Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Benefits...Kaiser To Increase 15%, Cigna HMO To Be Dropped

On top of furlough days and impending increases in pension contributions , the commissioners have decided to raise our contributions for Kaiser health insurance by 15% in 2011.

They also decided to drop Cigna's HMO.

The hits just keep on coming.

Read it and weep here.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow not only do I have to change my insurance but I have to pay another $200.00 a month to be with a company I don't want to be with. Why do we have to continue to pay for the citizens of the County to have services out of our checks.

Anonymous said...

1) No raises in three years
2) More money taken out of our checks for the pension each year
3) More money taken out of our checks each year for health care
4) Pay cuts/Furlough Days/Unpaid Holidays

I think my head is about to explode. The problem is, we aren't being loud enough. These douchebags, like Ellis, Lee May, Larry Johnson, and the fat bitch from Dunwoody go back to their neighborhoods and get their asses kissed by their neighbors and get thanked by them for everything they do for the county. They get thanked for fucking us over! Seeing the FOP president at a meeting every other week goes in one ear and out the other. His voice is drowned out by all the ass kissing they get from their friends and neighbors. We need to get their attention! We need to let them how much they have fucked us over! We need to show up in huge numbers at their meetings with bullhorns and signs and tells these sorry assholes we are fed up and we're not going to take it anymore!

Anonymous said...

First Blue Cross and now Cigna...before you know it these morons will have us getting all of our healthcare needs taken care of at Winn Way and the CVS Minute Clinic.

Shoot, I might just put in for Medicaid.

I've only been here three years and this place is sucking the life out of me.

Anonymous said...

Damn, we are going to get CROWED!!!!

Anonymous said...

Is this ever going to end? I swear. Why do they even bother paying us anymore? It's seems like everyday there is some new bull $hit added to our plate. There's is only so much more we can take before there's a damn mutiny.

Anonymous said...

Are you freakin kidding me? We should have a choice on insurance.

Anonymous said...

Wow what a bunch of shit, while everything else is going up we keep getting screwed, I feel like I've just left the Bishops house!

Anonymous said...

Yet again, why does the County have to pay someone to decide the cost effectiveness of the plans??? Don't you have enough employees that surely one of them know who to analyze health plans?? Stupid question! Bend over and take it again!

Anonymous said...

So let me get this straight....my options are now:

Kaiser, which has their own offices and staff doctors...not my doctor

or

Cigna PPO...which will cover my doctor at a higher cost.... specifics I don't know at the moment.

First they drop Blue Cross...force me over to Cigna....now... Not sure.

I'm Retired said...

The price for kaiser? Is that the monthly ratefor employee plus family?

Anonymous said...

Just ANOTHER reason to go work in a NORMAL community, not that we needed yet ANOTHER reason.

Anonymous said...

Should I infer that Cigna does not offer family plans since only the employee price is listed??

Anonymous said...

Anonymous September 23, 2010 12:02 AM said,

"I have to pay another $200.00 a month"

Yup.... another $200/month or $2,400/year less that you will be taking home each month.... 5% less is you've been here a while and are making $48K (an that's just the health care increase! Wait till new taxes kick in on 1-1-2011).

Implications:
* You need to work more part times to keep up.
* Your car note will be a littler harder to keep up with.
* Other than visiting friends or staying with family, forget the family vacation
* You'll have to put off painting the house
* Your kids won't be taking dance,karate or _fill in the activity_
* Christmas just got much harder
* You won't have money for a tutor
* The occasional night out with the wife is out of the question..Dinner and a babysitter are too expensive
* The list can go on and on and on.

Wonder how much the pension contribution will increase.

Dues paying FOP member... said...

Again.... Join the FOP!

If Wiggs has 90-100%of us as dues paying members, he goes before the BOC with a BIG stick. There is strength in numbers!

The FOP is out there fighting for us.... give them the support they give us. Think about it. The dues come out to just over $7 per month.

Is it worth $7 a month to have someone go to the BOC meetings, go to community meeting, and to speak to the media on your behalf?

Is it worth a little more than the cost of a fast food meal? I think it is.

The legal defense package is also a good value. Check it out for yourselves.

Anonymous said...

Roger Pickens, the former dept head of Benefits, said that the BOC charges such a high premium because the fewer employees that can afford county-sponsored insurance, the less money the BOC has to pay to cover their end.

Anonymous said...

“I felt like I just left the Bishop’s house.”

That was funny right there….I don’t care who you are…………that was funny.

