Administrative
Eligibility Specialist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
Provides assistance and information for people who apply for a government benefits program or health care program. Answers questions, assists with an application process, and reviews applications and relevant background information to determine eligibility. May assist eligible applicants with enrolling in a program.
Job Outlook
There were 111 Eligibility Specialist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 5032 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Enrollment / Eligibility Specialist industry, which includes the Eligibility Specialist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2012:
Salary
Many new Eligibility Specialist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $35,829.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $32,837.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Eligibility Specialist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $31,792.
Education and Experience
Posted Eligibility Specialist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 9% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 18% |
| Master's Degree | 1% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0% |
| Other | 72% |
Posted Eligibility Specialist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 74% |
| 3 to 5 years | 24% |
| 6 to 8 years | 1% |
| 9+ years | 1% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Eligibility Specialist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication Skills (37%)
- Computer Literacy (24%)
- Microsoft Office (20%)
- Organizational Skills (20%)
- Microsoft Excel (19%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Customer Service (36%)
- Scheduling (22%)
- Customer Billing (19%)
- Data Entry (19%)
- Medical Billing (9%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Medical Coding (13%)
- Social Services (12%)
- Customer Contact (11%)
- Staff Management (10%)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (9%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Electronic Medical Records (6%)
- Claims Knowledge (6%)
- Managed Care (5%)
- CPT Coding (5%)
- Medicare/Medicaid Knowledge (4%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed along with the marginal value: the average salary difference between postings that request that skill and those that do not.
- Ability to Communicate Medical Terminology (1%) – marginal value $3,916
- Medical Records Documentation (2%) – marginal value $3,467
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Eligibility Specialist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Prior Authorization Specialist
- Authorization Specialist
- Program Eligibility Specialist
- Eligibility Specialist I
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Eligibility Specialist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- State South Carolina (281)
- State of Arkansas (117)
- state of florida (115)
- Firstsource Solution Usa (86)
- Ar Dept Of Human Services (76)
North Carolina
- UNC Health Care System (30)
- BB&T Corporation (11)
- American Red Cross (5)
- Mecklenburg County (4)
- Monument (3)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from EMSI Burning Glass (now Lightcast). For more information about how they gather data and what it represents, see Emsi Burning Glass Data Basic Overview.