Pay Per Visit ... Good or Bad?

caliotter3 · Mar 15, 2012

They are calling you self employed so they can get out of paying employment taxes on you. Check with the IRS on this. They had a couple of brochures on the subject, the gist of which were that most people are employees, not self employed. Even the IRS realizes that employers are screwing over employees with this tactic.

xoNurseRNxo · Mar 15, 2012

I am new to HH and we get paid per visit as well. Not sure if it's the norm.

bringmeashrubbery · Mar 15, 2012

@caliotter3: Thank you for your input! I think you and my sister are right. While it might be normal to get paid by the visit, the self-employment classification seems like shady business practice. One of my friends warned me to be careful as her last boss hired her under "self-employed" status and tried to get away with not paying her. She eventually had to report him to the labor department.

@Liz08: I spoke to a home health nurse, and she told me that it is normal to get paid per visit. I have only spoken to this one person though, so you might want to research it further.

xoNurseRNxo · Mar 15, 2012

The "self employed" does seem kind of strange. Definitely look into that, you can probably contact the board to ask about it.

paddler · Mar 17, 2012

I have a part time job as a patient educator for a certain product. It pays well and wish I could do it full time because I enjoy it too. I do not work for the company from which I receive my referrals, but instead, am a contractor. Anything they pay me I have to pay "self-employment" taxes on at tax time. The outfit you're talking about sounds fishy though, since you'd be an employee and not a contractor. Also, $40 per visit seems pretty low for California. I would ask for $50.

ruthalittle · Mar 18, 2012

I am a per diem LPN in home care in Illinois. The LPN's & RN's I work with are NOT considered self employed, however, per diem means no benefits. For me it works out well, as I can say no when I'm feeling that I have "too much on my plate", I can take as much time as I need with each patient, and actually really enjoy my work (FINALLY!).

The RN case managers I work with are really terrific.

$40 per visit for an RN though..especially if they are medicare visits, particularly start of care or resumption of care..that's really not a good wage for an RN! Even if the employer is taking out taxes. The amount of paperwork the RN's have to deal with is truly horrible..20 pages for a start of care! RN's have to confirm the medication list is correct, on & on with Medicare. (So even $50/ visit seems pretty low to me)

ruthalittle · Mar 18, 2012

Oh, it also seems shady because all the home care positions I know of, RN or LPN, require at least 1 year skilled nursing experience.

IndianaHH · Mar 26, 2012

It's totally illegal. You are still an employee. You are paid per visit. That just means you wont get any overtime pay. If the visit takes 30 mins or takes 2 hrs as a routine visit its all the same pay. You are not self contracting. If so you could set your own pay, own hours etc etc.

If that is what is being offered to you..I'd be sure to let the labor board know.

lossforimagination · Apr 3, 2012

Self employment pay means you are responsible for the employer's part of your SS taxes....as well as your own! Plus, if they do not take out a substantial amount for taxes, you will end up with a big tax bill to the IRS. This happened to me while working for a medical staffing agency. So be certain they are withholding plenty for taxes.

paradiseboundRN · Apr 3, 2012

Very common in Michigan. You are still an employee. The going rate per revisit in Michigan is between $ 50-65, so $40 may be too low. And you should get paid at least $80.00 for a SOC.

EarthChild1130 · Apr 6, 2012

I get paid per visit too, and I am definitely not considered 'self-employed'...I would check with different places if I were you and maybe avoid that employer.