Medical Receptionist Jobs in Sacramento, CA
Medical receptionists in Sacramento keep clinic and hospital front desks moving, and local postings at Dignity Health, Shriners Children's and UC Davis Rehabilitation Hospital start at $25 an hour or more. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring, what it pays and how to get started.
Current medical receptionist Openings in Sacramento, CA
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Medical Receptionist Work in Sacramento
Front-desk work in Sacramento health care runs under several job titles. Dignity Health Medical Foundation calls the role Medical Office Representative, hospitals such as Shriners Children's Northern California and UC Davis Rehabilitation Hospital hire Patient Access Representatives for registration and insurance work, and senior living communities such as Dignity's Mercy McMahon Terrace in East Sacramento hire receptionists. Searching only for "medical receptionist" misses most of these openings.
The four big systems, UC Davis Health, Sutter Health, Kaiser Permanente and Dignity Health, run clinics from Midtown and the Stockton Boulevard corridor out to Elk Grove, Folsom and Roseville, so front-desk jobs follow the outpatient network along SR-99, US-50 and I-80. California's health care worker minimum wage (SB 525) covers front-desk and clerical staff at covered facilities, not just clinicians, which is why clinic reception here starts well above the $16.90 state minimum.
Top Sacramento Employers Hiring Medical Receptionists
These Sacramento health employers hire front-desk, registration and patient access staff:
- Dignity Health - Dignity Health Medical Foundation hires Medical Office Representatives for its Sacramento clinics, and Mercy McMahon Terrace hires receptionists.
- Shriners Children's Northern California - the pediatric specialty hospital hires Patient Access Representatives to greet families, schedule and register patients and verify insurance.
- UC Davis Rehabilitation Hospital - the Lifepoint Health rehab hospital hires Patient Access Representatives for admissions, insurance verification and co-pay collection.
Medical Receptionist Salaries in Sacramento
- Entry level: about $21 to $25 per hour for receptionists and new front-desk staff.
- Experienced: roughly $25 to $30 per hour for medical office and patient access representatives.
- Senior / specialty: about $30 to $38 per hour for experienced patient access staff at hospitals.
These are estimates built from federal wage data for the Sacramento metro and current local postings. Hospital and health-system jobs pay more than small private offices, and insurance verification experience, scheduling system skills and bilingual English and Spanish all push pay toward the top of the range.
How to Become a Medical Receptionist in Sacramento
There is no state license for medical receptionists in California, so you do not need to apply to any board. Most employers ask for a high school diploma or equivalent and some experience: Dignity Health Medical Foundation asks for six months of medical office or high-volume customer service work, and Shriners asks for a year of scheduling and registration. Cosumnes River College on Center Parkway offers an Administrative Medical Assisting certificate that covers patient reception, scheduling, phone procedures and medical insurance, and its online Health Information Technology program teaches coding and records work for those who want to move beyond the desk.
What the Job Involves
Medical receptionists greet patients and visitors, answer multi-line phones, schedule and confirm appointments, and check patients in. They collect and update demographic and insurance information, verify coverage, obtain signatures on consent and billing forms, scan documents into the electronic health record, collect co-pays, and route messages to doctors and nurses.
Skills Employers Look For
- Scheduling and registration in an electronic health record
- Insurance eligibility verification
- Multi-line phone and customer service skills
- Medical terminology
- Accurate data entry and keyboarding
- Bilingual English and Spanish (often preferred)
Career Path and Advancement
Many Sacramento medical receptionists start in a clinic or senior living front office, then move into hospital patient access, where pay and responsibility rise. From there, the ladder runs to patient access lead or supervisor, insurance authorization and billing roles, or medical coding after a certificate such as Cosumnes River College's coding specialist program. Others add clinical training and become medical assistants.
Related Careers in Sacramento
If front-desk health care work interests you, these related Sacramento roles are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a license to be a medical receptionist in Sacramento?
No. California has no license or state certification for medical receptionists. Employers look for a high school diploma, customer service or office experience, and comfort with scheduling and insurance systems.
How much do medical receptionists make in Sacramento?
Federal wage data puts the Sacramento metro median for receptionists near $22 an hour, but health-system postings run higher. Dignity Health Medical Foundation lists $25 to $28.18, and Shriners Children's lists $26.78 to $37.80 for patient access.
What job titles should I search for besides medical receptionist?
Search for medical office representative, patient access representative, patient services representative, front desk and scheduler. Sacramento health systems use these titles for the same front-desk work.
Can I get a medical receptionist job with no health care experience?
Yes, in some offices. Dignity Health Medical Foundation accepts high-volume customer service experience in place of medical office work, and retail, call center or hospitality backgrounds transfer well. Hospital patient access roles more often ask for registration experience.
Is there a short program for medical front-office work in Sacramento?
Cosumnes River College offers an Administrative Medical Assisting certificate of 20 to 27 units that covers reception, scheduling, medical language and insurance procedures. It also prepares you for insurance billing and hospital unit secretary roles.
Ready to apply? Browse all Medical Receptionist jobs in Sacramento, CA on LocalJobPage and apply today.