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

If you were laid off by Webmedx, have you had recent health problems? sm - K

Posted: Sep 03, 2010

Trying to figure out what thread those who were laid off might have in common. Hopefully, for Webmedx's sake, they wouldn't be so foolish for this to be the common thread, but it's worth checking into.

Very good question! Also, does anyone know HOW MANY - Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
employees were affected, or what percentage of the workforce? (I work for another MTSO so can't access the "Community Board" I see referred to for these answers). Does Webmedx offshore? My MTSO does, and to me your situation has those earmarks.

I feel terrible for all of you who were dumped so unceremoniously and unprofessionally by this company. That amounts to a lockout, and I can't see how that is legal if you are not ICs. It certainly is not ethical; and, sadly, it could happen to any of us at any time.

I hope all of you collect every benefit you are entitled to, and also have success in giving this outfit a bit of free "advertising" via the mass media over this Labor Day weekend. It would be a wakeup call to them, their present and prospective customers, and the poor folks who are paying huge $$ to attend commercial MT schools because they have been told the job opportunities in this field are unlimited.

Good luck to all of you affected by this. You all deserve better.

What drives me crazy is MTSO states there is a SHORTAGE - of MTs. Lies, lies, lies!!!!! No message below

[ In Reply To ..]
x

There IS a critical shortage of SKILLED MTs, though. - Sigh, again....

[ In Reply To ..]
The shortage of skilled MTs/Editors is real and going to get worse. A very large number of us are nearing retirement age.

In this instant electronic age, hospitals rightly want (need!) reports on the chart ASAP. When a company can't get enough good people to service an account, the entire account is lost to a company that can.

Accounts are also lost to lower bidders. Often offshore. MTs on the account may have to be let go. Webmedx does not offshore. The accounts were lost to MQ, which does.

None of the people claiming to know large numbers of laid-off people have come back with even a vague estimate to back up those claims. I counted 6 posting here before they were buried in postings.

WMX has a practice of spreading extra people among other accounts, sharing out the loss among everybody, rather than just laying off. A sensible and decent practice, making the smears and mud-throwing we see here especially egregious.

Like K, I also was wondering if people laid off might have had more health problems than most. Our health coverage here at WMX, as at most companies, has had to be cut back, deductibles raised, etc., because of skyrocketing premiums.

This is a much BIGGER problem for our future jobs and incomes than offshoring. SR systems don't have the very expensive health problems so many people do. Lowering healthcare costs is crucial to continuation of our jobs (and those in many fields) in that way, as well as to helping our crippled clients get back on their financial feet so they can afford our service.

Once again, e-mail layoffs are cold but totally legal, ethical, and standard practice.

NoMessageBelow, I recommend reading up on your field of work. The more information in your head, the less room for anxiety to expand.

Transparency please - wwaiting

[ In Reply To ..]
It sounds like you work for WMX, but you have not clarified in what capacity. You sound very knowledgeable about the way the MTSOs operate and the offshoring, which I appreciate, but I would like for posters (especially those dissing the laid off people, not that you have!) to be more transparent so we know if/what your vested interest is. FWIW I am a WMX employee who has not been laid off, and I am really wondering why, also more importantly if I will be in the near future. I can only wonder what is going on because they haven't said anything to those of us who are still employed. I knew something was up when the at least twice daily updates on the TAT and backlog stopped happening, so...

Hi, fellow Webmedxer. I'm another remote editor/transcriptionist, - Sigh

[ In Reply To ..]
not laid off presumably because my accounts are stable, although I was certainly anxious when layoffs were first reported.

It sounds like it hit even closer to home for you. Some people say they were encouraged to get in overtime, and did, before the account disappeared, a small blessing when it's the last paycheck.

Regarding vested interests, Wwaiting, they are in my paycheck and also in this board as place to exchange truthful dependable information of value to all of us--and civil chat as I could probably walk and knock on doors from now to Christmas in this rural part of my state and never find another person who does this work.

I do, however, make some effort at least to keep up on what's happening in this industry, and the medical business and economy as a whole, as it could affect my job.

