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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

They were federal charges

Posted By: and I was hoping that he would on 2006-08-29
In Reply to: a lot of them leave prison and go to halfway - houses before being on their own....sm

go to a halfway house first, but I thought surely that the prison could tell me something, if that was the case?!  They just said he was out of custody and that's all they could tell me.  Thanks for the encouragement...it's appreciated!


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Federal holiday, banks and federal offices closed, but
schools and everything else open here. 
Federal ID #

If there is a "mother company" that is overall all the smaller companies sometimes the ID could be the same -- I think.  My husband drove a truck for Dalles Mavis that was owned by Active Transportation that all has other comanies.  All of hs W2 forms, etc. came from Active with their ID number on it though he worked directly for Dallas-Mavis.    Even when he moved to Texas and worked there instead of Oregon, his W2's all came from Active. 


They won't be saving anything since if you made $5000 from Company B and they deduct it from Company A, they will be paying taxes more taxes from Company B and less from Company A but again, if there is a corporation over all of the companies, it will all be merged in together to pay taxes on the "profit" from the corporation.   Just like being married, your husband can over withold and pay for your taxes because you merge your income together.   Just hopefully be requesting that they issue you another 1099 that they don't send both into the IRS and so the IRS thinks you made $10,000 and not $5,000.  


 


There is no such federal law! :)
Every employer has the right to answer questions about former employees. Most prefer to not go into too many details. Asking whether or not an employee is eligible for rehire is a very common question.


We did this. We went through HUD or some federal program
that loaned us the closing costs and down payment on a second mortgage.  It was paid off within five years.
You pay taxes to the Federal gov't, among others.
The question should not be about what taxes you pay and who gets the money. How governmental entities distribute the money is for them to worry about, not you. As an IC, you will have deductions available to you that are not available as an employee.

Only YOU can determine if the responsibility of being an IC is for you. There is so much more to IC status than taxes. My suggestion is to read up on what is involved in self-employment by checking out a book on entreprenurship from the library or do some reading on the Web. My guess is that you're not ready for this yet but you can be if you do your homework.
Is there federal money available

It occurred to me that it may be something we mention when writing/calling our government. 


I know that when Levi Strauss closed their factory in Roswell, NM, and sent it down to Mexico (thanks, NAFTA), they gave their workers money to retrain in a new profession.


Surely this is something that can be fought for.  We know darned well the MTSO's won't take money out of their own pocket to do this, but there was/is a government program called TAA which is supposed to help people who have lost work as a result of imports.  I think a case can be made for medical records transcribed overseas as qualifying as "imports". 


I found an old document on line at http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de8714x.pdf which describes that 3 or more workers who have been affected by imports can petition for federal money for assistance and retraining.  There's also JTPA/WIA which established one-stop career centers and I believe being laid off because of work being sent offshore (or just laid off, period) would qualify people for this program.


There's also this article, which I included a part of, that is talking about IT workers for Computer Sciences Corp (my brother happens to work for them and has survived the layoffs) filing suit....


*The department has long held that programmers who've lost jobs to cheaper, foreign workers aren't eligible for the TAA program because their employers, or employer's customers, are not importing a physical good in the same way as, say, steel manufacturers. A number of federal and state lawmakers have introduced bills that would automatically grant eligibility under the act to IT workers and other white collar professionals, but none has become law.


The labor department initially said that although CSC moved production of its Vantage-One insurance software from East Hartford to CSC India, the software was not an imported "article" as defined by the act. In a lawsuit, the workers asked the U.S. Court of International Trade to overturn the department's ruling. In January, trade court judge Nicholas Tsoucalas ordered the department to revisit the case, noting that, "Labor's interpretation of the law, that software code must be embodied on a physical medium to be an article under the Trade Act, is arbitrary and capricious."

