Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Amazing.. I think I will have to look into it. Anyone out there know actual costs for family ins?

Posted By: From what I know.. on 2006-02-05
In Reply to: wow!! not true - they just changed insurance companies (sm) - txmt

Thanks.


Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

It costs approximately $275 a month. I do have family to cook for, but
that has not been a problem at all. After the first 3 days, I have been fully satisfied on the program, and I am one who has NEVER been able to diet for more than a day or 2. I cook whatever they want which is mostly what I can eat too for my lean and green; beef/chicken/pork/fish and veggies, but I skip the potatoes, bread, and all starchy foods.

To afford the program, I cut way back on buying junk food and soda. Everyone is eating much healthier around here and neither my family nor me feel in the least deprived.

All I can really tell you is it is working for me like nothing has in the past and it's been worth every penny.
It is amazing how pets really become real members of the family, isn't it?
Gotta lov'em! :-)
Beware of ink replacement costs. The more inexpensive the printer, the more the ink costs.
s
family is family wheter 3 or 8 sm
i live in MA and $1200-$1400 a month is what good health insurance costs, ie $20-$40 copays.  it was just passed into law that if you live in MA you have to have medical insurance so without being self-employed, you can go right to BCBS etc and get a plan directly from the major health insurace companies, but for a family plan and a decent income bracket, forget it.  the prices are outragous.  right now my husband pays $120 a week for family plan and this is after his employer pays 30% of the total cost.  we have $20 copays, but we have a $2000 individual deductable per year with a $4000 family deductible cap.  so when my daughther needed her tonsils out, $2000 and when my son broke his arm, $2000.  someone on this board has to be able to tell you what they pay for insurance through their company as an employee.  good luck.
But how much do you charge for the actual
cc? He wants me to print out the cc also, and if there is more than one cc I have to print out more than one copy of the note...the notes are usually two pages long, too. Thanks for your help.
Holli
Oh, I don't think it is an actual portrayal either..SM
I'm just saying alternative lifestyles do not bother me, so shows that show that do not bother me. There are people who do not want any type of homosexuals shown on TV, like their kids are going to "turn" gay because they see 2 guys kissing or something. I will say that TV has gotten out of hand a little, but I also don't believe in too much censorship; and yes, this is what America wants to watch, or they wouldn't keep putting the same stuff on the air. I don't let my kids watch anything that is obscene. The fact of life though is that one way or another they are going to see things that you might not want them to see. When things like that happen, it gives you a good opportunity to talk to them about what they are watching. The simple life for example. Any parent who lets their kids watch that show and then never talks about it is just crazy. Kids think it is cool to be stupid, to be rich, to never have to work, to only worry about boys falling all over you. It gives you a good chance to talk to them about life, about how things on TV are not always how they appear to be, etc. Unfortunately, no matter what we do, our kids are going to be exposed to all kinds of stuff, and it is up to us as parents to teach them right from wrong. We need to not rely on the media to only show what we consider right and acceptable. That is our job. Also, in no way am I saying you are doing this or this is what you should or shouldn't do. I am just giving my opinion on TV in general. :o)
PS: To clarify, not the actual job but more what is becoming
And I really just want out :(
Well, if it's due to divorce, you DEFINITELY want an actual

real estate agent.  You are thinking of the money you think you could save, but what it will end up turning into is a bigger mess.  If you sign a 60 or 90 day contract with a for sale by owner agent (i.e. Help-U-Sell, Assist2Sell, BuyOwner) and all they do is plunk a sign in your yard and give you a lock box then you're not getting much.  They don't do a lot of advertising other than on their own website and they might print a few flyers for you. 


With the market soft right now, unless you price the house really low just to get rid of it, expect it to sit for 90 to 120 days.


I hope that is not an actual
medical record you posted there.  Yikes!
See post below with actual MQ CEO letter.
http://forum.mtstars.com/main/v/1/5201.html
I mean the actual word ALLERGY not the med itself
x
Actual dictation. Made my day.

Excerpt from actual dictation that I received on an  80-year-old man.


"He doesn't have any complaints with the exception of his continued relationship with his wife."



She is talking to the actual place.(nm)
x
Do you ever transcribe in actual dreams? (s/m)

Along a similar, but different thread with regards to the post below about daydreaming or thinking about other things when transcribing, do you ever transcribe in your dreams?  Thank goodness it doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes I will have a dream where I'm sitting at the computer and transcribing dictation, and can read all the words in front of me.  Is that strange, or what?  And I also sometimes dream that I'm reading a book.  I guess that's what happens when you're in such a word-oriented profession! 


