what hourly rate to be asking for after 4 years?

[finalpsychyear]

Hi:
Backstory: Recently I had asked a colleague (1099 NP) where i work if they had ever asked for a raise and they said they had and it didn't go in their favor. The following day I received a text from one of the main admin saying I need to send a request for a raise and include reasons such as commitment, future goals, etc. I had already been getting many requests by them to increase my hours so it seems now is a good opportunity to do both.

So one of my jobs for a CMHC I have a hybrid position where I do telepsych and in person 1x a week pre covid and they pay $160/hr since 2017 and this was before the addition of add on therapy codes. I also provide MAT services but do not do suboxone currently by choice. Recently, a long established provider who does Developmental disability left the company and i was asked to take over the entire caseload which i did agree to but i did not ask for any additional $ a few months ago. I have been there for almost 4 years but have never requested a raise. The company is doing well. This is purely a 1099 position.

What is a reasonable hourly asking rate for a 1099 position with no benefits since starting at 2017 i have been at $160/hr? I was thinking $220 and willing to settle for $200 but I wanted some thoughts on this if possible?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[dl2dp2]

When you negotiate you need a BATNA. Are you willing to leave the job if they don't agree to a raise? If not, there's no point in negotiating, in my opinion--because negotiating and failing in general damages relationships, unless you are very interpersonally skilled. If you don't want to deal with the interpersonal piece, just refuse to do the new work in a passive-aggressive way, and the admin can deal with the fall out.

Typically, a more skillful way to manage these things is to be on the admin's good side. You should be hobnobbing with the admin outside of work and get a sense of the financial reality of the company. There's typically a great latitude in the way money can be handed out, but whether it is handed out in a way that is beneficial to you depends on the quality of these relationships. Once you have the relationships you also can develop a sense of the incentives, which ultimately is where the value lives. Right now you are talking like a disposable piece of the machine.

 

[robellis]

Hi:
Backstory: Recently I had asked a colleague (1099 NP) where i work if they had ever asked for a raise and they said they had and it didn't go in their favor. The following day I received a text from one of the main admin saying I need to send a request for a raise and include reasons such as commitment, future goals, etc. I had already been getting many requests by them to increase my hours so it seems now is a good opportunity to do both.

So one of my jobs for a CMHC I have a hybrid position where I do telepsych and in person 1x a week pre covid and they pay $160/hr since 2017 and this was before the addition of add on therapy codes. I also provide MAT services but do not do suboxone currently by choice. Recently, a long established provider who does Developmental disability left the company and i was asked to take over the entire caseload which i did agree to but i did not ask for any additional $ a few months ago. I have been there for almost 4 years but have never requested a raise. The company is doing well. This is purely a 1099 position.

What is a reasonable hourly asking rate for a 1099 position with no benefits since starting at 2017 i have been at $160/hr? I was thinking $220 and willing to settle for $200 but I wanted some thoughts on this if possible?

You shouldn’t be making less than 200 as a 1099 but like above if you’re not willing to walk away this is moot

 

[finalpsychyear]

When you negotiate you need a BATNA. Are you willing to leave the job if they don't agree to a raise? If not, there's no point in negotiating, in my opinion--because negotiating and failing in general damages relationships, unless you are very interpersonally skilled. If you don't want to deal with the interpersonal piece, just refuse to do the new work in a passive-aggressive way, and the admin can deal with the fall out.

Typically, a more skillful way to manage these things is to be on the admin's good side. You should be hobnobbing with the admin outside of work and get a sense of the financial reality of the company. There's typically a great latitude in the way money can be handed out, but whether it is handed out in a way that is beneficial to you depends on the quality of these relationships. Once you have the relationships you also can develop a sense of the incentives, which ultimately is where the value lives. Right now you are talking like a disposable piece of the machine.

There's also value in trying. I should know if no raise is going to come after the time committed as well to know long term commitments.

 

[AD04]

What benefit do they get for giving you a raise? After 4 years, you should be able to read your employers and see what they are looking for in the relationship.

I've been in my place for a little more than half a year and my institution is looking for people, especially physicians, who are willing to work a lot. Knowing that it is so hard for them to find what they are looking for, I have no qualms about asking for more money when the time is right. I also have no qualms about leaving if I feel the relationship is no longer favorable for me. I would not lose sleep if I was fired tomorrow. Even so, I am on good terms with administration and I have no reason to give them grief.

Some places just can't afford to pay more money so negotiating for more money is pointless. At that point, there should be another benefit besides money. If there is no further benefit, leave.

Recently, a long established provider who does Developmental disability left the company and i was asked to take over the entire caseload which i did agree to but i did not ask for any additional $ a few months ago.

That would have been an excellent time to renegotiate.

From what I read, they are asking for more hours so they like what you do. Giving more hours could be conditional on getting more money / hr. In the request for a raise, include the additional duties that you've taken on. Include that you've accepted the same pay for 4 years while your peers have been getting raises every 1 or 2 years. I would also include benchmarks (e.g. in private practice, you could be making x amount hourly) so the increase in pay should be competitive to other options available. Give them reasons to give you more money, so they can justify to their boss that they had to give you more money or else the institution will suffer.

