Wiki MedAssurant-Coding from Home

Icode4U

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I am looking for detailed information about remote coding for MedAssurant. Does anyone have 6 months or more experience with them? If not I would like to hear about any experience with them. How often is there not work to keep you busy for 40 hours? The lead coder I spoke with said that there would not be a problem getting in 40 hours of work on a consistant basis. In fact he said that it is required.
 
I've been working for them a little over a month and I have been working 40 hours per week since I got out of training, but it seems as if they hire hundreds of coders per week so I don't know much longer we will be able to work 40 hours because it seems as if there will be no work. I hope that is not the case but we'll see.........Overall, I love the job!!!
 
I've been hired by them also and was wondering if you can tell me if there pay period is weekly, biweekly or twice a month. Also how exactly does it work for the one hour you have to be available during the work week. Any info you can give will help. :)
 
MedAssurant

They send you a complete detailed packet of all the information you need to know. You also receive a laptop, carrying case, scanner and manuals. The pay periods are every two weeks.

When do you start training?
 
Interested in MedAssurant position

I am looking for some coding work from home. I just recently received my CPC-A and was wondering how do you contact them?
 
No Melissa, they do not offer any benefits. I spoke with HR this morning and she told me that there is a possibility that you may experience downtime due to lack of work because it is contract based. They do offer part-time (24 hrs), but it has to be Monday - Friday between 8a-5p.
 
Medassurant interview

I had a scheduled interview with medassurant this morning. I never received a phone call. I called the girl back who had scheduled the interview, left a message, and have not heard back from her either. Did anyone else have this experience when applying with them?
 
MedAssurant

They do get back with you. The word is spreading like wild fire that they are hiring coding from home. Yesterday was the first day of training, they had trouble with the air conditioning, changed buildings, the Webinar would not work right, after 3 hours of waiting they canceled class. Day 2 is today. They said it was very unusual for this to happen. On the line were 30 other coders in the class, one coder had worked for them before, one coder currently works for them performing other coding then CARA-CMS-HCC. This is all project based, you have work as long as they have projects. From what I have heard it is pretty steady. However, no one on the conference call was going to quit their other job. Interesting...............:eek: :confused:
 
You have to do what's right for you. You shouldn't base your decision on what others are doing, maybe they have to work 2 jobs. It's ok to seek second opinions but in the end you have to do what your heart is telling you to do. I made the decision to leave my job. I talked to people who have worked for the company for as little as 6 months to as long as 2 years. There will always be people who are not satisfied with their current situtation, there will always be people that have good things to say and bad things to say about a company, but you have to base you opinion on your personal experiences, not the experiences of anyone else. If I would have based my opinion about MedAssurant on some of the experiences of other people I would not be working for them today. I made the decision to experience the company for myself. I stepped out on faith and I will not look back. I certainly feel that if MedAssurant does not work for me then God has something better. I do not have any doubts about the job, I love what I do and I am happy that I was blessed with the opportunity to work for them. I prayed about my decision and I got second opinions, but I kept getting confirmation that the right thing was for me to leave my job. I prayed for a work at home job and I was blessed with it, so I took the job and happily strided along knowing that God has my back in anything and everything. Good luck!!

Just my two cents,
Nikky, CPC, CPC-P
 
Remote Coding

I was wondering if you could work with MedAssurant at home within any hours other than 8-5pm. Or if anyone knew of a company you could work from home 40hrs a week at your own schedule. I am currently employed from 8-5 and didn't want to jepardize my current job for another that possibly could have downtime.

Thanks
 
You have to do what's right for you. You shouldn't base your decision on what others are doing, maybe they have to work 2 jobs. It's ok to seek second opinions but in the end you have to do what your heart is telling you to do. I made the decision to leave my job. I talked to people who have worked for the company for as little as 6 months to as long as 2 years. There will always be people who are not satisfied with their current situtation, there will always be people that have good things to say and bad things to say about a company, but you have to base you opinion on your personal experiences, not the experiences of anyone else. If I would have based my opinion about MedAssurant on some of the experiences of other people I would not be working for them today. I made the decision to experience the company for myself. I stepped out on faith and I will not look back. I certainly feel that if MedAssurant does not work for me then God has something better. I do not have any doubts about the job, I love what I do and I am happy that I was blessed with the opportunity to work for them. I prayed about my decision and I got second opinions, but I kept getting confirmation that the right thing was for me to leave my job. I prayed for a work at home job and I was blessed with it, so I took the job and happily strided along knowing that God has my back in anything and everything. Good luck!!

