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

Wondering about pay - Jan

Posted: Dec 14, 2009

I work as an MT in a very rural area, so the pay is VERY good for me. We are a one income household since my husband got laid off and I easily pay the mortgage, car payments, all of the bills, etc. I was wondering, if a person lives in a much more expensive area, like California where a person's mortgage would easily be four times mine, do they get more money per line to compensate for that, or is it the same?

I live in California and the average pay is 7-9 cpl for 65-character. The average really is 8 cpl - sunnycali

[ In Reply To ..]
They do not compensate me more because I live in a more expensive state. I'm afraid it is just the business we are in, low pay and not very lucrative. I do supplement the income and definitely the breadwinner is my husband, so it works for me.

it's pretty much the same everywhere - An MT

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

I get about a cent more than other area of the US, - not that it does any good! :( nm

[ In Reply To ..]

Pay from California companies is higher than in many . . . - SoCal MT

[ In Reply To ..]
other states. However, whether an MT lives in California or not doesn't mean much. I live in California but have accounts in Boston, Ohio, Utah, etc. The line rate I am paid isn't any different for me than for any other MT.

However, the accounts I have with doctors/hospitals actually IN California pay more than those from the other states. I have one hospital account that pays $23 an hour (based on 150 lines per hour), and the lowest of the other accounts based in CA is 12 cpl (65-keystroke line).

So where you live makes no difference in pay rates. Where the healthcare provided is located is what matters pay-wise.

It is until your CA company gets absorbed by one - in PA. or TX. or FL. or KY

[ In Reply To ..]
Ours got gobbled by PA, which has resulted in the MTs being exposed to a whole lotta FLATUS.

pay - no change

[ In Reply To ..]
The pay scale has not changed for 20 years. When I started in 1990 it was 8 cents a line. Cost of living has gone up considerably and yet technically the pay scale has gone down. We just have take it and shut up because our jobs are all threatened with voice recognition anyway. I lost a job to VR just 2 years ago and just found found out this weekend that VR is being tested on my current account. Some technology is NOT our friend, and VR is one of them. At full swing, VR will send many, many thousands of MT's to the EI line. So, even though the pay has not improved in 20 years, we still take it and work our little fingers to the bone trying to make the mortgage, put food on the table and keep the lights working.

re: RURAL PAY versus CAL. PAY, etc: - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Sure, if you live in Arkansas, Louisiana, SC, etc., your cost of living is much lower than maybe CA, NY, DC, -- the bottom line is, you MUST BE PAID MINIMUM WAGE, which is around $7.35 at my last recollection. All the BS about lower line counts bec. you live in a rural area? No dice! Look up the minimum wage in YOUR state, and if you're not getting that, make sure you keep VERY ACCURATE accounts of your ins/outs of your MT work, your bank account & creditors will thank you for it!

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