Molina Healthcare logo
Molina Healthcare
Long Beach, California

Medical Director (Medicare)

Internal MedicineFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, call expectations and time off.

Posted 1mo ago

Job Description

Provides medical oversight and expertise in appropriateness and medical necessity of services provided to members, targeting improvements in efficiency and satisfaction for both members and providers and ensuring members receive the most appropriate care in the most effective setting. Contributes to overarching strategy to provide quality and cost-effective member care.

Essential Job Duties

  • Determines appropriateness and medical necessity of health care services provided to plan members.
  • Supports plan utilization management program and accompanying action plan(s), which includes strategies to ensure high-quality member care - ensuring members receive the most appropriate care at the most effective setting.
  • Evaluates effectiveness of utilization management (UM) practices - actively monitoring for over and under-utilization.
  • Educates and interacts with network, group providers and medical managers regarding utilization practices, guideline usage, pharmacy utilization and effective resource management.
  • Assumes leadership relative to knowledge, implementation, training, and supervision of the use of the criteria for medical necessity.
  • Participates in and maintains the integrity of the appeals process, both internally and externally.
  • Responsible for investigation of adverse incidents and quality of care concerns.
  • Participates in preparation for national committee for quality assurance (NCQA) and utilization review accreditation commission (URAC) certifications.
  • Provides leadership and consultation for NCQA standards/guidelines for the plan including compliant clinical quality improvement activity (QIA) in collaboration with clinical leadership and quality improvement teams.
  • Facilitates conformance to Medicare, Medicaid, NCQA and other regulatory requirements.
  • Reviews quality referred issues, focused reviews and recommends corrective actions.
  • Conducts retrospective reviews of claims and appeals and resolves grievances related to medical quality of care.
  • Attends or chairs committees as required such as credentialing, Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) and other committees as directed by the chief medical officer.
  • Evaluates authorization requests in timely support of nurse reviewers, reviews cases requiring concurrent review and manages the denial process.
  • Monitors appropriate care and services through continuum among hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and home care to ensure quality, cost-efficiency, and continuity of care.
  • Ensures that medical decisions are rendered by qualified medical personnel and not influenced by fiscal or administrative management considerations, and that care provided meets the standards for acceptable medical care.
  • Ensures medical protocols and rules of conduct for plan medical personnel are followed.
  • Develops and implements plan medical policies.
  • Provides implementation support for quality improvement activities.
  • Stabilizes, improves and educates primary care physicians and specialty networks; monitors practitioner practice patterns and recommends corrective actions as needed.
  • Fosters clinical practice guideline implementation and evidence-based medical practices.
  • Utilizes information technology and data analytics to produce tools to report, monitor and improve utilization management.
  • Actively participates in regulatory, professional and community activities.

Required Qualifications

  • At least 3 years health care experience, including at least 2 years of medical practice experience, or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
  • Active and unrestricted Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) license in state of practice.
  • Board certification.
  • Working knowledge of applicable national, state, and local laws and regulatory requirements affecting medical and clinical staff.
  • Ability to work cross-collaboratively within a highly matrixed organization.
  • Strong organizational and time-management skills.
  • Ability to multi-task and meet deadlines.
  • Attention to detail.
  • Critical-thinking and active listening skills.
  • Decision-making and problem-solving skills.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills.
  • Microsoft Office suite/applicable software program(s) proficiency, and ability to learn new programs.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with utilization/quality program management.
  • Managed care experience.
  • Peer review experience.
  • Certified Professional in Healthcare Management (CPHM), Certified Professional in Health Care Quality (CPHQ), Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC), Case Management Society of America (CMSA) or other health care or management certification.

To all current Molina employees: If you are interested in applying for this position, please apply through the Internal Job Board.

Molina Healthcare offers a competitive benefits and compensation package. Molina Healthcare is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) M/F/D/V

Key Responsibilities

The Medical Director provides medical oversight and expertise to ensure the appropriateness and medical necessity of services provided to members. They lead utilization management programs, monitor quality of care, and collaborate with clinical teams to improve efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Requirements

Candidates must hold an active, unrestricted MD or DO license and possess board certification. A minimum of 3 years of healthcare experience, including at least 2 years of medical practice, is required.

Qualifications

Education
Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Medical necessity determinationURAC standardsEvidence-based medicineStrategic planning

Internal Medicine — Physician Career Context

Of the 50 active Internal Medicine listings this role was benchmarked against, 12% are remote, 36% have no call, 62% require no weekends.

Internal Medicine pay on WeekdayDoc is up 4.6% vs. the prior quarter (through Oct 2026).

Internal Medicine by the numbers
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed paynot listedInternal Medicine median $306k (middle half $275k–$325k)417 comparable listings, Nov 2026
Cost of livingCalifornia index 110.7US average = 100BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Internal Medicine listings in California195 active1,393 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 12% remote · 36% no call · 62% no weekends50 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedCalifornia Physician listings: 31% state a sign-on bonus (median $100k) · 29% offer loan repayment1,000 active listings, Nov 2026
Internal Medicine hiring demand#3 of 28 specialtiespostings stay open a median 38 days · 33% state a sign-on bonusWeekdayDoc Hiring Index, October 2026 · 579 postings, 472 closed
New Internal Medicine listings591 in the last 30 days334 the 30 days before (+77%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Internal Medicine pay trend+4.6% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024), WeekdayDoc Hiring Index; as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Internist Jobs

50 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

50 jobs · 41 employers
15
<$335k
17
$335k-360k
8
$360k-385k
6
$385k-410k
4
$410k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

41 jobs
401k / retirement match
80%
Sign-on bonus
68%
CME allowance
59%
Relocation assistance
49%
Loan repayment
32%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Primary Care Physician

AvaMed Workforce · Chowchilla, California

$220/hr
#2

Physician, Family Medicine – Telemedicine Opportunity – DrHouse

Dr House · Los Angeles, California

$100-$200/hr
#3

Physician, Internal Medicine – Telemedicine Opportunity – DrHouse

$100-$200/hr
#4

Family Medicine / Internal Medicine Physician Atlanta GA

$150-$200/hr
+ 48 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.4this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Internal Medicine listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,353 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Molina Healthcare logo

About Molina Healthcare

Hospitals and Health Care
Long Beach, California
10,000+ employees

Benefits & Perks

Competitive benefits and compensation package

Living in Long Beach

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$961k
Typical market rent
$2,412/mo
Residents’ average commute
30 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
113.6
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026), Zillow market rents (Sep 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.