Anonymous said...

This is crazy. Only one vendor each for traditional insurance, the HMO and for dental? What the hell happened to competition? The risk management section went to hell three or four years ago and then Charles Kimble resigned and that was the last straw. It used to be risk management was looking out for the employees best interests but not anymore. Just as human resources no longer looks out for employees, risk management has joined the brown-nosing, ass-kissing, stab your mates in the back attitude of human resources to screw employees again, then repeat.

Presently the county contributes the lowest percentage for employee insurance in the area. Something like 60 percent. Other local governments contribute far more, Dunwoody's contributes 100 percent, other counties contribute less but all are contributing far more than DeKalb.

Is the county positioning itself to transfer employee health insurance to the new federal health car program? Cause that is what it looking like. Just in case anyone is interested what federal health care looks like. Take a trip up to PDK airport and checkout the health clinic, or go by Winn Way. I guarantee you will not walk out near as confident of government health services as when you walked in. Is this really what the employees or citizens want?

Well, yes. That is exactly what the citizens and DeKalb rulers voted for. Hope and change. How's that working out for you?

Anonymous said...

Come on we need to understand the need to cut unnecessary expenses like raises, insurance, pension, etc. These cuts will make sure that there is always ample hush money for Ellis and the gang. These people don't care about anyone but themselves and their buddies. I'm sure Sheila will now receive a health care reimbursement check from the mighty little leader. Keep educating anyone you come in contact with as to the need to vote these idiots out. Whats next not enough money to provide Burrell's security watch. Oh forgot that one is always funded!

Anonymous said...

Most of you are still working - you ought to be retired!!! Cigna is awful...no doctor's office really wants to deal with Cigna...plus, it is amazing to me how Cigna tries to weedle out of the bill - any of you get those "pre-existing" letters when you switched to Cigna? It took 3 calls to get over that - one to Cigna, one to our Benefits Section (really good people, very helpful) and one to the insurance commissioner's office. About 5 or 6 years ago, Cigna was run out of the State and had to pay the largest fine up to that point for all the crap they pulled. I'm just bumfuddled at how this board treats its retirees.

Anonymous said...

So every time there is a company with pretty decent coverage and everybody goes with them, that's a certain indication they'll be dropped next time around ! Does anybody understand the almost non-existent info on the attachment for Cigna ? Great golly molly, will this circus never end ? If things keep going as they are now, Dekalb won't have a police dept left ! When are the top dogs going to wake up ?

Anonymous said...

Tickets? You want me to write revenue generating tickets?

I'll write tickets.... the short yellow ones! If those run out, I'll use the expensive long copy and write "WARNING" across the face of the citation!

Anonymous said...

As I said before......if I were you guys, I wouldnt write a long copy if they offered me a steak dinner for every one I wrote!!!!
In fact, if I were you guys, I would go out of my way to make what few units there are left into mangled hulks of wreckage. If you think not writing tickets is costing the county, try replacing crown victoria's! Support from your supervisors and creative report writing should handle it and you will still get your safe driving award every two years.

Anonymous said...

If I understand the attachment is meant for the budget person and might not be the employee rates since none are listed for employees under Cigna. I think Kaiser is a regular insurance plan like you may have with a private company or your spouse. We pay a lot of money in premiums and they pay whatever bills come in. But for Cigna I think the county pays all the actual medical payments but Cigna handles the doctors and billing and just charge an administrative fee per person.

Anonymous said...

I joined the FOP, at least they are there trying to help us!

I'm Retired said...

You mean to tell me my Kaiser is going up 900 dollors a month more than I pay now. What has happened to this place, why has everyone who said they would better this place made it worse. Let me know when we march on Decatur

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous #1

It's worse than you said!

If you are paying $200 more per month, that is $2400 less in your pocket each year. But don't forget our unpaid holiday/furloughs/county stealing from us! That's probably another $1200 to $1600 less in your pocket!

The BOC has a lot of fucking nerve. On top of not getting raises for the last 3 years, we're getting our pay cut by thousands of dollars! This is CRIMINAL!

Anonymous said...

"I feel like I've just left the Bishops house!"

At least the Bishop gives you an Ipod after he's done screwing you.

Anonymous said...

Wow !!!!! Tucker Pct. Daywatch only has 7 Officers today on a Friday. Thanks BOC for the furlough days Im sure the citizens will love this. Be safe troups and be smart. One call at a time.

Anonymous said...

Yea

Anonymous said...