If they refuse the raise, you have to stop accepting additional duties or working additional hours. People rarely appreciate things that are freely given.

P.S. Develop good rapport as negotiation is rarely rational. Read "Never Split the Difference". Not only is it good for negotiation, it is also good for therapy.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

You shouldn’t be making less than 200 as a 1099 but like above if you’re not willing to walk away this is moot

This is a huge overgeneralization that is very dependent on the most important piece of this which is what revenue are you actually generating? Are you seeing 3 patients an hour generating 300 bucks an hour? Are you utilizing add-on codes frequently and know how much revenue this is adding to your billing? Are you seeing all Medicaid patients? Are you being scheduled for 2 patients an hour but half of them no-show so you're sitting on your ass twiddling your thumbs half the day? Are you seeing developmental pediatric patients where you're only able to bill one patient an hour but still technically have a full schedule? Could they just replace you with an NP for half the cost if you decide to walk and they know it (especially at a CMHC where this is becoming the trend)? Or do you have some particular niche (ex. covering the DB peds patients) that other people probably won't want to do that you could use in your favor?

So for instance, if you're only generating 200 bucks an hour, you're gonna be hard pressed to get them to give you 200/hr unless theres a very special reason they need you. You have to know what value you're bringing to the table when you negotiate.

 

[Stagg737]

P.S. Develop good rapport as negotiation is rarely rational. Read "Never Split the Difference". Not only is it good for negotiation, it is also good for therapy.

Agree that there was a golden opportunity to ask for a raise that was missed. The bolded seems pretty interesting. I haven't read the book but it's on my list, any short synopsis on why it's good for therapy? Just in regards to setting boundaries or something more?

 

[TexasPhysician]

Lots to consider:
1. Experience means nothing in medicine. Billing codes pay the same whether you have 1 or 30 years of experience.
2. Average tele rate in my area is $160. Some states lower, some higher.
3. Production matters. They’d likely pay more if you are billing 5 99214’s/hour than 2 99214 with therapy add on codes. How productive are you?
4. Insurance mix matters. In my state, accepting Medicaid without grant support can’t pay well. Typical rate is $120/hr for 1099.
5. Psych running a methadone plus Suboxone program is harder to acquire. I’ve seen $250/hr.
6. CMHC in my area is paying $140/hr. Very regional.

 

[AD04]

Agree that there was a golden opportunity to ask for a raise that was missed. The bolded seems pretty interesting. I haven't read the book but it's on my list, any short synopsis on why it's good for therapy? Just in regards to setting boundaries or something more?

Before the author became a negotiator for the FBI, he first trained on suicide hotlines. Many of the tactics he write about is the same that I see in therapy manuals. It is very interesting to see therapy techniques being used outside of therapy and the real-world results from those techniques.

Here's a little excerpt:

"Have you been promoted yet?" he asked. "If not, you should have been."
"Why?" Benjie asked.
"I was going to hurt Jeffrey," Sabaya said. "I don’t know what you did to keep me from doing that, but whatever it was, it worked."

 

[psyguru]

I am getting $220 an hour at an FQHC, one day a week as a contractor. I used my forensic psychiatric Fee Schedule (which has a much higher hourly) when negotiating. My email signature block has a link to my forensic psychiatric expert witness website so employers will know that my expert practice, not a mere side gig.

 

[vistaril]

Hi:
Backstory: Recently I had asked a colleague (1099 NP) where i work if they had ever asked for a raise and they said they had and it didn't go in their favor. The following day I received a text from one of the main admin saying I need to send a request for a raise and include reasons such as commitment, future goals, etc. I had already been getting many requests by them to increase my hours so it seems now is a good opportunity to do both.

So one of my jobs for a CMHC I have a hybrid position where I do telepsych and in person 1x a week pre covid and they pay $160/hr since 2017 and this was before the addition of add on therapy codes. I also provide MAT services but do not do suboxone currently by choice. Recently, a long established provider who does Developmental disability left the company and i was asked to take over the entire caseload which i did agree to but i did not ask for any additional $ a few months ago. I have been there for almost 4 years but have never requested a raise. The company is doing well. This is purely a 1099 position.

What is a reasonable hourly asking rate for a 1099 position with no benefits since starting at 2017 i have been at $160/hr? I was thinking $220 and willing to settle for $200 but I wanted some thoughts on this if possible?

Who gives a crap what year you are out? What does that have to do with how much
you are worth to them?

Too many unanswered questions here to know...if this is a cmhc and they can just
as easily replace you with a psych np for 65 bucks an hour(and hire one psych to 'manage' them all
depending on the state), you better not ask for a raise and just be glad you
are getting the 160/hr. Because that may be gone soon rate things are going.

Psych nps in many areas have absolutely devastated the cmhc market. Just killed
it for psychs. I'll post a lot about that later, but it's a bloodbath for psychs in many
areas for cmhc. The combination of tele and especially nps has been brutal