Ah, but actual statistics and things like that
 make it so less fun for them to WHINE AND WHINE!! Great post! There are some bitter MTs out there. Whew!
I thought Lanier was an actual
I could be wrong.  I thought a Lanier was similar to a C-phone. 
Oops! it is .06 per actual line
Thanks
Only actual employees get min wage.

The CD is WAY harder than the actual test.
No sweat. 
Only hospitals and Diskriter do actual sm

background checks where this information would turn up.  They also ask on their applications.


I have never been asked when applying for a service.  If the question is not asked, then there must not be a prohibition on felons.


The actual medical record contains
those things you mention. The dictated report sometimes does, not that is not often. Some facilities, however, do have the physician dictate everything imaginable and even if it is 1 out of every 10, that is still too much info to let out.
costs
I also agree that the cost of vet care has gone way up in the last 10 years, having animal companions is expensive. I think as more and more people are coming to realize their companions are senient beings they are willing to do whatever is necessary for optimum care just as you would do for a human. That being said, it is extremely expensive and where I used to have 5 cats and 2 dogs, I now have 3 cats and 1 dog due to losing some to old age and illness. Although I would love to have more, I know I cannot afford it if one of them gets sick.
Can you tell us how much this costs?
Have the Martel catalogue but oddly it does not give price. Am hoping it is under $50.
Rx costs
I get 2 of my meds from Canada.  Can you get yours that way and save $?  Just do a search for cheap drugs or Canadian drugs.
MT Costs
I have been a working MT for 2+ years and I am still buying things.  I have a full library of books but there are only a few I use all the time.  Still there are days when I find I need the others.  I believe I have around 16 total.  The Book Of Style is an important one.  I would recommend that for sure along with any other specialty books for the type of account you plan on typing.  I had my computer prior to training but with books, the MT course, pedals, software (spell checker, expander) I spent over $2,500.  This doesn't include a desk, chair or the other things you'll need. I would suggest you buy some 3-ring binders to keep samples in for each account you type.  I have a binder for every doctor/client.  Every doctor you come to learn to type will have his/her own rules.  The binders are my Bibles.  At first I went through a ton of legal pads.  I always keep one at my desk to jot things down.  Now I only need one on occasion.  It will be a learning experience and slow going at first, but hang in there.  Like some other MTs mentioned, it is not as easy as it sounds, but I do enjoy it.  Welcome to the club!
It costs more than $10 believe me.
They take a percentage of what is sent to you - it's not a flat rate fee. The more you make the more they take.
My costs have actually gone down
This year my property taxes will go from over $2,300 to $800 a year, that is because I have turned that magical number of 65. That is good and yet if I were to die, then the taxes would go right back up for hubby as he is 10 years younger and has not gotten there yet. He better treat me right!
Hope you spell better in the actual reports.
Lets try ALL
Do you work an actual 8 hrs a day if hired for such or is it more like 7 with your breaks, etc. nm
s
They'll probably say lower than actual amount
.
Most of the tests are really easy. Much better than the actual dictation.
x
I use CS and ST, works great. The CS that I use is actual Word -sm
I have heard that Chartscript net, which is the newer version, is different - more like a box that you type in instead of actual Word. I have worked for 2 places using CS now, and it implements the actual Word program. As long as it's not Chartscript net, you should be okay. When working, we're told to open our own version of Word first before we even log into CS because it will save anything there if the report you are working on is lost somehow. When I type in CS, which looks just like my Word, ST is up and running right in CS, just like when typing in my own Word program. No problems with it at all. I know what you mean.....I would haaate to work without ST too. Hope it works out for you!
Actual court reporting or transcribing?
There is a difference in the actually reporting where you sit and court and record. You always see the little ladies typing away on the minitypewriter and the actual court transcription. My friend who do this use the tape or digital recorders, for either court or depositions. They also speech into a little cone type deal (name not important) to make notes of thier own as well as writtent notes as the tapes record up to 4 microphone at a time. They did go to school for this.

I transcribed for a small company locally and would pick up thier overflow. The recent rate seemed to be 1.25 a page but I received 1.35 for medical which they could not understand. You do have to have a special tape transcriber for this. You can buy then new or used but you can also get some that have been company modified. They have to be able to play multiple channels. This could run you anywhere from $300-$800 for player alone.

