MQ pay cuts, My Two Cents
Posted By: MQ MT re pay on 2005-08-16
In Reply to: Can anyone tell me if you company had the audacity to cut your pay due to - MQ employee
When MQ first bought up the smaller co. I was with, all of the accounts were still intact. I was pleased when my office (Baltimore now, but at that time, still in the Herndon area) offered up increased pay differential for an extremely difficult account.. hallelujah, I thought... and thought that all the worries I had about the Big Bad MT Company eating up the small company I was with were maybe unwarranted. I jumped on this opportunity to actually get paid for doing more difficult work - but was told by my supervisor, well, you already make too much money per line (actually, per 1,000 characters at the time). She of course welcomed me to the account at regular pay - I passed!
Add in that I have not had a pay raise since this same time frame (7 years) ... not exactly a direct pay cut, I guess, and add in the seemingly unprovable decreased pay over the last 7 years... well, that's my 2 Cents. None of it makes sense.
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We got cuts when we went to VR.
nm
And we got cuts when we went on DQS.
 Actually, I guess you can't say they gave us an actual pay cut, HOWEVER, you sure don't make the money you made on the old platform. That also isn't true because you can make the same money - it just takes LOTS longer. In my eyes, that is a pay cut.
MQ pay cuts
I'm rather new to this board, so forgive me if this has already been discussed. I work for MQ as a SE and received the "letter" but I know nothing about pay cuts. Have I missed something?
Yes, they do so many more cuts because...
they have to do them so fast to keep up the quota. I reluctantly took my 2 kids there a couple weeks ago and yet again (it happened a couple years ago too), they could not even trim a child's hair. I actually had to send my daughter back to the chair because there were long pieces of hair hanging down past the level of her hair. My other daughter looked like she went 3 rounds with a weed whacker... I had to pay more money to have it fixed at another place. This was 2 different stylists, more than one event. They are know in the stylist world as "chop shops" I have gone cheap and I have paid more and I can definitely tell the difference.
There need to be cuts
What's wrong with someone receiving medicaid paying a copayment? I hear grumbling over this all the time, but you sure see some of them in the grocery store buying an expensive 24 pack of beer, yet they want to complain over paying a 10.00 copay? Medicaid was designed to be temporary assistance, not a way of life. I have no problem with helping lower income, but not handouts. I have neighbors in their 20s, healthy as horses, who don't even try to work. They have 4 children with them, the husband has 2 by other women, and they collect 700 a month in stamps plus 300 in cash because she claims he doesn't live there. They do NOTHING, nada
As for Medicare, I believe if retirees make over a certain income they should not be eligible at all. I read that even retired movie stars worth millions of dollars get full medicare benefits.
Cuts
I used to work for Kodak and as most everybody knows they went through years of layoffs and always around this time of year. The reasoning for it was that the department heads had to have their budgets in for the following year and so you had to cut everyone before the new year started. It sucks but that is they way corporate America works.
Dee
12 cents. I'd love to make 12 cents. sm
a line as an employee. 17 years acute care experiencing doing all work types and I only make 9 cpl plus incentives.
Possible pay cuts, my experience so far
I have been with MQ since 1998 and have 20 years experience as an MT, editor, and MT instructor. I currently make 10 cents per line and in past yrs have been told I am at the top of various tiers also, so not eligible for raise (for life??) bonuses (some, not all), etc. I too received the letter mentioned above, the one about rewarding "YOU for your skill and performance."
I am still on INET, though attempted without success to move to DQS (only have dial-up available where I live, and the ADT searches and other processes were a nightmare without some sort of high-speed internet). In the process of almost going to DQS, my pay conversion remained the same, 10 cents per line. Though this may sound higher than others are making, I have been making the same thing for 8 years now - but yes, compared to what I see on this board that other MQ-ers are making who have same experience or more, I am grateful and surprised. The company I was with that MQ bought out gave us decent raises, and I had just received one before MQ acquired us, and it carried over, thankfully. Little did I know it would be my last raise for that many years.