In a Federal Register note published April 11, the Labor Department conceded the point and ruled that the four CSC workers would be eligible to apply for TAA assistance. In ruling, the department said it would henceforth look upon software, whether shipped into the U.S. on a disc or transmitted into the country via telecommunications networks, as a physical product.

Software and similar intangible goods that would have been considered articles for the purposes of the Trade Act if embodied in a physical medium will now be considered articles regardless of their method of transfer," the department wrote.*

Something to think about.

Also, I'm pretty sure we've been far OVERestimating how much money offshore people are paid for transcription.  Their companies might get 1 cent a line after it goes through 3 or 4 edits, but I'm pretty sure the person typing the report and mangling the English is paid more like 1/5 cent per line, which is still pretty good money for them.  My math is based on there being 40 rupees to a dollar, and 1/40 of 8 cents per line is 1/5 cent.  There was that article quoted on the company board from Manilla where they were gloating that their workers got $1 to $2 an hour and, if they're required to transcribe 1200 lines a day, that comes to 1/10 cent per line.  But that was back in 2005.

Back to the 1/5 cent.  So if the report goes through 3 or 4 edits, each getting paid their 1/5, then the Indian company keeps the 2 cents per line which is left over and our dear old MTSO here in the States charges the hospital what...11 cents?..pays our US MT 3 or 4 cents to edit.  So, 3 cents/line to the offshore company, 4 cents/line to our US editor, and the MTSO still pockets the 4 cents/line left over?  Why do you think we're seeing 7 cents/line more and more often as the going rate of pay?

Well, just some things to think about - I get my best ideas late, late at night!


Thanks for sharing this. If federal guidelines were followed,
the minimum wage earner could not even shop at Walmart---that's really sad!  This is just another point that shows that the government has obviously gotten too big for its people, $5.15 is a JOKE.  I'm glad some states actually have some sort of caring politicians.
Federal Govt program (sm)
I am going to ask my tax person about this. I am currently working for a company as an IC, but now I'm thinking it should actually be called SE status, since they withhold, what looks like, about 7% of my income for OASDI and medicare. I also worked for MQ as an SE and they took out FICA, so I think I'm okay for now. However, if I switch jobs, I will need to make sure this is taken care.
I don't think FEDERAL varies whereas state...sm

I think states set their own regulations but I do believe that Federal is all one set of rules/regulations.  The police might be able to tell you but I think you'd find out so much more via the internet if you know what state he is in.  I found someone in jail recently.  I put in her name and she is locked up and probably going to get the books slammed at her.  Very young nonthinking girl too. 


All states and even federales have websites.  You can type in INMATE information and then the state and all kinds of links will come up.  You can probably this way find his name at some institution and if paroled, call the institution he was paroled from and find out more details if possible.


BEST of luck on this!!!  The internet is great for finding even old friends (I found several 30+ years after being in contact).


Question for ICs about SS and federal tax. I am new at this and I am wondering if you can pay
your federal tax and SS more often than quarterly so it doesnt turn out to be so much money.  I would pay the State and Local quarterly but would like to pay the fed more often.  Anybody do this or just file quarterly.
Can anyone that is an IC tell me when you send in your quarterly Federal and SS is there anywhere
you can check to make sure your money had been credit properly to your account to avoid problems at the end of the year.
HIPAA is a federal law, not State.
I could be wrong but I don't think you need to get the office to sign anything.  You just need to be HIPAA compliant on your end.  Double check on this though.
Charges

I would really like to see the opinion of some of those who are so upset to see what they would do if they were running a MTSO and what they would charge to the client, pay the transcriptionist, pay for overhead, pay for QA and see what kind of a profit they would make.  I have only a small company and still have to take 30% plus type myself to make it worth while to cover the "non billable" hours that  I put it.  So if you are upset at getting only 9 cents per line what would you do if you ran the company?