Just my two cents,
Nikky, CPC, CPC-P
Nikky, That is a good 2 cents. I quit my job too. I started on 7/7/08. I enjoyed reading what you had to say. I feel the same way. Congrats to you!
 
You have to do what's right for you. You shouldn't base your decision on what others are doing, maybe they have to work 2 jobs. It's ok to seek second opinions but in the end you have to do what your heart is telling you to do. I made the decision to leave my job. I talked to people who have worked for the company for as little as 6 months to as long as 2 years. There will always be people who are not satisfied with their current situtation, there will always be people that have good things to say and bad things to say about a company, but you have to base you opinion on your personal experiences, not the experiences of anyone else. If I would have based my opinion about MedAssurant on some of the experiences of other people I would not be working for them today. I made the decision to experience the company for myself. I stepped out on faith and I will not look back. I certainly feel that if MedAssurant does not work for me then God has something better. I do not have any doubts about the job, I love what I do and I am happy that I was blessed with the opportunity to work for them. I prayed about my decision and I got second opinions, but I kept getting confirmation that the right thing was for me to leave my job. I prayed for a work at home job and I was blessed with it, so I took the job and happily strided along knowing that God has my back in anything and everything. Good luck!!

Just my two cents,
Nikky, CPC, CPC-P


Wonderfully said.....


YTH, CPC
 
medassurant training

Where does the training take place? I am interested in a part time job coding from home, but would like to keep my day job for now.
 
I just started training with MedAssurant today. The training is online and requires one week of 11-5 pm hours (EST). Other than that, they told me I only had to be available for one hour per day between the hours of 8:00 and 5:00 pm EST but from my rep they said I only need to be available for that hour during training days (occasional). I can work any hours I want. I am doing full time but I believe others are doing part-time. I think you have to have the full CPC (not CPC-A) but you can check with them on that.

So far, its actually easier than plain ICD-9 coding because those 35,000 available ICD-9s are actually broken down into only70 Heirarchal Condition Categories (HCC). Some ICD's do not even have a HCC so you learn which dx you need to code and which you don't. There is also no need for coding in order of the conditions.

Will let you know how it goes as I get further into it.
 
Thank you Sherryjean. How do you like it so far? I am still loving it.
I love it! At first I was scared. But I soaked it up. I am still in preceptorship. but it is so convenient. Not only am I saving all kinds of money with childcare and how far I had to drive at my job with gas. But when I got my first paycheck I was so surprised! My lead is also really good to me. I'm 40 hrs a week. Saving money for a rainy day!
 
I too, just took the test, and am scheduled for a phone interview tomorrow morning, how does everyone like it? are you always busy? and is the training pretty easy? please let me know. what your thoughts and experiences are.

aloha,
ggmaui
 
40 hours or else

I got hired a few weeks ago. I was only doing 20 hours a week and got my first verbal warning about not working 40. I can't see taking 8 hours to read 50-60 charts when most of them are 1 or 3 pages or no target or field found. I will adhere to the 40 hour rule as not to get terminated from my first coding job.
 
demetriary,
I'm confused about the 40 hr. requirement. So what are you supposed to do, ask for more work if you finish in less than 40 hrs. or just stretch out what you have and report 40 hrs.? How is the time reported?
 
Med Assurant Information

The training was very good. I got 100% on my test. Problem is that they want you to start coding for them that very next day. It is not like a normal job, where you agree to a start date. It is something that I could definitly do and be happy. However, as the MedAssurant website states, the remote coder position is good for someone that works andother job of 32 hrs. I currently have a 40 per week job, they do not accomidate a transisiton period to change jobs over to them. Everyone is very nice, with the exception of the HR rep Jay. They also require that you complete the 30 hours of training, pass the test and perform your first review before they will pay you for the training. I did not find this written anywhere. I did find that the employee contract states that there is a 2 year NON-COMPETE contract that you are REQUIRED to sign. They do not guarantee 40 hours, but you have to be available for 40 hours, but you can't work for someone else that performs CMS-HCC reviews. This is very convient for them, however you are locked into them whether they have work for you or not. If you break the contract, you are subject to a law suit, attorney fees etc. They also told me that I could work anytime of the day or night but I would have to be available 1 hr during EST work week for a phone call meeting. NOT TRUE. You have to talk to your Preceptor daily, there are Team meetings 1 hr, Lead Coder meetings 1 hr. Very deceptive. I hope you get more information than I did. I started many threads hoping someone would come forward to share experiences, I really did not get the type of info that I am sharing with you. Please feel free to ask me any questions, I will answer what I can.
I sent my resignation letter today.
 
