Monday, January 24, 2011

Got Insurance?

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is total BS and while I understand Risk Management lost a LOT of employees to the retirement incentive. This only highlights the stupidity of the BOC and DeKalb rulers.

The BOC instigates a cushy retirement incentive mistaking the broken morale of DeKalb employees. After a decade of no raises, no cost of living of living increases, and no dialog with county rulers, nearly everyone eligible took the incentive and blew out of the county.

While the county was quick to replace or rehire political staff,

most county departments did not have the luxury of the political power or budget to rehire essential employees. Risk management is a small but important department for DeKalb government.

There are a lot of other important departments and sections that also lost valuable employees to the retirement incentive that will never be replaced.

DeKalb rulers need to wake up and recognize that DeKalb employees are important. This is just the beginning, There are a lot of employees performing vital functions that the BOC regard as politically irrelevant.

DeKalb rulers need to reorganize and harness the power of DeKalb employees. Ignoring your greatest asset is a grave mistake for DeKalb rulers.

Ken Choate

Anonymous said...

I am glad someone is shedding some light on this situation. The worst thing is NO ONE at DKPD or anywhere in the county cares. When you advise someone they just say oh they will fix it just wait it takes time for HR to turn in all the policies.

Fed Up said...

Im still waiting on Myra Maddox to return my calls and emails. I still have no insurance and today is January 24th 2011. 24 days into the new year thats just great thanks Mrs. Maddox you worthless county personal employee.

Anonymous said...

Well as of this morning I still don't have insurance. I called Kaiser and they advised me that they have no record of me or my daughter. They told me to call Risk Management to get the paperwork forwarded to them so it could be processed. I asked the lady at Kaiser about the "Good Faith" memo I was sent by the county and she had no idea what I was refering to. I called RM and got a voicemail.... still no response. In the mean time I really need to go to the doctor.

Anonymous said...

Ken, Please run for the retiree pension rep position. We need you there.

Anonymous said...

This is not the first time this has happened. 2 years ago when we were forced to switch from United Health Care to Cigna it happened to me. No coverage till the later part of January. Now forced to switch again and as of today no coverage according to Cigna and all I did was have to switch from HMO to PPO. If one of us did this we would be suspended.

This is how I'm rewarded for my 20+ years of dedicated service to this County? Decrease in net pay due to increase in pension contribution, increase in insurance premiums (when they actually start deducting them again and I actually have coverage). Plus due to changes I have to budget for the MUCH large deductible. And lets add the increase in gas prices, food prices, and everything else that we now have to budget for due to increases.

And to add to that some of us are told that if we don't like it here then leave. Well guess what it's not cost effective yet but it sure is getting close. I can see that flickering light at the end of the tunnel and if things don't drastically improve I'm outa here the first chance I get.

Now I fully support the efforts of the chief to bring this department around to the level it once was when I came here. I do my part to motivate my officers and to provide them with a good working environment. BUT with every step forward the Chief, those above me, or I make, downtown Decatur does something, like this, to ruin that progress.

If we are to get this department back to being the best and attract the best officers then downtown Decatur needs to get on board and stop playing games.

Anonymous said...

OFF TOPIC BUT IMPORTANT:

TWO OFFICERS SHOT AND KILLED IN ST. PETERSBURG FL THIS AM.
TWO MIAMI-DADE OFFICERS KILLED 4 DAYS AGO.
FOUR OFFICERS SHOT INSIDE PRECINCT IN DETROIT.
OREGON POLICE OFFICER SHOT AND IN CRITICAL CONDITION.
SEVERAL OFFICERS KILLED OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS ACROSS THE U.S.

USE EXTREME 10-0 FOLKS. IT SEEMS TO BE OPEN SEASON ON US. STAY SAFE, BE CAREFUL.

Anonymous said...

I called kaiser today and they added my daughter on my plan in good faith...

Anonymous said...

10:33 we cant even leave a message for Risk Management because all voice mails are full. We still dont have insurance an I hope they are ready to pay our bills that are coming.

Anonymous said...

If you think this is gross incompetence, wait until the W2 screw-ups begin again. This year will be MUCH worse than last year.

Anonymous said...

