INDUSTRY REPORT: HMO Medical Centers

This is part of a series reviewing industries that have experienced greater than 40% employment growth since 2007. Click here to see the summary. Data and analysis comes from Analyst and EMSI’s fourth quarter 2011 data release. Contact Rob Sentz ([email protected]) with questions. You can also follow EMSI @DesktopEcon.

Since 2007, HMO medical centers, which are establishments “primarily engaged in providing a range of outpatient medical services to the health maintenance organization (HMO) subscribers with a focus generally on primary health care,” have grown by 51%, or 40,000 jobs. In addition, “These establishments are owned by the HMO. Included in this industry are HMO establishments that both provide health care services and underwrite health and medical insurance policies.”

Here is an overview from Analyst, EMSI’s labor market analysis tool.

There are currently more than 1,600 HMO medical centers across the US that employ 115,000 workers. Most of the folks who work in this industry are female (75%) and roughly half are between the ages of 25 and 44. California is really driving/leading the growth (see the the graphic below). Since 2007, HMO medical centers have grown by 316% in California and roughly half of the people employed in the industry are employed in the Golden State.

Here is a look at other states where HMO medical centers experienced a lot of growth since 2007.

• New Mexico has the highest concentration of HMO medical center jobs. Per capita employment at HMO medical centers is 10 times higher than the typical region. Colorado has the second highest concentration.
• As we mentioned above, California has the highest employment and fastest growth.
• The industry earnings at HMO medical centers are widely divergent from state to state. Texas, Hawaii, Iowa, and California are all above $100,000 per year while states like Oklahoma, Florida, New Mexico, and Virginia hover around $50,000 per year.

Finally, here is a look at the staffing pattern for HMO medical centers.

Conclusion

Health care industries are of course thriving. Certain states, like New Mexico and California, have a lot of HMO medical centers as a result of the regulatory and health care systems adopted by the states.

Read more at Economic Modeling Specialists (EMSI blog)