Know your number before you call back.

What's Inside

A complete assignment toolkit:

1. Rate Benchmark Database

   Neonatology rates by state and setting — urban Level III/IV NICU and rural Level I/II nursery — at the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile. Fifty states. The number you need before you accept the next block offer.

2. Recruiter Call Scripts

   Word-for-word. The exact sentences:

   • The opening anchor when you've received a below-market block offer
   • The counter when they say "this is our standard rate"
   • The NICU level clarification script — Level II vs. Level III vs. Level IV are different jobs and different rates
   • The malpractice tail negotiation script — confirm who pays before signing anything
   • The back-to-back call prohibition script — define the minimum off period in writing
3. Neonatology Leverage Points

   The specific credentials and coverage capabilities that justify above-median rates:

   • Level IV NICU experience with ECMO capability is the scarcest neonatology credential in the locum market — ECMO-capable neonatologists available for locum coverage are a near-national pool with very few competitors
   • Night float in Level III/IV NICUs is the highest-demand, highest-rate slot — employed neonatologists resist overnight coverage, and the locum willing to cover it is providing a service with limited supply
   • Malpractice tail ($60,000–200,000 for a 5-year policy; Level IV assignments documented at $150,000+) is one of the most negotiable items in a neonatology contract and is rarely covered by the facility without being explicitly requested
   • Block week structure means a $20/hr improvement replicates across 80 hours per block — at 26 blocks per year, that is $41,600 from a single negotiation
4. Contract Red Flag Checklist

   NICU level specification (Level II/III/IV must be explicit), back-to-back call prohibition, transport team scope, malpractice tail responsibility and cost, and block scheduling week structure. One page, annotated. Open it while reviewing any contract.

5. Agency Markup Framework

   The math behind what the hospital actually pays for NICU coverage. Level III and IV NICUs generate among the highest per-admission DRG revenue in any hospital. When you know the approximate bill rate, "that's our maximum" means something different.

6. Locum Tax Framework

   The 1099 math most neonatologists undercount: the S-corp threshold, the Solo 401(k) gap, the malpractice tail deduction strategy, and the minimum premium required to break even against a W-2 employed rate after tail costs.

7. Licensing & Credentialing Roadmap

   The licenses, registrations, facility privileges, documents, start gates, and timelines required for the assignment.

8. From Signed Contract to Final Shift

   A specialty-specific first-shift gate, assignment escalation scripts, a stay/pause/leave framework, and a final-shift checklist.

What It Looks Like on the Call

When a recruiter quotes $195/hr for a Level III NICU night float block, this is the sentence from Section 2:

"The market rate for Level III NICU night float is $215–225/hr for a full block week. I also need to confirm malpractice tail coverage — neonatology tail is significant and should be fully covered by the facility. Can you confirm the NICU level, tail coverage terms, and whether there's flexibility to get to $220 before we discuss scheduling?"

You change the numbers to match your state. You say it. That is the product.

Who Built This

For years I took every rate I was offered without pushing back. Not because I was naive. I did not have the data to know whether I should. Neither did anyone I trained with.

I built the same rate model and negotiation framework across 22 physician specialties, then added the contract, credentialing, first-shift, and assignment protections I would want before accepting the work myself.

The agency has this organized. Now you do too.

— General Surgery MD

Built on Evidence, Written for the Call

The toolkit combines 50-state benchmark data, specialty-specific assignment research, current licensing and tax guidance, and 17 peer-reviewed negotiation sources. The research establishes the framework; the product gives you the number, language, and checklists to act on it.

What $99 Has to Do

One $10/hr improvement on one 10-hour shift covers the full price. One avoided unpaid hour can do the same. Every protected shift, corrected contract term, or future renewal comes after that.

One Honest Limitation

This will not help you if you are already negotiating above the 75th percentile for your specialty and state. If you don't know what percentile your current rate is, that is the problem this solves.

About the Data

Based on BLS OEWS public data and CMS geographic adjustment factors, processed through a locum-adjusted model, calibrated and validated against publicly posted rates and observations.