The difference is VERBATIM. Where we correct for proper English you do not on legal. There are a few tricks with the dates and numbers and such but it's not hard to catch onto. You might check into a local court reporting business and see if they have extra work. It can be time consuming but it is interesting. Some are short, some are long. Court cases longer but I have typed depositions that are up to 100 pages long, but that is double spaced. They had to listen to it while recording, then I listend to transcribe and then they listened a third time to proof it. Here is a sample of how the wording can be...

Q All right. Did you ever see the Cadillac at any point, go into the turn lane?
A No. When -- No. Because, when he came off the car he was right in the road. It was in the through lane.
Q Okay. You went over and talked to Mrs. Hobbs, the lady driving the car. Now tell us exactly what she -- David said tell her -- tell you -- tell her that I’m okay, and what did she say to you about just glancing back or what exactly did she tell you?
A If I’m remembering -- getting it right -- I don’t want to -- but what I’m saying is -- like, I said well David, David told me to come and find out how you were doing and don’t worry about him he’ll be okay and then she said, after a few minutes, like I said, she said like -- to the effect that she glanced off the road and she took her eyes off the road and when she looked back it just happened.

Some of them are hilarious.

Point is if you want to transcribe them you don't have to have any special schooling. My friend has never transcribed in her life and she picked it right up within a week.
Gross line is actual lines. sm
9 cpl if count is by 65 chars is not too much, IMO, for an experienced MT. If counting by gross lines, 7.5 c on a gross line equals about 9 cpl on a 65-char line, so if they use gross lines, it might sound low per line but it equals out in the end. A gross line is any line on the page. In other words, you can use your finger and count each line on the page that has words on it, and that's your line count. Most don't count blank lines. However, a lot depends on what they are including in that line, regardless. Are spaces included if 65-char line? Does the line count software count formatting changes (such as bold, underline, etc) If so, that will increase total line count. If not, it will decrease it. Gross line is usually a better deal unless the company is using a size 9 font or something or decrease the side margins. 11-12 size font with 1" margins is good with gross lines. The only thing that affects gross lines is the side margins or the font size. With 65-char line, font and margins don't affect it, which is why most go with that now. You take total characters (incl spaces if they pay for them, as someone else said) and divide by 65 to get total lines. Another thing to ask, if they use templates or normals, are the lines in those included? If not, that decreases total line count, too.

It's really hard for someone to say "this is the rate you should ask for" though, because there can be so much variability from company to company as far as what they count as a line. Also, is it clinic or acute care work? If clinic, generally easier and same docs all the time, so even at a lower line rate, you might make more in the end if you use expander, normals, templates, etc. Is there a platform or can you use Word and your own expander? If acute care where you have different docs all the time, a lot of ESLs, clunky platform, no Expander program, etc., it might slow you down so even with a higher line rate, you might not make as much in the long run. Therefore, you have to take all of that into consideration to arrive at what line rate you should charge or ask for ... almost have to adjust to each different company or client, really. For clinic work, 8-9 cents per 65-char line can net some good pay. For acute care, you might want more like 10-11 to get the same pay. Hope this all makes sense!
You may find that actual copies of the reports are also useful. sm
I did strictly OPs for two years. There were some doctors that I had to check 4 or 5 different reports for every time, just to find the subtle variations he used. I might have 4 copies of appendectomies for him, and need them all to complete a difficult one. Complete copies really are almost necessary, I think.
A "home" can be an actual house or an apartment. So,
to answer your question, you CAN say YES you rent a home.
The actual amount paid is irrelevant

more, but the value of it is more to them than it is to us.  For example, if you make $50 for a week's worth of work, do you think that's a lot in America?  Probably not.  But ask someone in a third world country if $50 is a lot of money to them and ask what it will buy them.


By offshoring work, the MTSO's are saving big bucks by paying foreign MTs far less than they pay us.  Therefore, there are many American MTs willing to accept a lower payrate for their work.  Thus, lowering the American standard of pay for this industry.  Got it?


actual typing time mess

I know exactly what you mean. We see it in E-mails all the time where I work. Although they aren't enforcing it, they do ask that we work our full shift AND get our lines in. I know Dictaphone Extext tracks your typing time and you can see that when you check your line count. It gets really depressing on the speech editing because actual typing time is a LOT less, so it takes longer to get my time in.


This is another way to get more out of the MTs. I think it's all crap, especially since if you were to go over 40 hours a week you won't get paid!


