BusinessWeek – Disposable Worker

Did anyone happen to catch the article: The Disposable Worker in BusinessWeek last month? If not, don’t fret, the invoice factoring specialists from PRN Funding took the time to summarize some of the interesting article’s main points below:

These brutal economic times has prompted more companies to use temporary workforces. Utilizing temporary employees gives these companies the ability to add and let go employees quickly and easily, relieving them of any kind of fixed costs. Their approach has created an era of disposable workers that will cause lasting damage.

“Older people who lose their jobs are often forced into premature retirement, while the careers of younger people are stunted by their early detachment from the working world.” Through their actions, many employers are laying the groundwork for employees to become alienated and dispirited.

Moreover, there’s a new trend in upper management, in which bosses are no longer rewarded fpr the number of people they supervise. Rather, they are rewarded for short-term profit performance obtained with less staff.

In addition, the article explained how offshoring has increased during the recession. Economists believe that most jobs shipped overseas will remain offshore even when things start improving in order to help companies continue to keep costs down.

The article referred to the European temporary market model as a way to improve conditions in the U.S. At least in Europe, part-timers and temporary workers receive government health insurance and are required to receive wages and benefits comparable to permanent employees.

AMN’s 2010 Survey Reports RNs Switching Jobs Soon

AMN Healthcare recently reached out to over 1000 Registered Nurses and asked them to complete a survey related to job-satisfaction, and the results are in:

    1. 44% are ready to make a career change within 3 years
    2. More than 1/3 are unhappy with their current job situation
    3. Nearly 60% currently hold full-time permanent positions at a hospital
    4. 15% plan to switch jobs if the economy improves within the next year
    5. 28% said they agreed with this statement: “I will not be working in this job a year from now.”
    6. 46% of nurses agree with the statement “I worry this job is affecting my health.”
    7. 29% plan to leave the nursing profession completely within the next 1-3 years
    8. 55% believe that the quality of care that nurses provide today has declined compared to when they started in nursing
    9. 36% said they either would not recommend nursing as a career to young people or were not sure that they would

      Click here to read the more results from the AMN Healthcare 2010 Survey.

      Health Care Hiring Continues

      James A. White recently blogged about the latest unemployment ratings last week for the Wall Street Journal. January’s rate was 9.7%, which came down from 10% in the previous two months. What PRN Funding found to be the most interesting was that health care sector added 14,500 jobs.

      Moreover, it’s also important to note the continuing surge in temporary hiring. “Perhaps once the health care debate is settled some of these jobs will swap into permanent employment, but in the meantime firms are willing to take on workers but not at the expense of benefits on the way in or severance on the way out,” said Steven Blitz of Majestic Research.

      Spheris to be Acquired by MedQuist and CBay

      In an press release issued this week, Spheris announced that it has agreed for MedQuist and CBay, Inc. to purchase Spheris’ assets under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code. According to the official Spheris press release, “The company expects its operations to continue as usual during the restructuring process. Spheris India, a subsidiary of the Company, will be part of the prospective transaction but will not file for bankruptcy.”

      This news generated some questions from the medical transcription factoring specialists at PRN Funding–Namely, if this agreement goes through from a national perspective, is it beginning of a monopoly in the transcription industry?

      Asset-Based Lending and Invoice Factoring Increases

      There was an interesting article that appeared in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal entitled: Asset-Based Lending Grows in Popularity. The reporter shared statistics that demonstrated how much more small businesses have been leaning on asset-based lending and invoice factoring in the down economy.

      The reporter wrote: “Many small businesses that seek asset-based loans are distressed companies, or have spotty of short track records. Lenders tend to specialize in specific industries or lines of business, with an understanding of the particular collateral at stake.”

      This is especially true of PRN Funding’s factoring services, as we only factor healthcare vendors who sell goods or provide services to healthcare facilities. PRN prides itself in understanding the various industries we serve: medical staffing, medical transcription, medical coding, private duty home care, etc.

      PRN to Introduce Home Care Factoring to NPDA Show Attendees

      Since Health Decision’s Annual Private Duty National Conference and Expo in Las Vegas was such an exciting show for PRN Funding, the private duty factoring firm announces that it will also be exhibiting at the National Private Duty Association’s 2010 Conference in March.

      President, Phil Cohen, and Marketing Manager, Nikki Flores, will be talking with home care business owners in the exhibit hall at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel March 10-11. In addition to discussing the benefits of home care factoring, business owners are invited to stop by the booth and enter for a chance to win a Flip Mino camcorder or an iPod Shuffle.

      Click here to read the official press release about PRN Funding Exhibiting at NPDA.

      How Medical Billing Factoring Increases Cash Flow

      Phil Cohen, president of PRN Funding, LLC, was recently featured as a guest writer for a popular medical billing and coding web site.

      He previously wrote a two-part series explaining how medical coding companies can improve their cash flow by factoring their receivables. Mr. Cohen discussed the things to look for when choosing a medical coding factoring company.

      This time, Mr. Cohen wrote specifically how medical billing companies can benefit from selling their invoices to a factoring firm. In a nutshell, instead of waiting up to 90 days for reimbursement, medical billing factoring provides business owners immediate cash.

      Check out the article here: Medical Billing Companies Can Increase Their Cash Flow Through Factoring.

      Symbio Solutions Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

      According to a post that appeared on Staffing Industry Analysts North American Daily News, “Symbio Solutions, which operates a healthcare vendor management system, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week.”

      Proceeds from the sale will go to 100-plus creditors, however, creditors that are entitled to receive funds may not get 100% of what is owed.

      Plans call for an auction of the company later this month, and for the sale to close in February, Shifflette said.

      Interesting enough, the post reported that Symbio first  ran into payment difficulties last summer after an issue rose with its former factoring company, Sun Capital.

      Click here to read the entire post: VMS files bankruptcy, plans sale.

      Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Increases Given Bad Economy

      According to data taken from the National Bankruptcy Research Center and printed in the Wall Street Journal, personal bankruptcy filings hit 1.41 million in 2009, which was a 32% increase since 2008.

      Analysts blame  job losses and the crumbling housing market. In the past, people who earned $40,000-$80,000 were the ones filing for bankruptcy, but the poor economy has pushed people earning as much as $300,000 annually to file.

      The article even highlighted an entrepreneur, who had to file bankruptcy when his contracting business started going down hill. Unfortunately, for business owners whose personal credit is less-than-perfect, securing a credit line via a bank has become extremely difficult in these times.

      However, factoring firms are still able to look past a personal bankruptcy  because a factor is mainly concerned with the creditworthiness of a business owner’s customers. It’s important for business owners to keep invoice factoring in mind if and when their traditional lenders cut back.

      Click here to read the entire WSJ article: Personal Bankruptcy Filing Rise Fast.

      2009 HIM Salary Survey Results

      Advance for Health Information Professionals published their annual HIM professionals’ salary survey results in the December Issue (pages 12-15). For the convenience of The Factoring Blog’s HIM readership, we’ve included some of the more pertinent findings below:

      • 90% of respondents are full-time HIM professionals (up from 88% in 2008)
      • 64% of those who responded to the survey are employed as a HIM director, coder, MT or cancer registrar
      • Only 19% of respondents indicated that they were working more than 45 hours/week
      • 46% said their salary had NOT increased from 2008
      • 8% said their salary actually DECREASED from 2008