Anyway, I eventually will have to go to DQS even on dial-up, pay an arm and a leg for satellite, or quit and go to a new company - all options, woohoo, involve pay cuts. I can't even imagine an additional pay cut for ASR, as this makes no sense to me. ASR is an AID, no different than Expander programs (do we get paid less for other things that make us more productive??!) We should get paid for whatever characters/lines we modify on an ASR report and get paid the same as we would for doing straight MT work. Maybe this has already been said here, sorry if repeat!
So, I am wondering what they will knock my pay down to when I finally get over to DQS and get put on the ASR reports... I'm not sure I will accept this pay cut either.
On another note, I am glad for those of you who are getting paid so well by MQ, have great supervisors, have lots of work, and just love DQS - that is great, it truly is. But, it's simply not that way for a lot of the rest of us. I appreciate being able to speak of my true experience here on this board. So, thanks for listening.
MQ pay cuts, more info
I just got a call from Corporate and I asked them specifically if they were going to cut the charges to the client the same amount of the pay cuts to the employees and she said Yes, they are............... I found that interesting  as long as it is indeed true.
She only cuts 3. By hand. That's all.
x
Short cuts
Ctrl U - underline
Ctrl A - blocks all
Ctrl S - saves
Ctrl X - deletes
Ctrl C- copies
Ctrl V - pastes
. . . and my favorite Ctrl Z - brings back something you accidental delete.
I hardly ever use my mouse as it breaks my rhythm and slows me down. If I think of anymore I will send them your way. Did you know that if you hold down your Ctrl key and use the arrows you can move around a document that way?
short-cuts
I've lost my short-cuts...could I have hit a key on my keyboard? Thanks!!
ME versus MT, the pay cuts only apply to
those who do ASR (automated speech recognition), now being referred to by MQ at ME (Medical Editors). If you do not do ASR it would not apply, if you do you should receive a letter stating a 20% pay cut for same, or option to quit doing it at all and just do MT.
Inside gives a summary of cuts about to come
E-mail this page to a friend!
House Passes Budget Bill with Biggest Cuts in Medicaid, Medicare
Cuts $99.3 billion over 10 years - 27% from Medicaid, 23% from Medicare.
Feb. 1, 2006 – It's done. The House has passed and sent to President Bush the budget reconciliation bill that was strongly opposed by most senior citizen advocacy groups and newspaper editorials due to the deep cuts it makes in Medicaid and Medicare. It was a very close vote – 216 to 214. The bill cuts the budget by $38.8 billion over five years – 50 percent of the cuts are in Medicaid and Medicare.
Related Stories
Final House Vote on Budget Bill Could Cut Billions from Senior Programs
Passage expected Wednesday to cut Medicare, Medicaid
Jan. 30, 2006 – The Budget Reconciliation Bill, which many see as making drastic cuts in government programs for senior citizens – Medicaid and Medicare, is expected to hit the House floor on Wednesday for a final vote, the day after the President's State of the Union address. As reported today by the Capitol Hill Watch at KaiserNet.org, the bill will reduce federal spending by $99.3 billion over 10 years, with half of that coming from these senior programs. The Congressional Budget Office analysis says premiums for Medicaid beneficiaries in the bill could cause 110,000 to lose coverage by 2015. Read more...
Senate Budget Chair Calls for More Cuts in Medicare
Republicans to recycle old failed issues in 2006
Jan. 26, 2006 – The Republican chairman of the Senate Budget Committee is calling for more cuts in health care programs in fiscal 2007, which includes Medicare, according to The Daily Health Policy Report by KaiserNetwork.org, which cites CQ Today. The daily news summary says Republicans will also be targeting health care proposals this year, but most are proposals that have failed in the past. Read more...
• Homecare Industry Rallying Support to Kill Reconciliation Act
• Television Campaign to Stop Health Care Cuts for Seniors Launched by AFSCME
• Vote on Budget Set for Feb. 1; Senior Groups Seek to Sway GOP Moderates
The House first passed the bill on Dec. 19, 2005, by a vote of 212-206. It went to the Senate, where it passed by only one vote – 51-50. Due to procedural changes in the Senate, it had to go back to the House for this final vote. There was intensive lobbying by the senior citizen advocates and others since the Senate vote on Dec. 21, 2005, but they came only four votes closer.
The final vote was mostly along party lines, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats in opposition.