Same here, I am saving money on childcare and gas. I am still in the preceptor program as well but I am doing over-reads. I was scared at first too and soaked it up. I think that it is only natural to be scared at first but once you start doing the work it's a piece of cake. I was surprised with my first paycheck as well but satisfied, so I am saving too, which is something that I was not able to do on my previous job. I am glad I am able to save because if there ever comes a time when work is not available (but I was told there is no need to worry about that), I won't be stressing over how my bills will be paid. I am glad you like it though and please keep in touch my email address is mcdonough_beauty@yahoo.com.



I love it! At first I was scared. But I soaked it up. I am still in preceptorship. but it is so convenient. Not only am I saving all kinds of money with childcare and how far I had to drive at my job with gas. But when I got my first paycheck I was so surprised! My lead is also really good to me. I'm 40 hrs a week. Saving money for a rainy day!
 
remote coding for PHNS "the HealthCaring Solutions"

Hi,
I was wondering if anybody has ever heard of this company...PHNS "the HealthCaring Solutions? they want to give me an interview for a remote coding position....I have never heard of them and I do not want to take any chances of a scam...Help!:)

Thanks!
Nichole
 
Phns

Yes they are legit.. Pay real good to. Pre-employment coding exam is a tough one though. I also interviewed with them but went with another company.
 
Phone Interview

I had my phone interview (screening) this morning with Medassurant and now am scheduled for friday morning with a phone intrview with a lead. Does anyone do this as well as work fulltime?? and how is it working for you? One of the questions they asked was would i have to give 2 weeks notice to my employer, I dont want to give notice until I know how this company is. How do they pay? automatic deposit?? and how often? Please let me know.
 
I have applied w/ MedAssurant but have not heard from them... I am CPC and have been in the medical field for 15+ years... Any suggestions?? Also any advise on any other remote positions?? :confused:
 
I love it

I have worked for them since mid June and I am out of the preceptor program at first even during my preceptor program I did not normally work an hour during the day, I stayed in contact with my preceptor through email mostly we had some conversations during the week. When I first started I worked another job that required 40 hours a week. I find it to be very flexible. I have 2 meetings a month with my lead for 30 minutes to an hour and he likes to keep up with you at least through email to know how things are going. As with any job it might be for you or it might not. You will always hear good and bad things about a company every person has their own take on things. For myself it is great no daycare and saving a lot of money in gas is great too...:)
 
medassurant

I just had my secondary phone interview with them and will hear back next week, monday or tuesday. Yeah!!! I hope I can do this plus work my job. any feedback is welcome.
 
MedAssurant

completed the training, scored 100% on my test, everyone was very nice. I resigned last week, these are the reason why; I was unable to be available for 40 hours per week in addition to my current position of 40 hours with my local job. I was unable to set aside 1 hour each day (during EST business hours) to speak with my preceptor. I was unable to attend the weekly meetings (1 hour) with my lead coder, and 1 hour with the team leader. I cannot quit my full time day job with out the security of knowing there will be enough work to work me and pay me for 40 hours. ###The real kicker is they REQUIRE that you sign a NON COMPETE contract. The contract states that you cannot work for another coding company that performs ANY of the same services that MedAssurant does for a 2 Year period after you no longer work for them.### I completed 30 hours of training, passed the test and completed 3 reviews for them. It is my understanding that I will not be paid because I will not sign (on advice from an employment attorney) the non compete contract. (Read through ALL of your paperwork). I performed reviews for them, without sending in the paperwork, I had not signed the privacy policy, HIPAA agreement etc. I feel that this is not good business practice. Other than these issues, I would have loved to work for them. The laptop and scanner was nice, the reports were legible and the people were friendly.
If you have ever had experience with a NON COMPETE contract, it would give you personal insight. Think about this..if they only have 10 hours of work for you to do in a weeks time, wouldn't you want to suppliment your income? How can you maintain two 40 hour per week jobs? You HAVE to be available to them for 40 hours, you are on stand by. You do not know if you have work until you upload, then download to capture the jobs that are out there. If someone beats you to it, they get the jobs. If you do not get through all of your download, the charts are "sucked" back into the system. There is no way to secure what you download unless you sit down and perform the reviews immediately. You would not be able to get up early, download jobs thinking that when you get home from your full time job that they would be there. If you had a spouse that could support you and could cover the ups and downs of the hours, your only hold back would be the employment contract. The contract also states that your employment status is "at will employment", if you do not make quota, or accuracy and you are terminated, you would not be able to legally find another remote position performing CMS-HCC audits, HEDIS, and others. OUCH!:(
 
