How To Become A Managed Care Coordinator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a managed care coordinator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Navigating the health system can be difficult for patients and doctors alike. Patients dealing with medical distress don't have the energy to manage logistics, while doctors are swamped by their caseload. The managed care coordinator helps handle the logistical end of patient care, freeing up doctors and nurses to focus on treatment.

The managed care coordinator takes care of a variety of administrative processes. They help process referrals, authorizations, and insurance requests. The managed care coordinator is an expert health insurance wrangler and communicator that makes sure patients, doctors, and insurance companies are all on the same page regarding treatment.

Only half of the managed care coordinators have a bachelor's or master's degree, showing that on-the-job experience is more important for this role. Lots of people work in customer service or even in nursing before becoming managed care coordinators. A well-managed care coordinator knows a lot about the way the medical field works and has really good people skills.

ScoreManaged Care CoordinatorUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $40,176

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 7.66%

Black or African American 11.35%

Hispanic or Latino 14.53%

Unknown 4.27%

White 61.48%

Gender

female 84.15%

male 15.85%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a managed care coordinator

Explore managed care coordinator education requirements

Most common managed care coordinator degrees

Bachelor's

51.8 %

Associate

20.7 %

Master's

10.8 %

Start to develop specific managed care coordinator skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	17.31%
Social Work	14.81%
Home Health	10.34%
Customer Service	7.66%
Discharge Planning	5.05%

Complete relevant managed care coordinator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New managed care coordinators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a managed care coordinator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real managed care coordinator resumes.

Research managed care coordinator duties and responsibilities

Manage ICD-9 coding and DRG validation for high volume of claims.
Ensure all clinical operations comply with Medicare and Medicaid guidelines and other manage care policies.
Manage caseload by providing care coordination to individuals with a primary intellectual/developmental disability diagnosis all of whom receive community-base waiver services.
Adhere to all state, accreditation standards and regulatory guidelines which include HIPAA guidelines and NCQA accreditation.

Prepare your managed care coordinator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your managed care coordinator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a managed care coordinator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable managed care coordinator resume templates

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