AARP CEO, Bill Novelli, quickly issued the following statement:
"Last night, in his State of the Union Address, the President said, "Keeping America competitive requires affordable health care. Our government has a responsibility to help provide health care for the poor and the elderly, and we are meeting that responsibility."
"Today the U.S. House of Representatives has turned a cold shoulder to that responsibility by further limiting eligibility for Medicaid, a program that serves the neediest -- the disabled, children, the poor and the elderly. It also approved a provision in its budget that will deny long-term care coverage to those who give money to charities, churches and family members in need.
"Working with our members, AARP will continue the fight to have this ill-conceived policy reversed."
The bill would save $99.3 billion over 10 years, with half of that coming from Medicaid and Medicare - 27% from Medicaid and 23% from Medicare.
There's also $1 billion in new spending to extend an income subsidy program for dairy farmers and a reprieve for physicians who had faced a 4 percent cut in Medicare fees, according to the Associated Press.
A major boost to opponents was an estimate issued by the Congressional Budget Office estimating that 45,000 Medicaid beneficiaries would lose their coverage in FY 2010 because of higher premiums in the bill. The CBO report also estimated 65,000 beneficiaries would lose coverage in FY 2015.
Children would account for 60% of the Medicaid beneficiaries who would lose coverage, according to the report.
The report also estimates that 13 million Medicaid beneficiaries would have new or higher copayments for services such as physician visits and hospital care. In addition, 13 million Medicaid beneficiaries would pay more for prescription drugs by 2010, and 20 million would pay more by 2015, the report states.
According to the report, "About 80% of the savings from higher cost-sharing would be due to decreased use of services." The report estimates that 1.3 million Medicaid beneficiaries would have to pay premiums and that 1.6 million would lose benefits, most likely for dental, vision and mental health services.
In addition, the report estimates that 15% of Medicaid long-term care beneficiaries would have their coverage delayed because of additional restrictions on asset transfers.
The asset transfer provisions in the bill would impose punitive new restrictions on the ability of the elderly to transfer assets before qualifying for Medicaid coverage of nursing home care. (Click here to read these provisions.)
That is true of ANY job. Cuts happen everywhere.
Companies do the same thing consumers do: Look for ways to get the most for less. It's actually a rather natural process.
Any job can change in its direction, its stability, etc., as our economic, technologic and global relationship status change constantly.
The only security anyone has is to be prepared with continuing education in more than 1 field, low debt load, high savings -- really living within your means, and keep good insurance.
JMO
We do use dx for diagnosis, and all the short cuts expanders
dd
Radiology MTs - Major cuts in outpatient
imaging by Congress - called the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Signed by Bush in December. Over five years will amount to 20 Billion dollars cut from outpatient imaging payments for Medicare and medicaid patients. This will have a ripple effect. Private insurers soon will follow suit. Posted the DRA but it was removed by Administrator.... This will have a detrimental effect on us all, as cuts will begin occurring in every aspect of radiology.
Here is a comprehensive article. Please do not remove this post for one day, Administrator. This will impact MTs in radiology significantly.
imagingBiz.com - The Information Service of the Imaging Center Institute
This way works, too, but using the ;yo or ;py cuts down on hitting the spacebar
nn
Cuts in medicare and medicaid are about to take place
I have mentioned this but it was always deleted as I think the monitor thought I was talking politics.
There will be a marked decline in coverage for services to medicare and medicaid patients and I believe to offset this, medical facilities are finding ways to cut costs.
The cuts will be significant. You could do a Google search for Deficit Reduction Act. Radiology will be most severely hit, especially stand alone facilities.
DQS short-cuts to Word 2003? HELP!
Does anyone know how to do this. I have been searching and searching for info and cannot find anything. Please help! Thanks. 
Acusis is giving workers 30% pay cuts?
XX
Love the serrated bread knife! Cuts everything!! nm
s
Please back you info up. Pay cuts have not been announced. Have you received a letter? nm.
nm.
Ummm--read her post again, please--it don't say *keyboard* short cuts..it says *word* shortcuts
duh!
8 cents versus 9 cents
Wait a minute....9/55 is to 8/65....would not 9/55 be significantly higher pay than 8/64 (spaces are not counted in either case)?
8 cents a line. Should be 10 cents for over 10 yrs exp but
b
Depends on the file format of the Short Cuts file.