 


 


charges

Tapes just switching to digital, depending on their volume 11.5 to 12.5 gross line.  I pick up and deliver, cut chart notes apart.  But great accounts and would not charge more as don't want to lose them.  Gross 55K per year with 6 docs.   Put in about 24 - 26 hours per week with delivery, printing, etc.  Pay on time, Christmas bonus, and have been with me for 5 to 15 years.


 


 


Charges

At least this company is being up front and telling you what they are charging the company and you do not have to wonder what they make off the account.  If you are making .975 per line that is pretty good pay for a sub/IC especially if you have the same account/docs, etc and can get down your shortcuts.   I am upfront with most of my subs/IC and tell them what portion I take for myself if they ask.  Don't hide anything.  You do not get rich off of having subs working for you when you pay a fair wage and that is why I expect good quality work.  


Patti


Charges

I have done seminars, interviews, and court proceedings as they use a tape recorder or a CD recorder now.  I charge a little more than my regular accounts as it is a one time shot but still charge 11 to 13 cents per gross line depending on the difficulty of the tapes/digital file.s


Patti


 


charges

Even though they pay most of your expenses, our cost of living has gone up.  It was hard for me to raise mine but I did and they did not say anything.  I try to figure out what I am making an hour and see how that goes.  But I hate raising 0.05 per line and so I usually do 1 cent every 2-3 years.   I have more expenses  that you but still like I said the cost of living still goes up and I am sure that they have raised their rates in the past two years.   But again, it all boils down to what you are making per hour and if that is okay with you then keep it and raise it if you are happy.   I still charge pretty low according the standards on this board but I make good money per hour and just cannot justify raising it to the 15 to 16 cpl if I am comfortable with what I am making per hour.   I am the one that I have to live with.


Patti


PA charges ..
I cannot tell you who might have the information, but I do know that the State of PA charges a tax for MT services.  You might want to call their Dept. of Revenue and inquire .. it would not be pleasant to get hit with it down the road and you know that you are then guilty without recourse save for paying!
charges

Lots of time with a speciality you will be able to set up a lot of templates, normals or wharevery you call them as they do the same thing or say the same thing over and over.  So with that in mind, I try to figure out what I need to make hourly and figure that out into a cpl.  It will be slower at first but as you get going you will make more since you will be used to the docs, etc.  I keep my charges lower than a lot but I make enough per hour to cover all my cost.  Out here in Oregon there are people charging .15 to .18 cpl but I am still at .115 to .12 cpl and I make good money and have good accounts.  But I am also gross line.  That is how I started out 18 years ago and have kept it that way and since two of my accounts have been with me for those 18 years they know no difference.    Again, look at the big picture and see what you need to make.  With all of the Expanders that we have now and the normals, etc.  especially for clinic notes and repetitive docs, you can make good money at 11 to 12 cpl.  Slower at first but it will get better.    Good luck.


 


Charges

Again more info is needed when asking this question. Need to know gross or character per line, margins, font used,tTAT, etc.  Are you contracting with a MTSO company or the insurance company?  Sometimes they let you know what they  will be paying you.   What type of reports?  Tapes or voice files?  Do you print or send back E-mail or what?    Are they interviews or finished reports?  You need to get samples of the work, ask a few more questions unless you know the above answers already.  But BALLPARK figure would be 0.12 to 0.14 per line but again depends on gross versus cpl and what type of reports.  I never quote a price without seeing what I will be typing.  Do a search as this subject has come up many, many times.    Patti


 


charges, TAT

Charge for pick up and delivery is in my cpl charge.  I do 24 hour TAT.  I have a locked briefcase I put the tapes in, in the trunk of the car if I stop anywhere.   Not many allow 48 TAT at least to my knowledge.  You pick up Friday's tape on Monday and return on Tues. 