Drop me an e-mail if you ever feel like just chatting.

Transparency - wwaiting

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for clarifying. It does make a difference to know where you are coming from. My take on the meeting (before they took it down) was that the ISR component is important and people who resist this are at a disadvantage. However, I think no matter how adaptable you are, if the work goes and there is not a lot left, that's that and I luckily still have one account that did not. Because no one is saying anything, it does make you paranoid that you will be next, and that is why I wish they were more forthcoming. Also, for people to be able to get that TAA training allowance they should ascertain they lost the accounts to an unfair advantage of a company offshoring work.

To me the most important point from the removed meeting - Sigh

[ In Reply To ..]
was about the commitment to raising quality, which they said we did not score as high on as we have in the past. I could be wrong, but I suspect that's about more than cosmetics and advertising. These accounts were lost to an underbidding offshoring company our onshore WMX has trouble competing with on price. But being able to deliver consistently good quality for a reasonable price is a whole different matter.

Most markets for services, and most certainly ours, are divided on a quality spectrum, with high-cost high quality product at one extreme and low-cost low-quality product at the other. It sounds like we intend to market to clients from the higher-quality half at least and let the others do their best with MQ, etc. This is all speculation about what was said since I'm not an insider, but I hope so. BTW, on average that would probably tend to mean better quality dictation too, in the long run offsetting the time needed to be even more consistently scrupulous in our transcription/editing than we are.

Keep reinventing the job duties and of course a shortage - but not of skilled transcriptionists

[ In Reply To ..]
I am skilled at transcribing, in fact, I am excellent at it. Suddenly they decide that my job description and duties need to change. I am no longer a "transcriptionist", I am an "ASR editor". Overnight I go from being "skilled" to "unskilled". MY skills did not evaporate overnight - they eliminated my job and turned it into something else. With time I may become a "skilled" "editor", and then who knows what they will next morph the job into and make me "unskilled" again. There is NO lack of skilled MTs. There IS a lack of people who want to EDIT and get paid NOTHING, and probably always will be.

Sorry, SHORTAGE VERY REAL,. MT was just shorthand - Sigh

[ In Reply To ..]
for the job positions we hold. These days skilled is coming to mean able to edit and transcribe. There are currently NOT ENOUGH skilled MT/editors, and of plain old MTs for that matter, in this country to meet demand.

Demand includes as short TATs as possible, given patient needs. If work has to be offshored or split between MTSOs to get it all done, then it is. Money is not the only reason for offshoring.

Nor is every MT who claims to be skilled adequately skilled. Many who spent many years as valuable linchpins in one or two offices or clinics may have, say, 2 years' experience of limited scope repeated 10 times. That's a serious problem.

BTW, although others in this boat have as much sympathy as I can spare from myself, that's not much. Having to retrain perhaps multiple times throughout one's career is simply a reality of life for hundreds of millions of people in most fields around the planet. We're hardly unique, and the leap from MT to editor much smaller than than that from lumberjack to data entry technician.

Good luck becoming as good as editing as you are at transcription.

If MTSO paid US MT a decent wage, THERE WOULD - BE NO SHORTAGE. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

LIES! Why am I sitting here with no jobs - for months now. Skilled 25 year MT.

[ In Reply To ..]
Sure! You expect me to believe there is a shortage of MTs when my particular company has a lot of United States MTs who are sitting around with no work.

Sure! That is why they LET GO of MTs from WMX.

You can read all the reports you want, but fact remains: United States MTs in some MTSO companies are sitting around with no work to do and being let go.

The only reason why REPORTS THINK there is a shortage is because some of us skilled MTs who have been been in this field for years, including myself as a CMT, are going back to school to get out of this field.

And if they didnt offshore, there would be plenty - of work for US MTs to do. They LIE.

