
Did you know that a health administrator with an MHA can make almost double the salary of a health administrator with a bachelor’s degree, depending upon the size and location of the facility?
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While median annuals earnings of wage and salary medical and health services managers were $73,340 in May 2006, the highest ten percent earned more than $127,830 per year, according to the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hospitals paid the highest salaries, and home health care services offered the lowest salaries at $66,720 median annual salary.
The size of the facility affects the health administrator’s salary as do the level of responsibilities. For example, the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) reported that, in 2006, median salaries for administrators were $72,875 in practices with 6 or fewer physicians, $95,766 in practices with 7 to 25 physicians, and $132,955 in practices with 26 or more physicians. This information shows that the more responsibility you’re willing to take on, the more this may reflect in your paycheck.
Specialization also affects salaries, even in health care administration. The Professional Association of Health Care Office Management stated that 2006 average total compensation for office managers in specialty physicians’ practices ranged between $60,000 to $67,000 in family practice, pediatrics and internal medicine, $70,000 to $71,000 in gastroenterology and dermatology and up to $76,000 in cardiology. Health managers and administrators who work in Internet Technology (IT) and other professions outside hospitals may find higher wages than those who are employed in hospital facilities.
But, the above figures may vary depending upon location. If you work in a major metropolitan area like Burlington, Vermont, for instance, you can make an annual mean wage of $123,290 per year; however, if you work in a smaller metropolitan area such as Cheyenne, Wyoming, that annual mean wage may come to only $76,860 per year.
Medical and health administrators are key to the success of any health care facility, and are able to command extremely competitive wages because of this fact.
To become a health administrator or manager, a master's degree is usually required. Some of the most popular types of health degrees include the Master of Health Administration (MHA), the Master of Public Health (MPH), and the MBA in healthcare management. Below is a carefully compiled list of accredited institutions offering such programs to help you meet your career goals.