ShortHand comes with a utility file that can import various formats. You can get that file with the trial download of SH.
Depends on the file format of the Short Cuts file.
ShortHand comes with a utility file that can import various formats. You can get that file with the trial download of SH.
Maybe it is cents a day. nm
You do mean 7.25 cents, right? . . .
 Otherwise, you are working way too cheap. Those darned decimals!
My 2 cents
They also say that the end of the world will be preceded by natural disasters. Think about it, we have had the Tsunami and now Katrina - perhaps the end of the world is approaching, however I do not ponder these thoughts. Only God knows why, when, and how.
My personal opinion is that all will be fine. With hundreds of thousands of reports being done daily, albeit transcribers or machines, editing will still need to be done. Also, in my opinion, there are a lot of old-fashioned doctors out there who will never go for VR.
6 cents!!!!!!
People who work for this crap money are the ones helping to ruin the transcription industry!!!
my 2 cents too!
You should take your computer to a computer shop and have it looked at. There are ways to have it locked up, I have my in lockdown mode and no one can get in except my son, he is the one that locked it down, (CSE), so take it somewhere and have it done or they will continue to hack you! Good luck.
My 2 cents
I think the touch is somewhat better than the original MS "Natural" model. Seems to be quiet, no clacking. However, the letter "i" is giving me fits for whatever reason, although this is my first night using it. Space bar feels a bit funny too.
The function keys are a bit smaller and hard to read if you're in the bifocal set like me. The zoom feature is pretty neat, as is the calculator function.
I think I will eventually get the hang of it and I do find it to be comfortable. I'm not a big fan of MS hardware, having once spent $$$ on a trackball that I could never quite get to work and didn't like the lack of product support, but this thing is a winner.
Well ....my 2 cents......
If I wanted to work mandatory OT... I sure the heck would not be working at home!
My 2 cents sm
Grr...sometimes I get a little cranky when it seems I am the only one who doesn't return the 25 minute blah, blah, blah progress notes that are behind TAT because everyone else skips them. However, with my company this is recognized and rewarded. I will get the cherries routed to me by my supe and have been told that once my minimun daily line count is met, I may cherry pick to my heart's content.
I chose not to cherry pick because I think it's important to maintain my own integrity. Why waste precious energy on on another person's lack of value for their own integrity? What goes around comes around, in some way or another.
I'm going to go have a cherry ;)
My two cents
Unfortunately, most platforms do not have a built in feature in which to provide feedback to MTs. It is standard to have to use a software other than the platform to provide feedback.
I suggest you speak with your supervisor about your concerns of low production. If he/she cannot offer any suggestions that may improve your level of productivity I'd start looking elsewhere. Please keep in mind that if you decide to seek another QA position you will likely have the same problem.
My 2 cents....
I have no problem with saying Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Joyous Kwanzaa, Seasons Greetings, or Happy National Potato Week.... Whatever floats your boat. But when saying ANY of those is BANNED, I have a problem. Can you imagine if we only banned saying Happy Hanukkah? That would never happen. So why is it okay to ban Merry Christmas? Americans wouldn't know a theocracy if it ran over them. Everybody needs to relax. The only theocracy we might ever see is if we go soft on fighting these Islamofascists who seek to destroy us.
My 2 cents
Well, I think speech recognition is definitely growing, but I think 3 to 5 years is exaggerated. When I worked in house, quite a few rad MTs got laid off because of VR, but they still had to keep a few for the difficut ESLs. I work for a hospital at home now. This is a large teaching hospital and they still hand-write the majority of their reports (H&Ps, consults, etc.). They are working on dictating these in the future, but I just can't at all see things turning totally to VR in 3 to 5 years. I think there will always be hospitals who want to have MTs, plus there are a lot of private doctors out there and clinics who need MTs. Yes, I think the demand for MTs in general may decrease, but in my opinion there will always be some demand. I suggest to broaden your experiences and don't limit yourself to one work type or specialty. The more experience and versatility you have, the more marketable you will be in the future.
just my 2 cents.....sm
not a prude here but what I don't like about this show is all these SO-CALLED MEDICAL PEOPLE (characters) having all this unprotected sex.......in the 21st Century....where sexually transmitted diseases have the potential to KILL. And at 10 pm when it is shown on the East Coast, teenagers are watching......*tsk tsk*
just my 2 cents.....