[ In Reply To ..]
^

Health problems - WebQA

[ In Reply To ..]
I had a FMLA form in due to depression/anxiety and had missed 3 days, gave them a doctor's note last week. Then I get laid off. So to answer your question, yup! Makes me wonder.

not me - terminatedwebbie

[ In Reply To ..]
I have had insurance for 6+ months and have not so much as filled a prescription with it, nada, never even used it so that again was not a deciding factor. Yes, it is sad and I am hurt that I an unemployed but face it, we are never going to figure out the rhyme or reason to why we were selected.

INTERESTING - They removed meeting from - community page already

[ In Reply To ..]
Rather odd they had the "meeting" recording the day the layoffs began (Tuesday) and by Friday it has disappeared. Never have I seen a "meeting" come and go so swiftly. I guess suits were afraid we WOULD transcribe it for those laid off!

just my opinion - gonewebbie

[ In Reply To ..]
It is just my opinion, but those of laid off are the ones who should have had access and maybe at least we would understand then why it happened to us.

Meeting Removed - Susan

[ In Reply To ..]
We thought that would happen but we're not as stupid as they think we are. Info is saved word for word. Waiting to see this up on MTIA and others to begin publishing this information. Hearing rumors that USA Today may be interested in running the story.

Wonderful! I hope they blow the whistle - on this whole industry!

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm glad their spin-and-run got preserved for posterity and they're not going to be able to hide from the consequences.

USA Today? Oh, please! Thanks for the laugh, though. NM - :)

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Nobody is laughing NM - Susan

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't think people are just going to walk away quietly without speaking up. Seems to be a big stir. Just Google Webmedx news and you'll see how the net has picked up on this already. Lots of MTstars forums come right up already.

"you'll see how the net has picked up on this already" LOL. sm - voice of reason

[ In Reply To ..]
It's because it was posted ONLINE. Of course it's going to show up in a search engine.

It was a layoff. Many MANY companies in the US have had layoffs in the past few years.

Webmedx did not lay off the whole company. It was a handful of MTs out of hundreds. They did nothing wrong or illegal.

Stop the conspiracy theories.

This has gone beyond absurd.

Except that the same thing is happening at other - MT companies, too, not just the Spider.

[ In Reply To ..]
.

Ya gotta start somewhere! If they dig a little and - - s/m

[ In Reply To ..]
realize there's a much, much deeper and darker side to the story, i.e., the crookedness of the entire industry, other sources may jump on it.

Never say "die"!

Unless, of course, you happen to be talking to The Spider himself, or any other MTSO owner/CEO.

I was wondering too... - Not all employees on lost accounts were laidoff.

[ In Reply To ..]
I know someone who is working for Webmedx and they said they lost their account and had to start on a new account. So how did they decide who to layoff and who to keep and just move to a new account? This person has only been working there less than a year and actually just graduated from an MT course, so very little experience. Did it did come down to the best paid MTs getting laid off?

At least one laid off claims she earned minimum wage - Another WMXer

[ In Reply To ..]
(which actually sounds really strange), and somebody else was fairly recently hired, so apparently no on culling just the best paid. Webmedx actually does a lot to encourage high production, including a very nice incentive pay scale, so it seems unlikely anyway.

minimum wage - oh yes, minimum wage

[ In Reply To ..]
I am the one who said I am getting paid minimum wage because I am -- at least I was until 2 days ago when WebAholex laid me off.

Check every 2 weeks: approximately $600

Divide that by 80 hours and you get $7.50 an hour. Since this is bring home pay, I guess that makes it just slightly over minimum wage.

This was for 11,000 lines every 2 weeks. Nearly 100% of this was ASR work which of course pays 37.5% less than what they paid for straight typing.

Sure looks like minimum wage to me!

MINIMUM WAGE?!! For the benefit of others (not to be mean, - Sigh

[ In Reply To ..]
because some people have problems others don't understand), I am a skilled MT and can transcribe 250 lines per hour consistently without any trouble. I'm just fine with editing, too. And with some flexing of hours during slack periods (and having no kids or elders to babysit), I have no trouble getting 80 hours of genuine work in each pay period.