 


Charges
I do daily pick up and delivery, print, cut apart chart notes on sticky paper, envelopes, and charge .125 cpl.  But this is Oregon and might be a little lower.  But I look more at what I am making per hour and I can average 400 to 500 lines per hour depending on how many consults, OPs, that I have.  If I suddenly went to .16 cpl I think that they would be looking for someone else.  Perhaps not.  But I make good money and cannot justify raising it right now.  But go for it all they can say is "no, we will look elsewhere".  But again figure out what you make per hour and see how that goes.   Never did like charging by the page.  Good luck, let us know what they say.
Charges
Can you get copies of the templates or a report to see how many lines there are or an approximate time to do a report.  Also will you have to retype the templates or will he give them to you?   Also you don't know how many he will make minor changes so that could be time consuming.  But I would probably do per page or report making sure that you equal out to $20 to $25 per hour.   When doing hourly they are always questioning if that time was spent and with page or report, there is no question.   But again without actually doing one, you are shooting in the dark for a price and be sure that he knows that the price could change if you find it is more work that it sounds.  Like I said, many templates are changed and sometimes that takes time and can screw up an entire report.    Good luck.  
Charges....sm
Be careful, when you go over bytes that they allow you, they usually charge a per byte used to connect to the internet......and it can get VERY expensive if you use the net a lot.
Marie, what type of federal job, is this still medical? nm
x
Section 8 housing. It's a federal program through HUD.
Google it "Section 8" housing to verify.
Probably 2 weeks and if i recall it will be on a Friday for Federal.
xx
Line charges
I had this done to me as well. From experience 1) be aware she will dump you. 2) Look for another account. 3) Be the dumper instead of the dumpee. Just go along to get along and get rid of them.
How are other MTs doing phone charges?..sm

With AT&T/SBC telling some of us it will now be 3 or 5 cents per minute because we are a business, how are MTs being able to afford paying anywhere from 400 to 600 per month in phone charges?


How are others doing this?  I know i would literally have to take on more work just to pay that bill.


Any feedback on what others do....


Dot


Phone charges
I don't know what anyone else is doing, but I'm contacting Lisa Madigan, Dick Durbin, and Barack Obama. I was told by SBC's business office that I am not a business.
phone charges

But you are using it to generate  an income and they will consider that a business.  Sorry that is the way that they think -- you are not conducting personal matters but matters to generate  an income.  Do you deduct your phone charges on your income tax form?   This is not the way I think but they way that they think.  I do not use my phone anymore than a residential but because I am an independent contractor, I must register as a business and my Comcast cable Internet Provider, my phone line is double that of a residential person -- have been paying double for almost 20 years.   They will get every and any penny that they can. 


 


AT&T/C-phone charges
My advice, get rid of AT&T, they suddenly, after taking over SBC, wanted to charge me 10 cents per telephone use while using my C-phone, said it was not considered a telephone call, but that data was being sent over line, so, another one bites the dust with them..am now with "WOW" for a 1/3 the cost and is great service.
Can I write off all my DSL charges
on taxes.  I assumed I could, but now somebody is telling me not if I use it for personal stuff that I would have to figure out how much I used it for personal, and how much I used it for work.  Of course I wouldn't have DSL if work did not require it, so why should I not be able to write off the whole cost. 
And do you know charges different according to where you live?
My rates for landline very high as compared to a person I know in smaller town, same thing, theirs was less than 20 and mine more than 40. Asked person at AT&T about this and waa told yes, it does make a difference in the charges.
MTSO charges
I do not believe that no one on this board knows how much is charged - I believe no one wants to say - I think that MTs, either employees or ICs would leave under great numbers if all was known about any MTSO.  I knew of one company that charged the client $25 per hour during the week and $27.50 on the weekends - that was to work in-house - some of the MTs were making $17.50 straight - weekday or weekend while others were making $11.00 - so you see - it varies and the MTSO's main concern is how much they are making - not so much what the MT is making - which is why we no longer make the money we used to - plus the outsourcing - but I know that it takes a lot more time to make any money than it used to.
really, that's what offshore charges?
are you kidding??? I work for a hospital in California and get paid 10 cents per 65 character line... i would hope that I am getting paid more than ESL workers!
I agree with "Snow Bunny" Federal govt. sm
Everyone new that New Orleans was pooooooooooooooooooooor
With state and Federal, you 40% of your earnings GO, bottom line.
I don't know what's up for debate, it's fact.

