Recent Article on the Time Warner Cable rate trial

I saw this article yesterday in the news.  I back tracked and found a link to it:

Time Warner Cable to Trial Usage-based Billing Scheme for High-speed Internet

• OF INTEREST TO ALL TIME WARNER CUSTOMERS...THEY ARE GOING TO START CHARGING FOR USAGE AND NOT A FLAT - Charlene
  • Recent Article on the Time Warner Cable rate trial - pam
  • Pay for amount of usage -- might not be bad idea - Patti
  • IF you read the article you will notice is - me
  • Here is the article on Foxnews.com. Cable companies will tell you only what you want to hear. Lear - NM
    • Learned my lesson with Mediacom. Sorry whole message did not appear. - NM
  • Huh??? I just called Timewarner myself - SM - ERMT
  • I haven't read any of the other replies regarding Time Warner - LinK
  • Take a chill pill - Me
  • Here is the article - Charlene
    • What is the date of this article? - doubter
      • Perhaps you are right. This one is dated today. The original article was on Yahoo today also with - Charlene
    • I could switch to DSL but the phone company charges 50 extra a month for being on line for more than - Charlene
      • Not that this is going to be any consolation but.... - has DSL no cable
  • I was getting ready to, but they didn't have it in my area. - Just as well now, looks like.

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This really sucks as the article said it would impact heavy users only.  My cable bill is already high but to be charged for actual using will skyrocket my bill.  I think I could spit nails right now.  I can post the article if anyone is interested.  They said it will be a trial period.  Anyone else use Time Warner?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,323551,00.html

Here is a link regarding the lawsuit from FEBRUARY, 2005 for which you will need Acrobat reader.

http://deflaw.com/medquist_add.pdf

Here is MQ e-mail which was followed up by hard copy in US mail regarding MT lawsuit. 

July 14, 2005

We would like to thank you for your continued service and support. We know that the key to our success is the people who work so hard for our customers everyday.

At MedQuist, we are determined to become the medical transcription provider of choice for statutory employees. Over the past several months, with your help and input, we have been working on developing a pay plan and comprehensive benefit program that will enable us to set the standard in the industry. We recently announced significant changes to our benefits program for full time employee transcriptionists and within the next few months, MedQuist will be announcing a new pay plan that will address the feedback we received from medical transcriptionists in response to our survey on pay issues.

The lawsuit is VERY MUCH ALIVE AND WELL and as some of the more sophisticated posters realize, it takes time for DISCOVERY allowing both sides to attack and defend their position.  And MQ stock is STILL delisted as not even MQ can figure out cooked books based on illegal billing for which ANOTHER lawsuit is STILL pending against MQ by the clients.  And as the MQ stock remains delisted for cooked books and illegal billing the shareholders in MQ stock have YET ANOTHER lawsuit still pending. 

something terribly wrong wtih this industry today.  While other industries are getting raises, we are having our work devaluated to the point where we can hardly earn enough to live.  It's not like just anyone off the street can do this kind of work, it takes a lot of training.  It's not even treated like a profession any more. 

Personally, I will not feed into the low pay.  If a company offers me 7 to 9 cpl, I let them know that it is an insult to expect an experienced, highly skilled Transcriptionist to be offered such low pay and I refuse to work for them.  These companies need to come on in to the 21st century and offer pay that is more in line with the economy. 

I really think some of these MT companies should read the comments on these boards with regard to the cpl they are offering.  It might (?) give them a wake-up call.

Hang in there!  You can overcome a chronic illness and empower yourself.  It ain't easy, but doable.  Been that way for 12 years now.

Just make sure you file the disability with a disability attorney. SS is very well known for denying claims usually twice, then court before they grant it.  This waste many many months and tires us that are already tired, out.  You need all your energy to fight the disease, not for your rights to supplemental income you've paid for all these years. 

Your children will also receive dependent benefits until they reach 18, so again, get an experienced dis. atty.  Hang in there

Everything that I find in the archives is old.  I have already been offered a position with 1 and waiting on an interview with the other.  I have chosen IC status for both because I just cannot comply with the strict schedules that these companies have now.  I have tried being an employee but after 10 years of being an IC and working when I want, schedules are tough.  Does anyone have any advice please?

I just finished school back in Nov. of 2005. I've been looking and looking for a job online and still have had no luck. The only response I seem to get bac from anyone is that I don't have enough experience. Does anyone have any pointers on what I should I do, or how I should approach this field? Please help me!!! I don't know what to do anymore!!

I graduated this year from a community college which used the Career Step program in addition to some other courses.  It was all done online.  I have been working for 3 months, and have learned almost as much from working as from school so far.  The difference is that you are doing 800-1200 lines a day so you are exposed to a lot more information.  However, I don't believe I would have passed the entrance exams without everything I did pick up with the schooling. 

I would definitely encourage formal training of some sort because it is such a competitive industry.  I honestly don't think you could get hired from home, or pass an entrance exam without a good deal of training.  The 98% accuracy they are looking for on their tests is tough to hit without very strong grammar, med terminology, and AAMT/AHDI standards knowledge.  I am not making much money now, but I know within a year it will be different.  I am home and that is invaluable to me!