250 x my line rate (not tops, but not low) x high-production incentive rate (nice but not highest tier) = OVER 5 TIMES the minimum hourly wage in my state, which is admittedly among the lowest in the nation; in other states it might be more like 4 times minimum wage.

This is working ordinary accounts I am mostly very familiar with as a Webmedx transcriptionist/editor. I could make more by not taking breaks on the clock, but I'm not a kid any more and I leave that to the top-tier people.

Similar Messages:

Sep 01, 2010

I am afraid as I am not getting much work there lately. I applied to a few companies but no one is hiring right now for what I need. Any idea if it was just a few or a few hundred? Where will we all go??? ...

Feb 03, 2011

I note that in the last week there have been many new MTs come on board at Webmedx. They are being hired for new accounts. I'm wondering of Webmedx kept their word by calling those they laid off and asking them to come back. If you were laid off, did you get a call? (I know, whether you'd consider going back is another question entirely) ...

Dec 29, 2010

Today I get the paperwork from the HSA that we had the option to join for the new insurance. Included is a bunch of tasks they want us to hurry up and do (which we cannot do since they have not given us insurance cards and their website won't let us register without numbers off the card). Also included is an "account fee and rate schedule". They get to charge us $15 to set up the account and $2.95 every month thereafter. They say this "may" be paid by our employer (y ...

May 04, 2010

tell me how that works? I know the insurance premiums are less than a regular health plan. If your company puts 500 in your account, does that mean the first few times, for example, until you use up the 500, you don't pay ANYTHING or is it the opposite...you pay the entire office visit cost until you reach that 500? I would be so grateful for any information about this type of plan. TIA ...

Feb 18, 2010

I hear MQ employees are eligible under the TAA to get re-training paid for in another field, but how do you get "laid off"??? ...

Jun 23, 2010

Recently laid-off and I am looking for a job. I was just wondering, being an IC medical transcriptionist has anyone ever qualified for unemployment?? I know this is considered self-employed and most states will not give you benefits, but I was just wondering if anyone has ever gotten benefits being an IC. Thank you for your time. ...

Mar 01, 2011

4th time in 4 years. Sick of this!!! Will be finding something new to do. ...

Apr 04, 2013

I was laid off today too. I have been with the company for 8 years. I consistently make my quota by a long shot, at over 375 lph. I had my audit a month ago at 99.3%. I am a single mom trying to support my family, and no, there was no warning, no severance, no nothing. My supervisor said it is across the board, and she did not have an answer for me as to why me. I spent the day working on my resume and job hunting and came here to see if anyone had any answers. To those of you in t ...

Jul 24, 2013

TIER REGION PART TIME OR FULL TIME so that maybe we can find a pattern for this. We're sorry for you all but know you will be going to a better place. ...

Jul 24, 2013

It seems like a lot of the folks who were let go had been with MM a long time. Just curious if there is a trend here, do you mind letting us know what your e/t cpl rate was? Did they just let go of those who were making a decent wage? ...

Jul 24, 2013

Does anyone have any idea how many were let go today? It doesn't seem like many, but of course only a fraction of MModal MTs actually come to this board. ...

Jan 12, 2015

Well, it's official. I just got the call that I am officially laid off! I am glad that what I knew was inevitable has finally happened so I can move forward, but at the same time can't help grieving over the loss of what once was a career that I loved and was good at. It's not just the company I worked for; it's the whole medical transcription industry, so as of right now I am totally THROUGH with medical transcription! ...

Nov 19, 2009

I just got laid off from Proscript in an email, I think this was very cold, no warning, no 2 weeks notice, nothing......I have worked for them since 2005, this is just wrong..... ...

Sep 26, 2010

Did you get a severence or any sort of financial support? ...

Jul 15, 2011

I have this hint that normally helps me: “lie, lay, lain” (to recline); “lay, laid, laid” (to place or put down). The sentence is: "The patient was brought into the endoscopy suite and 'laid' in the left decubitus position." I was thinking it should be lain, but the patient was technically "put" in that position, so it should be laid. Correct? I've gone and confused myself. ...

