Medical Director, Behavioral Health (PST)
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.
Job Description
JOB DESCRIPTION Job SummaryProvides medical oversight and expertise related to behavioral health and chemical dependency services, and assists with implementation of integrated behavioral health care programs within specific markets/regions. Contributes to overarching strategy to provide quality and cost-effective member care.
Essential Job Duties
- Provides behavioral health oversight and clinical leadership for health plan and/or market specific utilization management and care management behavioral health programs and chemical dependency services - working closely with regional medical directors to standardize behavioral health utilization management policies and procedures to improve quality outcomes and decrease costs.
- Facilitates behavioral health-related regional medical necessity reviews and cross coverage.
- Standardizes behavioral health-related utilization management, quality, and financial goals across all lines of businesses.
- Responds to behavioral health-related requests for proposal (RFP) sections and reviews behavioral health portions of state contracts.
- Assists behavioral health medical director lead trainers in the development of enterprise-wide education on psychiatric diagnoses and treatment.
- Provides second level behavioral health clinical reviews, peer reviews and appeals.
- Supports behavioral health committees for quality compliance.
- Implements behavioral health specific clinical practice guidelines and medical necessity review criteria.
- Tracks all clinical programs for behavioral health quality compliance with National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
- Assists with the recruitment and orientation of new psychiatric medical directors.
- Ensures all behavioral health programs and policies are in line with industry standards and best practices.
- Assists with new program implementation and supports for health plan in-source behavioral health services.
Required Qualifications
- At least 3 of relevant experience, including 2 years of medical practice experience in psychiatry/behavioral health, or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
- Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathy (DO). License must be active and unrestricted in state of practice.
- Board Certification in Psychiatry.
- 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
Provides medical oversight and clinical leadership for behavioral health and chemical dependency programs to ensure quality and cost-effective care. Facilitates utilization management, peer reviews, and the implementation of clinical practice guidelines across the organization.
Requirements
Requires a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) degree with an active, unrestricted license and Board Certification in Psychiatry. Candidates must have at least 3 years of relevant experience, including 2 years of medical practice in psychiatry or behavioral health.
Qualifications
- Education
- Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
- Experience
- 2+ years of experience
Key Skills
Psychiatry — Physician Career Context
Of the 50 active Psychiatry listings this role was benchmarked against, 42% are remote, 50% have no call, 50% require no weekends.
The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).
| Measure | This job | Market |
|---|---|---|
| Listed pay | not listed | Psychiatry median $400k (middle half $343k–$408k)312 comparable listings, Oct 2026 |
| Cost of living | California index 110.7 | US average = 100BEA Regional Price Parities (2024) |
| Psychiatry listings in California | 211 active | 1,910 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026 |
| Work setting | on-site | peers: 42% remote · 50% no call · 50% no weekends50 benchmarked listings |
| Sign-on & loan repayment | not stated | California Physician listings: 30% state a sign-on bonus (median $100k) · 27% offer loan repayment1,000 active listings, Oct 2026 |
| Psychiatry pay trend | +12.5% vs prior quarter | —through Sep 2026 |
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