Yes, and that same jug of water costs how much after it's
been paid for with tax dollars, hauled in on trucks, and handed out by National Guardsmen and FEMA workers who are being paid and are away from their own families? That little jug of water costs more to the taxpayers than Perrier.
My son did too. It costs a lot and unless you're
a real people person who can SELL, you won't make any money and you'll spend a bundle. TURN AND RUN, don't walk away unless you're ready to LIVE IT! IT has to be all you think, talk, eat, use, buy, etc....and you won't make a bunch if you don't get people to sign up.
I cut my costs a year ago...
I have noticed very little difference. I get the same speed and the only things that inhibit that are the usual things such as when the ISP is doing an update etc. Everyone I know with different DSL companies have said the same. You can always go back up to the higher speed if it doesn't work well in your case. To me it was worth saving the extra $20/month
AT&T business costs
I pay 230 a month for three lines, unlimited long distance, and DSL on a business plan. The biggest difference is the DSL cost is higher, and they charge per jack on installation. As opposed to 20 per line, i pay a flat rate of 50 for the LD for all three lines.
hidden costs by being an IC

The taxes are more as an independent contractor.  period.


you pay the matching that the employer would pay.


Normally your benefits pkg from the hospital or employer of sick days, holidays, insurance, etc is worth about $10,000.  Somehow you have to absorb that with what you charge.  In addition to losing the matching the employer is paying.  Otherwise the company you are contracting with is making out like a bandit -- and you truly are coming out on the short end of the stick -- they know this -- and they are laughing up their sleeve until we wake up out here and start charging so they won't be coming out the winner in this all the time.  The very reason they OUTSOURCE is to get rid of those hidden costs and we now have taken on.


And then of course the hidden days down for work on computer, waiting for storms to pass, and the various and asundry responsibilities you take on and absorb that the company you are contracting with gets to turn loose of. 


 


p.s. and oh please don't pop up with ITS WORTH A LOT TO TYPE IN MY JAMMIES.  No, we are expected to be professional whether in Gucci or WalMart specials.  And we should be paid accordingly.  That argument doesn't fly.  and being home with the kids doesn't either.  Only one thing can be done at one time, and you can watch the kids or you can transcribe but you can't do both simultaneously.  The guilt factor may be less when one needs to do errands in the day -- but guess what -- while people are sleeping guess who is up into the night beating the keys.  No, this should not be a trade off.  It's a business like any other business who does a contract with another company. 


phone costs
Hi,

Cell phone runs 89 per month,, that is the whole package, unlimited internet access, free text, nights and weekends, etc,,,,and I was able to do away with home internet altogether. No longer have a land line or DSL at home so the savings there made up the difference
Actually, VR actually costs the client....sm
less money,which is why some are changing to it...to pay less for transcription, which is why WE get paid less. That is how it is with my company. So in essence, the company is taking a cut in pay as well....why else would anyone use it, including the MTSOs??? I'm just sayin'.
You are amazing!
God bless you for having such strength to move on in such a positive manner.
Yes, it is amazing.
I've been practicing, and it seems that the hardest part is typing the "i". I'll manage. I'm impressed by you. How hard you have it, divorced and mother of 3 with no support. My ex is a control freak jerk, but he pays me on time so he won't have to look bad to his family, and he or his family come through in a pinch where his kid is concerned. God bless you and your kids.
Amazing, but you know...
There are so many newbies right out of school who *think* they are really great, well-educated transcriptionists, and that is probably who will bid on that.  Either that or an Indian will bid on it.  I seriously doubt that anyone with all of the qualifications they specified would actually accept that.
that's amazing
Oophs. Sorry. That should be 1800 LINES in an 8-hour day. I usually proofread better than that! Sorry!
Yes he is just AMAZING
and a complete idiot. What is with that hair of his anyway.
Isn't it amazing
...the perception that many people have of "all" black people...the assumption that if we have obtained anything and made anything of ourselves, that it was handed to us by the government because we were "coddled".

I was raised by parents who were very poor, yet determined that I have a better life. I worked full time while attending Duke University and graduated with honors. During most of that time, I was an MT. I am still an MT and am working on my PhD in Psychology.

I find it to be very amusing that most racist people who look down on black people or choose to lump us all into the same filthy bucket - don't have a pot to piss in...no education whatsoever...and are just plain ignorant. We are all human beings who were created by God. There are many black people on this planet who are educated, hard working, productive, successful and decent people. Maybe if some of you ventured out of the woods sometime, you would know this.