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

Warning of benefit loss - aononymouse

Posted: Jan 05, 2011

I have only been getting approximately 25 hours a week. Yeah, I'm broke. Luckily I have a husband who works or I would be in a mess. Anyway, they have emailed me and said I have to have minimum 30 hours to continue to have medical ins. Well, if the work isn't there, what am I supposed to do? So, I asked my team lead to please give me a backup acct. So she has sent out requests to other team leads and said she would let me know if one replied. So now I am not only gonna have to keep checking on and off for work all day and night but also on my days I would be off. I am gonna be sitting here 7 days a week checking this dang computer for work just to squeeze out at least 30 hours. Otherwise, I'll lose my insurance, and the insurance is an important part of my job to me.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Welcome to the new reality of MT. - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
It's what most of us are facing. Just read the boards and you'll see.

Realistically, they should give you a certain # of payperiods before cutting your benefits, especially if there is no work available. However, they don't have to.

Welcome.

Catch-A-22 - should be illegal

[ In Reply To ..]
is this an employee or IC position? what does the Dept of Labor say?

It would have to be employee--IC does not have - benefits. NM

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Yes, had the same problem. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I finally got tired of the threats and working around the clock because the accounts were always slow. I became an IC and now have to pay my own, but it isn't that much more than what I was paying for it as an employee, but now I have a completely flexible schedule and can work as little or as much as I want. I am actually doing much better as an IC. There was no point for me to be an employee if I wasn't going to qualify for medical and I always had to use my vacation time for days when it was slow, so was never going to get an actual vacation anyway.

A couple of thoughts. That company will keep - Anon.

[ In Reply To ..]
you on medical working only 30 hours. Wow. Mine used to do 35 hours, but some time ago changed that to a full 40-hour work week to qualify. Medical's expensive, and that current policy is more generous than most, making that job something to hold onto if you actually prefer working part time. As long as that policy lasts, any way.

Second, it does sound as if they're overstaffed and maybe as if they've gone over their lists of people and decided you're one of the extras. Employees are expensive to maintain (with and without insurance), so tightening up is just what they should do. It's not telling us we're on a cut list that causes such extra grief.

In your place, if I wanted to stay I'd get really good, dedicating myself to slicing work away from others at 3 in the morning and getting in more than the required hours. For as long as it took to change their attitude. If not, I'd do much the same to make some money but also start looking for another job.

BTW, I've been there before too. Long ago I was hired specifically to work part time, coming on mornings (but actually whenever it suited me) to put in about 24-30 hours of good high-quality work, and was not told when I became considered extra. Since I wasn't paid insurance, I wasn't pushed out, but just became end of line in consideration, something it took me literally months to finally understand. No way to treat a good (if hard-to-schedule work around!) employee, but there it is.

That is really sad. Where I work if there is not - jk

[ In Reply To ..]
enough work for us to maintain FT status, (average of 1200 lines a day) we are not penalized because of that. Thank goodness in the 3 years I have been here that has not happened.

My solution - Get your own

[ In Reply To ..]
What I found was most often the policies provided by the companies were not the best and I still was paying at least a couple of hundred dollars out of pocket anyway. I got my own insurance (I'm an IC). I had to go through Health Care Reform rules to get mine as I have pre-existing conditions, but the cost to me is $286.00. I know it's hard when you aren't earning as much to do that, but if you do, you are freed from that horrid panic in the gut that you will lose it.

Have been on Cobra, but that is almost up - what to do?

[ In Reply To ..]
Called the medical insurance company and I have to apply for individual medical insurance, but will probably be denied because of pre-existing conditions. I am curious as to how you were able to get it through the healthcare reform act when I thought that was still being debated on?? Thanks for any advice you can give me!!

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