Case planner vs nurse case manager

The differences between case planners and nurse case managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a case planner, becoming a nurse case manager takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a nurse case manager has an average salary of $68,461, which is higher than the $43,496 average annual salary of a case planner.

The top three skills for a case planner include social work, foster care and NYC. The most important skills for a nurse case manager are care management, discharge planning, and patients.

Case planner vs nurse case manager overview

	Case Planner	Nurse Case Manager
Yearly salary	$43,496	$68,461
Hourly rate	$20.91	$32.91
Growth rate	12%	6%
Number of jobs	36,065	83,480
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	43	44
Years of experience	12	2

What does a case planner do?

Case planners are social workers who provide assistance to children and their families to improve their social and psychological functioning as well as maximize the well-being of families. These planners are required to design service plans that address the safety, behavioral, education, and permanency needs of families and adolescents. They must identify potential child abuse and report any suspected abuses to the appropriate authorities. Case planners must also facilitate counseling to domestic violence victims and assist families in obtaining protection orders from victim service nonprofit organizations.

What does a nurse case manager do?

A nurse case manager's role focuses on providing advice and medication to patients in an outpatient clinic or hospital. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting extensive assessments, discussing essential matters to patients and families, devising efficient health care plans, coordinating with health care experts to share patients' progress, determining the needed care, and performing follow-up services. There are also instances when a nurse case manager must adjust medication or treatment as needed, refer patients to programs that will support them on their financial and other needs, and implement policies and regulations.

Case planner vs nurse case manager salary

Case planners and nurse case managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Case Planner	Nurse Case Manager
Average salary	$43,496	$68,461
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $57,000	Between $48,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	Islandia, NY	San Mateo, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Hawaii
Best paying company	The New York Foundling	CNA Insurance
Best paying industry	Professional	Government

Differences between case planner and nurse case manager education

There are a few differences between a case planner and a nurse case manager in terms of educational background:

	Case Planner	Nurse Case Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Psychology	Nursing
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Duke University

Case planner vs nurse case manager demographics

Here are the differences between case planners' and nurse case managers' demographics:

	Case Planner	Nurse Case Manager
Average age	43	44
Gender ratio	Male, 19.2% Female, 80.8%	Male, 9.6% Female, 90.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 25.9% Asian, 6.1% White, 48.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	11%	9%

Differences between case planner and nurse case manager duties and responsibilities

Case planner example responsibilities.

Manage a caseload of families with children in DSS custody awaiting return home to family of origin base upon progress make.
Keep current on Medicaid rates/services they will reimburse for Medicaid recipients.
Sign patients up for all Medicare and Medicaid benefits that are offer to them.
Perform concurrent review to assure appropriateness of admission, inpatient/acute care, rehabilitation/SNF status, and discharge using establish InterQual guidelines.
Make referrals to home care and/or DME vendors using Medicare/Medicaid criteria/eligibility.

Nurse case manager example responsibilities.

Develop and manage plan of care for symptom management for patients/families in home, ALF, and SNF arena.
Maintain communication with commercial insurance payers, manage Medicare and Medicaid sources and conduct daily clinical updates to insurance companies.
Coordinate surgery schedules with doctor, hospital, medical equipment representative and patients.
General assessment and care/case management of Medicare patients including wind care, diabetes, cardiac complications, respiratory treatments.
Deliver independent private duty nursing to pediatric patients in need of holistic care, including oxygen-dependent, ventilator-dependent, tracheostomy patients.
Interview and assess patients, documenting findings and input into EMR system.

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Case planner vs nurse case manager skills

Common case planner skills

Social Work, 18%
Foster Care, 16%
NYC, 5%
Substance Abuse, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 5%
NYS, 4%

Common nurse case manager skills

Care Management, 25%
Discharge Planning, 17%
Patients, 11%
Home Health, 8%
Rehabilitation, 3%
Medical Care, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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