A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Axolotl? - LH

Posted: Feb 10, 2014

I know they were bought out a few years ago but I heard through the grapevine United Health was getting rid of the whole transcription department is being let go this year. So sorry for those who will be affected if its true.

I was laid off last year, so it isn't surprising... - Was a good company

[ In Reply To ..]
Before the buyout, Axolotl was a fantastic company.

It's true - JMe

[ In Reply To ..]
UHG is closing the transcription section. Guess it was just a matter of time.

My sincere sympathy to all who still worked there. - Rainwoman

[ In Reply To ..]
The hourly pay and the (relatively) cheap benefits will be hard to replace. Hope you find something else soon, if you're looking.

Thank You Rainwoman - JMe

[ In Reply To ..]
I knew this would be coming but it still is a jolt. The pay and benefits WERE good while it lasted. I don't expect to find that good of a deal anywhere else. And I don't expect to find the same excellent caliber of QA/Managers we have had with Axolotl/Optum. They are certainly the BEST I have had in my long years of experience. Oh well, onward and downward, I guess :-(

Good luck - you are going to need it - exAx

[ In Reply To ..]

advice - file for unemployment immediately; they do not contest it. in my opinion, you will never get another severance package as good, either. be prepared; however, to be depressed (not at first), then angry (to no avail), and then to grovel and almost beg for a living wage if you continue in transcription. you will also contnually kick yourself for not having prepared and saved for this as the money runs out quickly, and congress does not think you need more than 26 weeks to 1 year to find other gainful employment.

maybe with the new healthcare laws the job will be around a little longer whilst we teach the systems each doctor's dictating techniques, but right now everything is a gamble. be prepared for unemployment to even tell you Medical Transcription is still a viable profession, and even to suggest coding, which is also going to be done electronically in the future.

whatever you choose, you want to push for your state's version of retraining into another field because they don't always come out and tell you all of your options. I retrained for coding yet am not able to get an actual job in coding as the costs of the tests are outrageous if you have to live only on unemployment, and you would need in my opinion to volunteer or be on some type of internship program. the local colleges actually will at least offer to place you in a local hospital for that and do seem to have more connections locally for a job. just my thought, because there are so many schools out there but getting an actual job is probably twice a hard as the class.

best to you and keep in mind there were about maybe 50 to 100 others who have walked that same path from axUHG. if anything, the company will give you some help...with resumes etc. take whatever you can get...

also, unemployment is no longer 100% after 26 weeks, either. I was cut down 160 dollars a month (which was paying my heating bill) in my state so that taking the course they funded for me was almost impossible as I needed to spend my time finding a job so I could afford to live...which was in itself a full-time job.

one more thing - in my opinion also I wish I would have pursued health informatics - check out the many facets to that profession. coding is being done by programs designed by these companies. very sophisticated programs. although, service is probably where we will all end up now. be prepared to be working in the public again in a service job...

Interesting Advice - JMe

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you for taking the time to post this. What a long, hard road. Wow.

I DO keep in mind the many others that walked the same path from Axolotl/UHG. Each time there was a layoff, my heart cried for each MT let go and I sent out thoughts of good will to each and every one.

I knew there would never be another job that had the benefits UHG offered. So instead of leaving sooner, I chose to wait it out and take every cent of benefit that they offered for as long as it lasted. Now, that road is ending for all of us who are left.

Maybe some will be able to find another job within the UHG system and keep their seniority, etc., but for someone who has done MT only for more years than I care to remember, getting another UHG job seems impossible. They don't have a transcription department and that is all I have done, so......

I am so very sorry because I know - exAx

[ In Reply To ..]
what hard workers everyone there was...I agree - the best MTs, the best QA. I was lucky enough to get back into the hospital after about a year and a half, and I must tell you the supervisor is really impressed with how much I can do and how accurate.

what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, but at my age it is such a struggle. not sure your age but I can imagine we are probably similar, and it just isn't fair we seem to be taking a lot of the 'abuse' in the work market all across professions. we are mothers, wives, caretakers, I could go on and on and yet every single day we are losing our standing in this society...

fear not, the best is yet to come - try to stay upbeat even when it is hard. you can always come to this board because for the most part it can be helpful...

Re: Axolotl - ExMT

[ In Reply To ..]
I was one of those 20 let go in July 2013. I never filed for unemployment simply for the fact that I "was sure" there was some company out there that would appreciate my over 30 years experience. Well, I was hired as an IC by a well known company at 7 cpl. It didn't matter your experience, everyone made 7 cpl. My checks were 200 to 300 biweekly. I am married but even with his salary and benefits we couldn't make ends meet. I tested for a temporary agency and was deemed intermediate as I did not know Excel or Outcome that well. I sent out resumes online at the old hospital I had worked 20 years for, for any clerking position...I finally received a reply that I was not qualified for ANY job there. Finally, after 6 months, I had a phone interview with an oil company I had sent my resume to online and thank the Good Lord, I was hired as a clerk and even though it isn't the pay I was getting from OptumInsight, I don't really care. It is pay and good benefits and a good company. That's my story so listen to the excellent advice given here when the rest of y'all are laid off. I wouldn't have had such a hard time for 6 months if I would've filed for unemployment!

from another Ex-Ax MT of 5 years - sosorry

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm so sorry to hear this for those that are left. Axolotl is and always will be the BEST job with the BEST manager (DS) I have ever had. Sometimes I still mourn my job loss for them. Change is so bad at times. I will say a prayer for those losing such a great job. I would hope they would offer some jobs somewhere else in their HUGE company. Does anyone know if DS, Manager, is losing job too?