With all the overqualified people looking for work these days you would think Dekalb would have its pick of competent employees. Why is this garbage accepted?

Anonymous said...

I still have not received insurance cards, but monies are being taken out. WTF, DeKalb get your paperwork straighted out. Pray I don't have to be sent to doctor or hospital and me find out I have no insurance. Do you know the word "attorney". 25 year employee.....

Anonymous said...

My insurance has been dropped as well. Risk management told me they would "try" to get me re-enrolled. I told them I would "try" not to get shot in the meantime.

I'm Ron Burgundy? said...

How is it that someone can let hundreds of DeKalb County employees go without insurance year after year and still keep their job? If this had happened in the private sector someone's ass would be fired. Ridiculous.

On another note, since I was forced to switch insurance companies (AGAIN), I can no longer go to the doctor I've been seeing for the past 15 years. Can anyone recommend a decent PCP at Kaiser? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Get the name of whoever you speak to. Let them know that they have 24 hours to fix the situation, or they will also be individually named in your lawsuit.

Anonymous said...

WSB reported on the 5 PM news that it was just a problem in switching between insurance carriers and that everyone was always covered. I am not giving any guarantees

Anonymous said...

I bet the CEO staff is covered with insurance.

Anonymous said...

What a sad commentary on how to ruin a good place to work. It has been a fact for many years now that you work hard to find a good job with a good insurance plan and then work very hard to keep it. There used to be certain things that you did not touch, ever, and one of these was the insurance plan for your employees and thier families. I have a gut feeling. that comes from being a cop a long time, that this isnt just incompetence. It smells more like a broke county government taking money from its employees and not doing what they are supposed to with it. It smells a lot like robbing peter to pay paul. It smells a lot like they were counting too much on what this new national health care plan was going to provide. It stinks of lies and big government gone amuck.
I am curious to know where the money that was taken from the officers and other employees is right now. Did it go into some general fund? Some escrow account?
With blatant incompetence raging the way it apprently is right now in Decatur, it makes me wonder if it isnt part of some grand scheme to defraud county employees.
If it was an honest, but huge mistake, then why is this the second time around for this insanity? Why did heads not roll when this happend before? In my humble opinion, either someone in the HR department is being protected, or the top county officials really do not care even a little bit about thier employees. This is utter corruption on a grand scale and Dekalb County government is now the laughing stock of the entire nation. But the joke is on US and our FAMILIES.

Foghorn Leghorn said...

Mr. Burgundy...you weren't forced to leave your Doctor....you could've kept your doctor under the Cigna PPO...you just chose to go with a different plan namely Kaiser....

And to let WSB know this....If the insurance company says my family is not covered then guess what WSB...my family is not covered...to hell with what the county tells you or anyone else....they dont make that call the insurance company does.... I'm so sick of all these people who are so damn worried about political correctness it absolutely is what is wrong with this whole damn Nation....too many people in someone's back pocket trying to get a dime or a story....

This place needs an enema....too flush out all the crap.

Like I've said this ship is sunk and there are no life preservers left ....and the ones who got out on the early retirement took all the life boats...let's face it ...we're screwed...cause it'll never get better never, ever, ever get back to the way it once was....

That's like saying that S. Dekalb Mall is going to be reborn and it's gonna put the Mall of Georgia out of business....if you believe that shit then you truly deserve to drown on this ship

Anonymous said...

Hey Foghorn 1241....there was an attempt to fix this place...all it took was three detectives with some intergity and knowledge to start the process. But they were SHUT DOWN!!!...Homeland Intel!! The process got TOOOOOO CLOSE! There should be a least three positions open....I bet they fill them with rookies/citizens, if there filled. They (BOC/CEO) DON'T WANT this place to change!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Foghorn - what's the difference in cost to an employee between a PPO and HMO?? Mmmmm hmmmmm.

Anonymous said...

Difference in cost between the HMO and the PPO....

The PPO has higher monthly premiums... on top of that, unless you have something major, you're gonna pay for services out of pocket.

Insurance is now that catastrophic "rider" you could buy on top of normal insurance.

Thank you, Mr. President.

ernie said...

Very... Nicee... Blog.. I really appreciate it... Thanks..:-)