These kind of things are probably better handled if you don't let him think you need his okay for everything...go apply, sign up, and then let him know on these nights and times you will not be at home, that this is a done deal...all the responsibility for the children will be his. He probably will react negatively at first, but what is he going to do? Move out? Now come home?
Also, first check and make sure there is a market for a dental hygienist in your area. My niece has to travel 1 hour to work as a dental hygienist every day, and the local market is very tight. Good luck!
my 2 cents
I don't always send corrections back. It depends on how busy I am, how many blanks you left, whether knowing what the blanks were will make you a better MT, how new you are to us, how new you are to MT, how long you've been on the account, etc. I always respond when someone specifically requests their corrections.
My 2 cents
I am a hospital coder by day, home MT after hours. I have my CCS (certified coding specialist) certificate and have been coding in house for 6 years. I must be honest and say that I make more money transcribing part-time than I do coding full time. MT pays by the line, you write your own check depending on how hard you work. In house coding is not only hard to breat into but usually pays by the hour.
And here's my 2 cents.
Before I would see a chiropractor, I would have anything medical ruled out by a MEDICAL doctor. Like the above poster, I would be very careful about having anyone snap my neck around. People have been injured. Once a doctor has ruled out anything wrong that would require traditional medical treatment, then maybe I would see a reputable well-recommended chiropractor. That being said, there are some warning signs when you do see one. If he has charts in his office showing spots on the body that control things like digestion or renal function, or talks about curing everything from toe fungus to a brain tumor with chiropractic manipulation, then RUN. And finally, if he tells you he needs to see you on a daily basis or every other day basis... Forget it, he's a money grabber. I saw a chiropractor once that was included in my HMO group, and he saw me twice, I felt great afterwards, and that was it. It was just a muscle spasm problem in the lower back. Just proceed carefully.
My 2 cents
I'm not really sure what to tell you here. If you are having a hard time making production, then perhaps you should ask to be moved to another account that is less demanding. I am a newbie myself and I jumped in with both feet. I transcribe for an acute care hospital and I love it. I'm not really sure how you can become bored with it so soon. With acute care there is a very wide variety of reports on a daily basis. I do everything...from ER notes, to OP report, H&Ps, procedure reports, discharge summaries, psych evaluations, hospice notes, death summaries, etc. I would think you would get bored faster by switching to an account where you did the very same thing every day, which is what you would be doing on a psych account. But, that is just my opinion. If you need to do that to get your production up, then by all means, go for it, but having experience in acute care will benefit you in the long run.
2 cents
I posted the second "opinion" and wanted to add that I do not disagree with you at all. I totally believe that acute care is one of the best ways for experience. I just wanted to point out that if this person is overwhelmed, stepping back a notch might be a good way to go. I would like to note that I do not get bored with orthropedics.
Just My Two Cents
I got into MT because I found myself a single mom and needed to work from home. I can't say that I've made much money - we barely get by - but, the staying at home part I do not regret. I've been working for the same group for 5 years and I'm burned out. I haven't had a vacation, don't get sick days, paid vacations, or any benefits for that matter. I'm looking to get out of MT and back into making some money in a "normal job" to pay for college (two in college now) and retirement for myself. I've been very disappointed with the MT world/pay and am looking forward to getting out! Pay versus time spent is just not worth it to me. Being able to work from home was the only plus in my book. Just my two cents.
here's my 2 cents........
Well, first of all, I do understand what you're saying about having a different perspective on things. I've been doing this for 28 years and I definitely believe I have some medical knowledge under my belt and can think for myself about some things. Unfortunately, we also have several pharmacists in our family (in-laws)and they definitely know their medications, they just don't know the other aspects of it, the medical side, the side I see every day. And, you can tell, they don't think for a minute I know anything about the medical field. They ask questions like, "Are you still TYPING?, or "I don't know how you sit there all day TYPING for doctors, they would bore me", as if that's all there is to it. Or the big one: "I have a friend who can type good, maybe you can tell her how to get a job typing for a doctor. so, when I remind them of my degree and all the years of study put into this, that I'm not just a typist, you can see their eyes glaze over, because they just don't get it. But, I do get in my punches when they're talking about "pills" and how to give them or the makeup of them, but look blank when asked about a real-live medical condition and what that is. I just give a very off-handed explanation and let it go..they all sit there looking the other way, as if I just spoke "OUT OF TURN", after all, children should be seen and not heard.
