The placement companies are getting $150/hr, which is about going rate for dev agencies here in the valley. You just get the 60% cut.
Some other routes to take:
Management. You get 2 or 3 other remote guys and bill at $200/hr then split the take. You'll get your needed billable hours to make it worthwhile for everyone but lots of headaches and lots of sales.
Consulting. You design the architecture or analysis or technical reviews of projects. But won't hit 2000 billable hrs a year at that rate.
Otherwise no one's going to hire an individual contributor at $200/hr.
Email me if you want to talk shop over coffee.