Not sure about Manager - JMe

[ In Reply To ..]
I would imagine (don't really know for sure) that she would have the skills to go somewhere else in UHG. I hope she does, or goes somewhere that deserves her and her skills at managing. She is certainly a GEM in the MT world.

I certainly understand why you would "mourn my job loss" with Axo/Optum/UHG. In this day and age and changing world of Medical Transcription, they certainly stood out as the very best in every sense of the word.

I keep looking at the UHG web site for jobs but it seems useless, what else can I possibly do besides MT that does not require training, etc.? At this point in my life, I am not about to start on an entirely new career path.

Unless something comes up out of the blue, I intend to file for unemployment and take COBRA. I provided the health insurance for my husband and me. And investigating on the Health Marketplace, I have found COBRA to be MUCH less expensive than anything the Affordable Health Care Act provides in my State.

Thank you for listening :-)

Good golly Miss Molly - ExAxMT2

[ In Reply To ..]
If these MTs are moving on to bigger and better pastures, who will get that BRUTAL ESL account they have? Good luck to the next MTSO that gets that account. Hope it doesn't come to my company. Guess this is what makes Axolotl MTs the BEST MTs. If they can put up with this account and do it well, they can work any place in this field. Been there , done that. Good luck to y'all......

Similar Messages:

Mar 10, 2010

I don't know what is going on and as usual the communication sucks, but I'm more than a little concerned. ...

Jan 25, 2011

s ...

Oct 31, 2009

Could somebody give me some info on these two companies, i.e., pay, benefits, work flow steadiness, management, etc.? Thank's in advance! ...

May 26, 2010

I wouIld like to know what your opinion is on M-modal. Do you like it or not? Is it helpful to you? Are you being nit-picked to death about it? ...

Sep 01, 2010

There were positive posts about them in the past. Don't know where they advertise when they do hire. ...

Nov 04, 2013

They had layoffs a few months back. Wondering if the transcription dept. is completely gone now or not. ...

Mar 03, 2014

What's up at Axolotl these days? Are you guys still on the job? ...

Mar 03, 2010

Is it only me or is anyone else losing serious money here? for the past 6 months I have NOT been able to make more than 950 dollars a month take-home. now with the new program my pay is even less. Please, is this happening to anyone else or am I being singled out. no matter what I do I cannot make more than 220 to 250 dollars a week in may paycheck, and am onily getting paid twice a month. I am short about 6 hours with mmodal now. IS IT JUST ME they are doing this to? ...

Jul 28, 2010

Hi--have seen mixed opinions about Axolotl from this board, especially lately. Considering switching from my current company as the M-Modal is awful and line count is suffering a lot because of it. What I'd like to know is: - Does Axolotl have an incentive plan based on lines produced? - Are full time employees required to work 40 hours a week and stick to a set-in-stone schedule, and are you required to work a weekend day? - Is there plenty of work to go around and i ...

Nov 11, 2010

s ...

Jan 22, 2011

nm ...

Aug 06, 2011

Recently started with Axolotl (now part of United Health Group). I have 18 years experience and the account they put me on has to be THE WORST I have ever experienced, 99.9% horrible ESL's, on top of which their M*Modal platform is very, very slow. I have worked at other companies using M*Modal and did not find this to be the case with them. This account is VR and they pay by the hour because apparently the dictators and platform are so bad, an MT can't make any money by the line. Also ...

Sep 30, 2010

Got a call from Axolotl today about interviewing. Have heard good things in the past, but saw they were just acquired by another company. Any current employees with advice? Pay rates/platform? Is it straight MT or do they have VR also? Affordable benefits? Would appreciate any information. Comfortable(ish) at current job, would hate to leave and then have transcription phased out or pay cut. Thanks in advance for any info! ...

Oct 11, 2011

I am sorry to bring this up here, but I just wanted to know if anyone else who works for Optuminsight, or Axolotl is concerned about where the transcription portion of the company is going? I have noticed the workload has diminshed significantly since the takeover. There have been people who have been there for a significant amount of time retiring or quitting. Even the Optuminsight website says nothing about transcription nor does United Health Group. The letter to the c ...

Jan 28, 2013

An ex-Axolotl/Optum Insight employee was looking for 3 others to sign a petition for TAA. I didn't sign at the time, but am now interested in signing. I've checked January archives and I don't see the post. Archives showing Jan-Mar and not prior. ...

Jul 10, 2013

2 MTs are filing a TAA petition. 3 are needed to apply online ourselves. It is just a petition, nothing against the employer and, if nothing comes of it, at least we stood up to let the federal government know we are losing our jobs to overseas and due to technology. You would think we could get some help as IT people, auto industry, and many others do get assistance when their jobs are lost. It would be an interesting statistic to see how many MTs in this country hav ...

Oct 06, 2010

I have been with this company for a while now and completely loved Ax before this merger happened. I just wondered if anyone else was feeling really stressed out and out of sorts because of all of the changes taking place? So many things are up in the air. Too much stress. ...

Jan 01, 2013

X ...