Housing prices have gone up 40% in the past year alone in California.
The federal gov't is urging paperless MR to save costs.
dd
you're right, it's federal but diff for each state...see link...sm

http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm


ALL STATES PAY MINIMUM WAGE DIFFERENTLY - i.e., Arizona says *No state minimum wage law.*


Here's how foster-to-adopt works on the federal level...sm
All non-Caucasian over age 1 automatically get adoption assistance. All Caucasian kids over age 8 get adoption assistance. If you adopt a sibling group that is more than 2 kids you get adoption assistance. All special needs children qualify for adoption assistance. Adoption assistance usually means Medicaid until they're 18 and in a lot of cases the monthly per diem rate is paid to the adoptive family. For the special needs kids, sibling groups and non-white children that meet the adoption assistance criteria generally the fees for adoption are reimbursed up to $2000 - which is pretty much what all of the attorneys charge for these adoptions since Child Protective Services/DFCS does the majority of the paperwork.

We're currently in the process of adopting our 6-year-old foster child who has lived with me since she was almost 5. The adoption should be finalized in January after my husband meets the 6 months residency requirement (we got married in June and he moved here from another state at that time).
Social security is part of Federal taxes

Your SS is figured in on your schedule C -- after your deductions you pay on your net income and that is added to your federal taxes and you send in one check and pay it all.  You can do quarterly if you do not have a husband to over withold from or if you are not an employee on another job.  Social Security and Federal taxes are not two entities -- but one.


Patti


Is there any danger putting bank acct# and routing# on federal tax (sm)
tax form so as to get your refund by direct deposit? Can someone use this info to their advantage?
Appropriate charges for hospital SR editing? SM
As a service owner providing transcription services (medical records, not pathology or radiology) to a large hospital, I was informed recently that the hospital is moving to speech recognition over the next couple of years. I foresee this to be a giant fiasco in general, but my specific question is this… I am wondering about my charges to the hospital and how they will/should be affected? I know the “powers that be” will expect me to lower my per line rate for SR editing (they currently pay 16 cpl for transcription), but I don’t have any idea what is appropriate. Has anyone had experience with such a scenario? Any input will be greatly appreciated.
My vet charges a $5 Prescription writing fee. (nt)

JLG charges $3.00 per minute of dictation.
I was shocked to see that my hospital was paying $3.00 per dictated minute to JLG. As contractors, we only got $1.50 per minute.
And if there were charges filed and case goes
to court then it would be beneficial to have "rape" documented.  I still can't believe that anyone thought it was necessary to change the wording. 
I figure income minus expenses, send 23% for federal and 7.5% to state--sm
quarterly. The state probably differs state to state, but that is the percentile my accountant came up with. Have never had to pay and additional.
data processing...medical charges
okay, so I've been doing medical data processing for a clinic for the past four months and the office lifestyle is NOT for me. Does anyone have information on work at home medical billing? I sure would like a nudge in the right direction. Thanks!
OMG - this company only CHARGES 1/cent a line. WTF?


What is this???/!!!!!!!! 


 .....quick, shoot them before they multiply!


 


_______________


http://usatasp.com/


"At a cost of only 1 cent per line, USA Tasp offers a Secure Web Enabled environment, which allows Medical Transcription Service Owner the ability to manage their dictations, transcription, quality of the medical record, invoicing, and payroll.


So, whether you have 5,000 lines per month or 500,000 lines per month, be assured that your cost per line remains the same."


irrelevant what MTSO charges the customer...
as long as you feel the price they pay you is sufficient for you. nuff said.