Apr 06, 2013

I was straight-up fired. I own it, as well as my part in it (production). I feel for anybody else in my boat. My husband, thankfully, has a good job so I can take a minute to breathe before plunging back underwater. I love being an MT; too bad it's an unrequited love. :/ I was straight-up fired (last week). I own it, as well as my part in it (production). I feel for anybody else in my boat. My husband, thankfully, has a good ...

Apr 06, 2013

or at the end of the month. I am making appts like crazy, just in case... ...

Aug 22, 2013

It was never my choice to work for Mmodal anyway, I was an acquisition. But as I was perusing the help wanted lists, the horrible thought occured to me, what if I got bought by Mmodal again? I think I am going to get out of this racket entirely, retire my foot pedal, hang up my earphones for good! (And it has to be for good, it can't really get that much worse, can it?) ...

Nov 08, 2013

First let me tell you I was laid off after 9 years last August. I was told many lies like all part-time employees are being laid off, you won't be able to get unemployment, don't feel bad you didn't do anything wrong. I applied for unemployment and have been getting unemployment ever since. I got selected (yeah me) for a special project going on with the UE commision and the lady who I report to is wonderful. She believes M@Modal made a plethora of errors a ...

Feb 12, 2014

Hi, I was laid off from MModal and I understand there is a federal program or a company that helps people possibly with going back to school and stuff and MModal already has an open case number. My computer crashed that had this information on it and if anyone can help it would be greatly apprecaited. Thanks in advance. ...

Feb 20, 2010

Any other ICs get laid off from Medscribe in Florida? ...

Mar 18, 2010

That is what I was told. You are not on the list of Laid off Employees. There is a list? Medquist actually laid off people? Yes. There is a list. Medquist sent it to us. Really? How many people did they lay off when CBay got 80% of the work? Drum roll please....................... 6 6? Yes, 6. You mean they got taken over by a company in India with 6,000 employees and they only had to lay of 6 USA transcriptionists? The point of the post..... ...

Jan 04, 2012

What's an IC to do? As much as the company bragged about being in the local paper a month ago, they claim to have lost a huge account and have to let go all those working on it. Not eligible for unemployment, 4 kids at home from 5 to 20, a mortgage . . . thank goodness I'm on Cymbalta! I need to find another job - ASAP. Can anyone out there recommend a company that offers employee status, where I won't have to work 1 weekend day???? My resume is prett ...

May 09, 2012

I have heard that their transcription and editing platforms -- Escription will work with satellite internet. I know I am not the only one who could no longer work at Nuance due to only having satellite internet. I was working for awhile at my daughter's home, but that did not work out too well due to house overrun by all the kids and their friends. If I could have had my own private office, I would have stayed there to work. Anyway that is all beside the point ...

Aug 17, 2012

you are doing well. I'm struggling a little today. I hope the others have had time to catch their breath and go forward. ...

Apr 04, 2013

and now some are calling it a hoax. I have spent most of the day talking to UE and my states Food Share Program. Working from home for so long, I wanted to share my news with my fellow MTs. I thought they would understand how I felt. I appreciated some of the MTs wishing me luck, but I am surprised and sad to see that so many have become so "cold" that they can't even open their minds and believe someone. I still wish all MTs the best of luck. I will be fine. Even, at my age, they can ...

Apr 05, 2013

got an email from amy about all mt meeying on april 17?. i got that email and 20 minutes later board was full of talks of layoffs. just wondering if i got the email because im safe or if everyone got it ...

Apr 12, 2013

a tone of people and now they have an ad on the other website hiring MTs? What the crap is up? They are so mismanaged it is pathetic! Stupid, stupid, stupid. ...

Jul 23, 2013

Yep! I was told it had nothing to do with my work, line counts, etc. Just they are making cuts. Been here for decades. ...

Jul 26, 2013

Hundreds were let go this week. One of the biggest weeks for layoffs. Everyday someone is losing their job and has been going on since March/April, but this was the biggest week so far. More and more accounts being offshored (like we did not know). Do not want to put fear in people or cause stress, but this is reality. ...