Good luck! 

Two decades of hospital experience here.  Applied at about 6 different large companies.  Some of the pay was atrocious (.07), some was fair (.08).  One offered .085 but had to work the hours precisely as they demanded as an IC with no flexibility and told me up front it was an extremely difficult and high ESL account.  (Now I realize that someone has to type those hard dictators, but would prefer that they be mixed in with an easier account -- been there and done that as far as an 80 percent HARD ESL account).

Of course I didn't take any of them and now I wish I had told them the pay was too low and that it was insulting.  I was not tempted to accept any of those jobs.  The recruiters for the most part acted as if I should be honored to be offered such a cruddy job with them!!  These were all companies who advertise heavily on the MT boards and perhaps that is why they are constantly advertising.

I took a job with a very small company who has decent accounts and were eager to pay me a better wage so I know they are out there.  I had interaction with 2 such smaller companies who offered good pay.

I really hate to see to see good transcriptionists take jobs that offer so little in return for our services as it hurts us all in the long run.

there is the thread about podiatry, posts about companies, posts about cherry picking,  ESLs taking over, this company is the best.     How many hundreds of us are on these boards???   Its a good thing we are all individuals - and there is so much work out there because one type of person could not do all the types of work.  Not everyone wants to work for big corporation  - not everyone wants to run their own MT service.

Some of us hate short little clinic notes, some hate long operative reports.  Some love radiology, others want to type IMEs. Never work for a company that IMs you all day vs  this company never gives feedback.

Where I  recently worked - we always used to leave behind certain reports for the late shift person, stuff we all thought she loved until one day she complained - how come I HAVE TO DO ALL the _____ studies..  Its kinda funny- you might think someone is cherrypicking all the CT's and they think they are doing you a favor by leaving short reports. 

Of course NO ONE likes the really awful individual dictators, whether it is ESL or chewers, the accounts that have a million details or QA that keeps changing. I think most of us know you have to take some bad with the good and when you TRY to do the tuff stuff, the good stuff becomes easier.

So  when someone comes to vent - cut them some slack - who cares about typos here - we all know that when we are working, we use our spellchecks and pay attention to details. 

When I take time to answer on this board, it is never with judgement - I always try to say "in MY experience, psych reports are bad because ..."  or when I worked for  XYZ company, they did not count lines correctly.  You cannot make generalities about  a profession as varied as this one. 

I come here for information AND entertainment - it does take a certain type of person to do this work -  that has nothing to do with the skills involved - and I think we share an understanding of each other, even as we argue over everything.    We all saw a part of ourselves in the recently posted "You Might Be a Transcriptionist If..." and we all laughed as we shook our heads. 

Sad to say I am about to make the decision to try a career change - I cannot push myself anymore (after almost 30 years) to produce enough lines to make the money I need - thats not to say it can't be done these days, just that I don't want to/can't  work that hard anymore. 

Although I am married and it doesn't pertain to me...

The financial aid officer told all the parents there that if their child is 22, living with them or not, their finances will be looked at and considered when the kid goes to college.  So if you boot your kid out the door at 22, consider the fact that if you make too much money, your kid may not be able to afford to go to college without your help because their student loans, scholarships, etc. will be based on both the student's income and the parents.  If they are married or have children parent's income is not a factor, only the student.

that you wouldn't mind sharing.  I heard that they used to drop your pay based on how many reports you send to be QA'd.  Is it really that way?  Just want to know before I would consider applying.

I read this just last night, as I too have been researching and gleaning information regarding the future of MT and pondering making any career changes.

http://govhealthit.com/Articles/2009/01/07/Spending-on-health-IT-would-generate-212105-jobs.aspx

EXCERPT:

The analysis found that a $10 billion health IT stimulus program would create or retain 43,410 jobs directly, most of them in areas such as software and hardware sales and system installation. Another 115,670 jobs would be created or retained indirectly, in areas such as sales of trucks and food to those holding the new jobs.

And the availability of new and improved networks and information would create 53,025 jobs, the foundation reported.

Stephen Ezell, a senior analyst at ITIF, said in answer to a reporter’s question that the analysis did not take into account the potential loss of jobs in areas such as medical records management and transcription of physicians’ notes.

Quite a few posters who have been MTs for a number of years (myself included) have come under attack recently for comments posted here  -- what those of us who have done this for years are seeing is "I only want to work certain hours, won't do weekends, don't want to be on call so on and so forth"  Guess what?  I got an email from my supervisor on Monday asking me to cover a certain work type while that person was on vacation  -- I did it!!! -- She also called me today (Sunday and asked me to do 3 STATS  -- I cover STATS on Wednesday)  -- however, I did it because it it my JOB  -- since I started this job in October, I have NEVER run ouf of work  -- if the work type that I do runs out, I do to a differnt work type, it is similar to learning a new account which I have done in the past as well.  All I want to say, is be grateful right now that you have a job and if the "work does not fit YOUR FAMILY SCHEDULE" then learn to adjust  -- think PRIORITIES

EVERYONE does better attention-wise with stimulant medication, whether or not they have ADHD. That's why people drink coffee in the morning.