Wow! Has anyone else run into these "fine print" issues ICode4U mentions in her post? It seems like most people who post here have just started to work for MedAssurant or are in the testing phase. Any longer-term people who can weigh in on this? Thanks to all of you who are sharing your experiences...good and bad!:eek:
 
i had posted this on another thread, so here it is.

YOU are absolutely correct. Do not find yourself working for people like this. Years ago, I was a insurance adjuster and traveled. We had to sign a contract for a company stating we would not work for another, while employed by them. No money to be inclusive to them only---but we were sent on the road to a job. Once there, we were left with no work because another company stole their contract. We were left hanging. Well to make a long story short, about 7 of us got together, and turned them into the labor board, and filed a formal complaint. As it turned out, their contract was not worth the paper written on, and we were being held as their sole prisoner to not work for their competition. So please---please if you are concerned and have issues with this company, make copies of these boards, and everything you see from other coders about this company and save them for your own personal need. Call your labor board and quiz them about laws of you signing a contract inclusive to them, and being held accountable to them when work runs out. It might some day turn into a class-action lawsuit to be able to get out of your contracts or if they persue holding you accountable and suing you in return.
 
MedAssurant

Aloha,
I just got hired by MedAssurant, I begin training 8/25. I'm excited and thanks to the reviews/comments I read on this forum, it helped me feel good about my decision. :)
 
Why does MedAssurant have such a big turnover...it seems like they HIRE and FIRE coders everyday...I know a coder that just started with them and just got fired...She said they are horrible when it comes to customer service...she also said they're so helpful and friendly in the beginning and later turn on you...has anyone experienced this?
 
I have never worked for them but have friends who "did" they were either fired after only a few months or quit as they were not being treated well.

I hope things turn out better for some of the new hires.
 
Why does MedAssurant have such a big turnover...it seems like they HIRE and FIRE coders everyday...I know a coder that just started with them and just got fired...She said they are horrible when it comes to customer service...she also said they're so helpful and friendly in the beginning and later turn on you...has anyone experienced this?


Yes, I experienced this. They are nice and helpful in the beggining and then they turn on you. My preceptor so was nice and helpful, she was so impressed with my ability to meet their chart quota after only being employed there for 2 weeks. She always told me how good of a job that I was doing and told me that if I didn't hear anything from her, not to worry. I was always concerned about how I was doing and the only way I found out is if I called her. Then low and behold in the end she did a 360 on me. So my advice to you is to be very careful with them and do not get too comfortable because they have no problems getting rid of you.
 
hired

I am in training now, and am a little worried with everything I have read, but I will only know if I try. I can see how they are so nice in the beginning. I had to call about the sign on bonus, it was not in the paperwork i received.
 
Getting paid from MedAssurant

I still have not received payment just for the training and the first reviews that I performed. Good Luck. Don't forget about the non-compete contract.
 
watch out!

I posted this under another forum and wanted to add it here as well. I just feel as though it is my "duty":D :
I ask anyone applying to them to beware. All of their employees are helpful and nice and understanding for the first few weeks and then they turn on you. The only thing I can add is this:
I have experienced several situations where I was told I made an error, but remembered putting that HCC in! Almost every error I have "made" I don't remember making and in fact I remember capturing it. I hesitate to say that they don't do this on purpose to keep your error rate high and also to keep recycling their coders (so they can stay training, etc.) It just seems so fishy to me.

I just don't see how the people reviewing our charts are so "resistant" to mistakes themselves. Another example, my preceptor told me something was signed and after I challenged her, she admitted her mistake. The same thing happened on a code. She told me it did not fall under an HCC when in fact, it was an addition to the manual that we were notified of my email. When I challenged her, she again had to admit she was wrong. I can't prove whether my error rate was corrected after I pointed these out or whether she kept the error rate the same, though.

