Become a Medicare Consultant

If you want to become a Medicare consultant, create a roadmap for your educational and career plans. A Medicare consultant will need a thorough and up-to-date understanding of Medicare's policies and how they will apply to potential clients. Working with the clients Medicare serves, gaining experience as a Medicare specialist, and building your reputation as a healthcare consultant are all milestones along the way. Knowing what steps you need to take now will help you reach your goals.

Steps

Completing the Necessary Education

  1. Complete your high school education. Most healthcare consulting jobs require a high school diploma, so finishing your secondary education is essential. If you don't have a high school diploma, obtain a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.
    • Many medicare consulting jobs will require an associate's or even bachelor's degree, so plan on pursuing post-secondary education.[1]
  2. Finish an associate's degree program. Completing a two-year degree and open up the range of consulting jobs available to you. Insurance or business-related degrees will best help you prepare for your future career.
    • Enroll in a medical billing program, if available at your college. Medical training programs are often available at community colleges to help students understand healthcare terminology and process bills.
    • Some medical billing jobs require coding as a prerequisite, although it is not required for all healthcare consultants. Consider taking coding classes at your college or learning basic programming on your own to add coding to your skillset.
  3. Earn a bachelor's degree in healthcare administration. Choose a college with a healthcare administration program and complete your four-year degree. While not all consulting positions require a bachelor's degree, having one will set you apart from less-educated applicants and prepare you for the career.
    • If your college does not offer a healthcare administration degree, consider a degree in business or public health.
  4. Pursue an advanced degree to qualify for more consulting positions. The minimum education requirement varies between employers, but most prefer applicants with a master's degree. Many healthcare consultants pursue advanced degrees in healthcare administration, human resources, or business.[2]
    • Regardless of their specialties, all medical insurance consultants need to have a strong theoretical and analytical understanding of the various healthcare systems. A master's degree is not required but will qualify you for better positions.

Gaining Work Experience

  1. Volunteer in an elderly or disabled care facility. To gain a thorough understanding of the Medicare system, volunteer alongside those who use it.[3] Medicare is mainly utilized by the elderly and people with certain disabilities. Spending time around and serving Medicare users will give you a very personal knowledge, which you can then use to advise clients.
    • While pursuing your undergraduate degree, consider working an entry-level job in a care facility. Firsthand experiences around Medicare patients will help you greatly as an insurance consultant.
  2. Finish an internship. Apply for internships during your junior or senior year of college, especially if you can find one within Medicare or an insurance-related firm. Experience with healthcare administration will help you when you're ready to apply for jobs.
    • Don't just limit yourself to one internship. The more experience you have, the less stressful your job searches will be and the more desirable you will be to employers.[4]
    • Ask an established healthcare consultant in your geographic area if you can intern with them, especially if they are a Medicare consultant. The best internships are those closely related to your ideal career, and many consultants would be grateful for the help.
  3. Complete healthcare consultancy certification. If you live in the United States, consider pursuing certification in healthcare consultancy. Employers will greatly prefer a certified applicant over others. Certification legitimizes your job skills and marks you as a knowledgeable, experienced applicant.
    • As of date, two major healthcare consultant certifications are available. One is the Certified Healthcare Business Consultant (CHBC) offered by the National Society of Certified Healthcare Consultants (NSCHC).[5] You can also choose the ACHE Fellow (FACHE), given by the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).[6] Both are respected among healthcare consultants.
  4. Apply to Medicare specialist positions to gain understanding of related policies. Before you begin employment as a consultant, look for Medicare specialist job listings in your area. Medicare specialists work at hospitals and government centers: they inform potential clients about Medicare's benefits and help them apply to relevant programs.[7]

Specializing in Medicare Consulting

  1. Find work in an insurance consulting firm. Before you specialize in Medicare consulting, you'll want to gain experience working in a consulting firm. Consulting firms help doctor's offices, nursing homes, and individual clients get the most out of their insurance and maximise claims.
    • As a consultant within the company, you will be able to specialize in a specific insurance down the road. Focus on gaining experience as an insurance consultant, then brand yourself as a specialist when you have the experience.
  2. Enroll in informational courses about Medicare. To become a Medicare consultant, you'll need to be aware of any changes made. You will also need to know the differences between different Medicare plans and the benefits offered by specific states.[8] Take informational classes about medicare to keep your understanding relevant.
    • Take a Medicare-related course at least every one to two years. Courses are available online at the government-run CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) website.[9]
  3. Build an emphasis in Medicare consulting. After you've gained experience as a Medicare specialist, return to insurance consulting. Ask your supervisors at your insurance consulting firm if you can work specifically with clients using Medicare. Use your knowledge gained as a Medicare specialist and/or from Medicare informational classes to advise your clients.
    • Remember to keep your Medicare understanding relevant. Information changes at a fairly fast rate, and you don't want to misinform your clients.
  4. Advertise yourself as a Medicare consultant. Once you've worked with a substantial amount of Medicare-related clients, begin advertising yourself as a Medicare consultant. Let potential clients know what your specialty is, and network with other consultants who can recommend your Medicare services to others.
    • Cold call potential clients to let them know about your services and how they could benefit from your specialization.
    • Promote your services online or in local ads to increase your range of potential clients.
  5. Open your own private practice. Once you've gained a considerable amount of experience, you could choose to open up your own consulting practice. This will give you free reign to work with specifically Medicare-related clients.
    • Building up a consulting business can take effort, so make sure you gain experience in a firm beforehand.[10]

Tips

  • Medicare consulting is difficult work. Many consultants work more than an eight hour workday and stay late to finish projects. Decide whether this level of commitment is right to you before you plan for it.
  • Medicare consultants must have a thorough knowledge of both business and healthcare policies.
  • Personalise contact with your clients and make an effort to help them. Consultancy work depends on building and maintaining connections with regular clients.

Related Articles

References

  1. ↑ https://www.usfhealthonline.com/resources/career/health-informatics-consultant-salary-job-description/
  2. ↑ http://www.academicinvest.com/business-careers/management-careers/how-to-become-a-health-care-consultant
  3. ↑ https://www.volunteeringsolutions.com/medical-volunteer-abroad-programs#
  4. ↑ https://www.veritasprep.com/the-benefits-of-college-internships/
  5. ↑ https://nschbc.org/nschbc_certification
  6. ↑ https://www.ache.org/mbership/credentialing/requirements.cfm
  7. ↑ https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Career-Information/CareersatCMS/Positions.html
  8. ↑ https://www.medicareresources.org/states/
  9. ↑ https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNProducts/WebBasedTraining.html
  10. ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/41384

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