Don't let your mother influence your feelings. If you're concerned for your aunt, see if you can find the doctor or speak to him over the phone and voice your concerns. If you don't, who will?
I don't proclaim to have the knowledge of a doctor or RN (well, at least not an RN with years of experience), but 28 years in this business does give us quite a bit of knowledge under our belts....we're not ignorant. Like a friend said, who is an RN, "How do you think they became doctors or I became an RN? They read, read, and read some more". So, she doesn't blow me off.
Doctors say to participate in your treatment, but it has been my experience they DON'T REALLY want you to know or ask anything, just be a good little patient and do as I say.
I say if you can be in the room when your aunt's doctor comes in or speak to him over the phone, you should ask these questions. Don't worry about what your mother thinks. Just because she doesn't want to admit you may know something about this field, doesn't mean you shouldn't express your concerns to the doctor. Speak up for your aunt.
Now, I'll get down off of my soapbox.
2 cents
In one post you basically itemized partly what you would need to give a lawyer if you were to file for a divorce - division of debts. The only other issues would be division of any assets and custody.
Next I noticed that you referred twice to _your_ son, not _our_ son (indicating to me you feel more invested in the child and not acknowledging his parentage).
Next you have this offer of a house that is trashed to help out your family and you take the stand that you will fight for your house. Having been there and done that, if YOU move into that house, it will be held over your head until you die (not just if you were to ever move out even on good terms). Also his family will become even more intertwined in your marriage than they already shouldn't be.
Others may disagree with what I'm about to say as being underhanded and mean, but I will tell you that if you want to be respected, you have to show you are willing to stand up for yourself. In your case, you have many people to stand up to.
You are mentally prepared to be separated, well, as I have read your posts. Go to that house and clean the bathroom, the kitchen and a bedroom. Find calmness within yourself as you do this. Then offer your husband the key to the house, a truck to move his belongings and invite him to live in it...alone. Don't fight. Load the truck yourself before he wakes up if you have to. Tell him you love him (if that is a sincere emotion) and that in order for the two of you to work out your problems, sometimes being apart can bring a couple together. File a notice in your local paper for 7 days that you are no longer responsible for any of his financial responsibilities. If he won't leave, tell him you will need to call someone to help him. When he is gone, change all the locks.
This is an extreme measure and in my case, I got what I wanted - permanent elimination of the man from my life. Think this over carefully before acting on it because you could lose your family; however, it seems to me - IMHO - that you are already in a place where you are thinking of yourself, your son, and your home as your priority. When my family (meaning his and mine) got overly involved in my marriage, it ended any hope of saving it. Think about how long you can emotionally and financially carry the baggage you currently do.
As I said, just 2 cents...
my 2 cents
Seems like most marrieds who argue - argue over money! I think the disability takes it toll on people - he feeling less like the provider and his parents feeling like they should jump in and "baby" him. My husband was hurt very bad in an accident and things haven't been the same since. I think I can relate! I do agree with the earlier poster who says the tie with the parents isn't good for your marriage. You two should be as one - with the two of you making your own decisions, etc. If you both love each other and want it to work you probably should talk to someone on the outside to get help working things out. It would probably help if you felt appreciated for the load you carry. He may feel so low about his situation that he may not express that to you often enough. If you are a giving person and it sounds like you are, you probably keep giving and now feeling like the parents are showing a lack of trust on your part feels like a stab in the back! Try to find some outside support for yourself - I would suggest a ladies group at a local church. Just getting out and going to a Bible study or coffee and not so much caregiving (son and husband) would be good for you! Remember Marriage is God's Design for Man and Woman and he has the answers! I wish you luck and God's Blessings on your marriage. CB
To My 2 Cents
I respect your opinion, but I gotta tell you -- if I was looking to hire ICs and they gave me that response about meeting my client's TAT, that resume would go into the shredder and I would move on to the next one.
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