And regarding the choosing a "random" 25 charts to review and use to calculate our error rate...who's to say they don't review a chart and say "Oh, nothings wrong with this one let me try another" with the hope that they will find enough errors to give us a high error rate? You know what I mean? Like they could review more that 25 charts and only use the ones that had errors in order to "fabricate" a higher error rate in order to fire you. I mean, how can someone logically go from 0% to 4% to 0% THEN suddenly after preceptorship ends start getting 14% then 16% then 20%??? Come on now...common sense says that typically someone should get better with practice/experience, not worse. You know what I mean?

One last thing. My last check was supposedly mailed on 8/8, but I did not receive it until 8/19 (after several phone calls and me threatening to not send back my equipment until I received my check). My rationale was once they get their equipment, I may never get my check...so I held my computer as "ransom";)
 
I should have held my computer as ransom. I sent it back to them because I was assuming that if I did not send the computer, they would not send my check. I called and spoke with Jill, she stated that my time was processed but the check will not be deposited into my account. She said that it would be mailed off on Friday and I should get it one day next week.
 
Worried!!!

Aloha,
Now I'm starting to get worried. :eek: Thanks for making me aware of the so-called non compete contract. I'm also employed by HSAG, Health Service Advisory Group, been with them for 3 years. Work is based on projects also. I hope there is no conflict with Med Assurant. :confused: Also, I seen above in one of the postings, it talks about sign-on bonus, do you know if the remote coding positions offer this too?

So far the experience has been pleasant, I just keep praying it all turns out good....

Mahalo
Penny
 
Aloha,
Now I'm starting to get worried. :eek: Thanks for making me aware of the so-called non compete contract. I'm also employed by HSAG, Health Service Advisory Group, been with them for 3 years. Work is based on projects also. I hope there is no conflict with Med Assurant. :confused: Also, I seen above in one of the postings, it talks about sign-on bonus, do you know if the remote coding positions offer this too?

So far the experience has been pleasant, I just keep praying it all turns out good....

Mahalo
Penny

Per Dana in HR remote coders hired after June 3, 2008 are eligible for the sign on bonus. The sign on bonus is to be split up between pay periods, not certain of the order, I forget, but you should see the first $200 on your first paycheck. Please don't count on it. I was hired to start on June 9th and as of August 4th I am no longer an employee there and I have yet to see any of the sign on bonus, so again don't expect it. It seems as if they pick and choose who to give the bonus to, I have spoken with 1 remote coder and she has received $200 of the bonus. That's one coder out of the several that I have spoken with. I even talked to one lady that was in the training class with me and she has not seen any of the money either.

As far as the experience being pleasant. It will be pleasant, as a matter of fact, it will be very pleasant at first, until they turn on you. I just got off the phone with yet another coder (former) and she experienced the exact same thing. Now, all of us can't be saying the exact same things without there being some truth to it. We don't even know each other. We start chatting when we find out how we all had the same experience with MedAssurant. So take it for what it's worth, just be careful and whatever you do, please do not leave your job and depend on MedAssurant as your only source of income.

Trust me, I am not saying this because I am a disgruntled former employee, that is not it at all. As a matter of fact, I am very thankful for the little bit of experience that I gained with MedAssurant. I am not mad at all over the situation, I would just hate for it to happen to another fellow coder when the opportunity was available for me to provide them with some much needed information. I wish you the best of luck and I hope that your experience is much better than others that have had bad experiences. MedAssurant's reputation on not only this forum, but others as well, is not very good. Again, there are some that have or have had good experiences and some that have had bad experiences. Maybe you will be one of the few to encounter a good experience. Again, good luck!!
 
You quit?

I should have held my computer as ransom. I sent it back to them because I was assuming that if I did not send the computer, they would not send my check. I called and spoke with Jill, she stated that my time was processed but the check will not be deposited into my account. She said that it would be mailed off on Friday and I should get it one day next week.

Browning you quit or got fired? tell me what happened
 
Yes, from Hawaii

Are you from Hawaii? I am doing training with them now.


Hi,
Yes I'm from Hawaii, Kauai to be exact. I just got off the phone with Jay, we did a introduction. He explained about the end of the training exam, then about the mentoring program and how there's another exam.....I did ask about the sign on bonus and he stated that at this time no bonus is being offered. This will be my primary job, so I'm crossing my fingers and saying my prayers, hoping that I'll have a great experience!:) Let me know how your training is coming along....the only downfall that I can see right now is the time difference......lol!

Penny
 
I have been work for Medassurant for over a month and I had not problem getting work. They have plenty of work to get you 40 hours right now.
 
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