earnings between $60,000 and $69,999. Another 12.7% report income levels of $50,000 to $54,999. Only 1.8% take home more than $135,000. On the opposite end of the scale, only 3.6% make less than $30,000.
Titles vary
Titles and job descriptions vary and include case managers, directors of case management, clinical nurse specialists, clinical pathway coordinators, quality improvement coordinators, directors of outcomes management, coordinators of clinical care management, directors of utilization management, and social workers. A sizeable majority of respondents (93.8%) are female.
Long hours
Hospital case managers are working hard for their money. Work schedules for 36.7% of survey participants include between 41 and 45 hours per week. Another 34.7% work 46 to 50 hours per week, and 12.2% report working an impressive 56- to 60-hour week.
When it comes to years of experience in health care, the largest percentage of those responding, almost 35%, say they’ve been in the field more than 25 years. Only 4% report working in health care fewer than 10 years. Directly related to experience are the ages of respondents: 31.2% are between 46 and 50.
Education levels for most participants include master’s degrees — MSN, MS, or a master’s in another field. Another 37.5% have attained a BSN. In addition, most case managers are certified in some capacity.
Credentials
The certified case manager (CCM) credential was most frequently reported, and several respondents hold the CMC, CMAC, CPHQ, or other certifications.
Almost half of our respondents indicate a 1% to 3% increase in salary within the past year; another 32.7% received pay raises of 4% to 6%. However, about a fifth of the respondents say their case management department’s size (number of employees) has decreased in the past year. Another 43% say employment levels have remained constant.
Employee benefits remain an important issue in every sector, including health care. Responses indicate that most readers regard medical coverage (94%) and dental coverage (82%) as important or extremely important. Over the past 12 months, 63% say their contribution to the cost of medical coverage has increased, not including deductibles or copayments.
Life insurance is regarded as important or extremely important by 81%, and a 401k or savings plan is important or extremely important to almost all respondents (98%).
Several other benefits reportedly are not offered to hospital employees taking our survey: 47% say they do not have a child care benefit; 61% do not have a profit-sharing plan; 53% do not receive an annual or semiannual bonus; and almost three-quarters, or 73.5%, report that they do not have an elder care benefit included in the terms of their employment.
Slightly more than one-third of those participating work in the Southeastern section of the country or in Texas. Another 22% come from the North Central part of the country (Ohio and Michigan on the Eastern border to the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Colorado on the West); 18% hail from the Northeast. About 37% report that their facilities are located in urban areas.
Of those responding, 45% work in facilities with fewer than 200 beds. Only a fraction (4%) report having 800 or more beds. A majority of those hospitals (78%) are nonprofit, with 12% for-profits and 10% owned by government agencies (Veterans Affairs or state, county, or city entities).
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