What if you are employee.. but no benefits, no paid vacation

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Is there really a company out there that provides long-term benefits such as insurance AND VACATION and that will be around when we get ready to use it  Just wondering if anyone out there really has any benefits doing at home MT work.

could be the end of the week or the end of the month or the day that the company calls the insurance company to cancel them. You cannot depend on thinking if you quit in the middle of the month you will be covered through the end of the month. You have to find out exactly from your company. Also for COBRA benefits you are eligible for up to 18 months or perhaps longer in special circumstances but yes you have to pay the premium all by yourself, the company doesn't chip in at all. The plus side is you are still in a group plan. You cannot get individual insurance unless you have NOTHING at all wrong with you, no high blood pressure, no depression, nothing. It is very important to not have a lapse in coverage greater than 60 days. If you do, you will lose coverage for any preexisting conditions when you go to your next GROUP insurance (this is the other part of HIPAA - portability). If for example you are covered for high blood pressure and you don't choose COBRA and your insurance lapses for more than 60 days, when you get on the next group plan, they will not cover your high blood pressure M.D. visits or medications for up to 1 year.

You can get relatively cheep individual coverage if you choose a high deductible, to carry you through. That is, if you can get it. Good luck.

I picked up a little side job (made $4,000.00 in 2005, July to December) and while doing my taxes, went from having a tax refund of 1,181.00 to 247.00 because I had to pay self employment tax.  The write offs were nothing to sing about.

I wanted this job to give me an income in the event my national job fell apart.

It seems that this makes no sense.  The PT IC job is EMR (very time consuming, going in and out of windows for each segment of the exam, i.e., HISTORY, ROS, PMH, PLAN...).  Plus, he constant corrects himself, requiring backspacing and retyping...

Maybe I should look for another PT job...I need a vacation so badly and my ticket to going on one has just evaporated into thin air.   boooohoooo

Well he is probably thinking you get double for your big benefits.  But most do not get benefits except for PTO.  Again, I am in the lowest tax bracket and I make good money but have great retirpement set up and deductions.  If I were to be an employee either in-house or out, I would have the same bills but now I can write off a lot due to my business.  I have so much more of a usable income as an IC than as an employee and I have been both.  But I cut my income in less than half with my deductions and much more with my retirement contributions.  And I average 30 per hour and that average only is down because I average all my hours in with my income and for one I work in-house for one doctor putting into EMR and get paid hourly and that brings my average down.  But if it were only my transcribing at home, it would be closer to 40 an hour.  Again, it is all in the thinking, everyone thinks that because they don't see the income in their checks as an employee they are not actually paying "their taxes" but they are.  Compare your gross to your net and see what it is.  Anyway, I feel your accountant is not comparing oranges to oranges but oranges to apples as there are not many benefits as an employee in this field -- unless you work at the hospital as an employee.  But that is my two cents worth and may not even be worth that much. 

and there is not one thing on earth wrong about their taking it.

I know the going rate in our area is 14 cents per line.  As MTs most companies here pay us 8 or 9 cents a line.  Now add in the Editor rate at 4 or 5 per line..you are paying OUT more than you can charge a line.  How would companies stay in biz?

Unless all work is sent by the company overseas at pennies per line, this would not pay for a company.

just curious how this works out

per keystroke, but that'll never happen.  I just think that these national companies are going to keep finding ways to cheat us.  I found a job working for a hospital as an employee, paid hourly plus incentive, and they let us expand everything!  Somebody's gonna have to kill me to make me give up this job.  I will never go back to the national's again.

I feel for you though.  I know that for us MTs those good jobs are few and far between and some have little choice but to work for the nationals.  I just happened to luck into the job I have now.  I just applied at the right time. 

Good luck to you whatever you decide.

sadly are two very different things.  Good luck on demanding more..because someone else will just come along and take it for what they offer and they know it. 

I would just like some time off to get caught up on everything around the house.  I am so overwhelmed by it all right now.  The clutter is piling up again.  The garden has been ripening before my eyes, so everything needs to be picked and put up for winter.  Instead, I've been giving it away because I don't have time to deal with it.  We're building an addition to give me my own private office, so I spend my weekends at the hardware store, holding boards, and cooking for our construction helpers.

As for money, I stash money from selling stuff on ebay and from a little side job in my checking account to have a cushion in there.  I need to get more stuff listed on ebay because I just bought a new computer, which has been sitting behind me still in boxes for nearly two weeks now.  What's that saying?  The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.

At least I have a messy house to gripe about, right?

I started doing this three years ago when I got divorced and at first it was only change in a jar, then I would add $5 out of every paycheck from my accounts, then it was $10 a paycheck (have 4 accounts).  This was hard as I was going through a very expensive nmasty divorce but I did it. So I wouldn't spend it when I deposited my checks I would buy a roll of quarters or dimes and put it in my change jar.  This year I was actually able to start putting aside more and I took my 17 year old nephew with me to San Francisco for 5 nights, 6 days, all paid with my little slow savings.   My accounts are good to me and let me know ahead when they will be on vacation and so I was able to plan it when three out of six docs were gone so I would have missed out on that money anyway.  The other three held the dictation until I came back and gave me a week to get caught up.   But you can do it, just gotta plan.  I did work many extra hours before and after though but it was worth it and the vacation was paid in full, no credit card bills coming in. 

Hi, I'm a beginner home based MT.  I'm gonna be out of town for 2 weeks and was just wondering if anybody would know if I have to notify anybody about my absence?  Thx for the reply.

I am thinking about quitting my job with a national but wondered about sick/personal/vacation time that I have earned.  Does anyone know if any or all of this will be paid with my last paycheck, as I have almost 150 hours coming.  Is this different from one company to the next, or are there federal or state laws that govern this?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

We like to ski, swim and golf.

I have five accounts and two I have IC's who work for them -- psych accounts no problem when I leave town.  But my other three, have asked that I have NO ONE work on the account but me and they hold the tapes and I do them when I come back as fast as I can and sometimes wishing I had not taken time off.   No they work with me but then I don't take off much time and when I do it is usually a couple of days and the weekend so we are all not stressed.   If I were to have surgery or something I have friends that would help out and the accounts realize that it would be necessary.  That is one of the drawbacks of having your own accounts.  No work --no money.   But it does make you appreciate your time off.

I had the same guilt feelings that I had to be perfect, be completely on time, everything had to be perfect or they would find someone else and put a lot of pressure on myself.  I have in the last year slowed down, told them when I couldn't do what they wanted, taken a vacation, and just this week was able to go to my nephew's baseball state play-offs and skip a day of pick up and delivery -- how -- be being honest with them and believing in myself.  I am also going to Vegas for three days next week.  Just simply told them that I needed some time off.  Am working harder this weekend to be caught up by the time I go and the work will be here when I get back but they know to give me until next week to get 100% caught up.   And they have accepted it.   Our docs take time off and we don't get paid.  I simply took a deep breath and sat down and talked to the docs.  I do admit I have smaller offices 2 to 4 docs in them but I did and they said fine.   I do try and schedule the time around holidays but that is mainly for my sake as to not be overwhelmed.  I figure if they cancel on me or find another service, someone else is out there or I will go to a hosptial.  I was not uppity, nasty or put a chip on shoulder.  Just talked to them and told them that I had to start scheduling some time off for myself and they had no problem with that.  I have 4 offices to work with and it takes a little maneuvering.  But after so many years without time off, I did it.  All my accounts have been with me for 5+ years and so we are pretty well established together but it still took a deep breath to approach them.   You can do it.  I firmly believe that they treat you as you accept being treated.