Massachusetts Health Care Management Careers

The state of Massachusetts was an early adopter of health-care reform legislation. It passed a law in 2006 that requires every state resident to have medical insurance coverage. The law also provides free insurance for low-income residents. The result means that management jobs in the health-care industry are more plentiful as the public sector offerings are added to the private sector positions that always existed.

Public Sector Jobs

• The Massachusetts health care reform law created a new government agency called the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority. The agency is more commonly referred to as the Health Connector. Its role is to assist residents of Massachusetts in finding health-insurance coverage that meets their needs and frees them from paying penalties that come with lack of coverage. This agency offers careers in health management to trained health-care professionals.

  The management team as well as numerous program managers provide a group of health-management jobs that did not exist before 2006. There are also positions with nonprofit organizations such as the Red Cross, where good management people are needed.

Health-Care Suppliers

• Hospitals, clinics, dental practices and doctor's offices still provide career opportunities for health-care managers throughout Massachusetts.

  Positions such as hospital administrators, finance directors, billing managers and office managers are all necessary to keep the suppliers of health-care services in business and operating in good financial position.

  These managers are not necessarily trained medical practitioners, but they are well-versed in the business side of the health-care industry.

Private Insurance Companies

• The Massachusetts health care reform law has put the state's private medical insurers in a position of strength. The competition between them to provide affordable insurance to residents who are compelled to buy their services creates a need for strong and well-trained health-care managers who work for the insurance companies as they collaborate with state agencies and with the health-care providers.

Equipment and Supplies

• Private manufacturers of medical supplies and equipment is another avenue for health-care management careers. The state of Massachusetts has a number of the top research and development medical schools and hospitals in the world, and the area attracts companies in the pharmaceutical industry and medical supplies and equipment companies.

  Their understanding of the business side of the health-care industry makes health-care managers solid leaders for these companies. The business needs of a drug maker or an medical equipment manufacturer are very much linked to those of the medical practitioner, and the skills of the health-care manager are well-suited to careers in both industries.