Lets see the BOC gives raises to their staff. The CEO gives hush money and a last minute vehicle allowance to Ms. Edwards. Then the CEO and BOC try to look good for the media by saying they are giving the employees holidays back but in the same breath say the employees have to take four furlough days by December so they can make up for the money the county is short. I'm lost here. The CEO and BOC did not do anything by giving the employees their holidays back because they still have to take the same four days off WITHOUT PAY. The CEO and BOC pulled the wool over you employees that shit was a big smoke screen that everyone including the Media, FOP and you Officers fell for. The CEO and BOC screws your officers further by leaving you no choice but to go with Kaiser insurance with a big increase to your monthly premiums. If the CEO and BOC wanted the employees on President Obamas’ new health plan he and his Congress and Senate passed into law so the county can save money they should have been honest with the employees and just said so. Don't try to blow smoke up the butts of the Officers who protect this county and then attempt to look like you care about them or their families because you don’t and those officers know the entire BOC and the CEO each have two faces. You all are placing every officer in danger by furloughing them and leaving a skeleton crew on the streets to patrol. If I call 911 will an officer get to my house in time or if something is wrong will he be hurt because he has to come protect me alone because you people furloughed officers but have money to use for dinners and your side hush fund. I hope the CEO and BOC feel good about what they have done and are doing to the officers when they look in the mirror everyday because they are going to get a DKPD officer KILLED by this crap but I guess you would have to have a soul to care. Wonder what the CEO and BOC will tell the family of an officer when because of this bullshit they have no spouse or parent for their child? They probably won't even have the guts to show up and talk to a family because they will be out at a county funded dinner. I think some calls to the FEDS and the local media outlets is justified regarding the CEO and BOC considering all what they are doing. There is some dirty things going on behind closed doors in DeKalb to include kickbacks and hush money and it has to stop. If people call the Media and keep persistent they will find the truth. Kaiser has not gone up that much I received a flyer from Kaiser in the mail the rates for family offered are cheaper then the county rates so something just does not add up. Lets start those calls now. Be Safe out there DKPD. Wish you guys could legally strike that would show them. I hope people are aware the CEO and BOC can be impeached and removed from office. Call someone now before it is to late and make your voice heard. I will speak at the BOC meeting and start a petition but I can’t do this alone. I support Officers but I need all the help I can get. Be Safe out there and God Bless.

Anonymous said...

A joint investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News found that the county issued former Chief Communications Officer Shelia Edwards the check for the car allowance a month after she resigned in July. That allowance, along with more than $12,000 for unused vacation days, was in addition to the $45,000 severance agreement when Edwards quit.



Now How the heck did she accrue $12,500 in vacation time? She was only here about 2 years.

Anonymous said...

ALL WARNINGS!!!!! KEEP IT UP DEKALB. CITIZENS, YOUR SERVICE WILL NOT DECREASE, JUST MY REVENUE PRODUCTION!

Anonymous said...

You guys need to wake up and get a reality check. Nothing will ever change in Dekalb. Has anything improved in the last 10-15 years? NO its only been worse and its not going to improve.

I really dont know why any of you are still working here. I left over 3 years ago and I havent looked back. My health is better, my realtionship with my wife is better, everything in my life has been better since I left Dekalb.

You have nobody to blame but yourself when you continue to get screwed over in Dekalb. Joining a union that has no legal power is not the solution to the problems in Dekalb. The voters in Dekalb are the problem. At some point you have to wake up and realize that its not going to get better.

There is no reason to hang on and hope for a pension that will just get worse and worse. Leave now why you have the chance, you will not regret it. I worked with a lot of great officers in Dekalb and I know most of you can go anywhere and get another job. I left police work altogether and havent regretted it one bit. Do yourself a favor and move on. Trust me it works....

Anonymous said...

Yes, Tucker wont know how to function. They are use to 15-20 officers per shift

Anonymous said...

Guys,

The 15% rate increase you see is coming from the insurance provider not the county. That form is showing you how much the TOTAL premium has gone up. It does not show what percentage your portion is going to cost. Now we'll have to see just how much our actual percentage will go up.

Welcome to the high cost of medical insurance.

Anonymous said...

So, do you miss Bolten (Te Bo) yet? At least he stood up for you..went against the grain, and now you have O'Brien who does nothing but look and does not fight or stand up for you? Where is he? You got what you asked for ladies and gents now enjoy the ride its not even over.

Anonymous said...

No TeBo we dont miss you in the least. The only thing you were good for was to laugh at. Stay gone.