I also heard from Controller Steve Barron. He experienced the same problem, and sent out one of those mass emails that Brown hates while Brown and Campos were still enjoying the holiday. Here's what Barron has to say.
For those of you who were surprised (like I was today) to still not have prescription drug coverage I wanted to provide some helpful tips:Not a very encouraging start to year #2 of Executive John Brown. Barron called Brown, who said he'd address this issue today. Here's his explanation:
First off save your register receipts and labels if you pay out of pocket for your prescriptions.
If this issue is resolved within 7 days CVS will run the script and you will be refunded the difference between the out of pocket expense and the co-pay.
It was told to me that this was an issue with Capital Blue transmitting data. I was in HR Friday to alert them about the issue and clearly was not resolved by the end of the day Friday. I am disappointed, but it is HR's understanding this is a Capital Blue issue and most probably not related to plan changes. Those that called me to tell me about this issue please also let HR know so they can quickly identify and solve the issue.
I did call John Brown on his cellphone today about the issue to express my concern and displeasure. He agreed this was unacceptable and promised to work to resolve this first thing Monday.
I wanted to send this e-mail out though today to help folks with the information I discovered and so that you can be reimbursed quickly for any out of pocket expenses. This hopefully is not a countywide issue. Please share problems you are having with HR and the administration so they can quickly ID the problem and solve it for all employees this had an impact on.
Hope your weekend is good and Happy New Year!
"With regards to the calls received from several employees that they cannot utilize the prescription plan, we can confirm there is a problem that appears to affect the entire group membership. Capital Blue Cross suspects that an input error prevented the automatic rollover of Northampton County's prescription plan into 2015. They have a team working to verify and correct the issue. We anticipate a resolution by Monday."
The Executive adds that any NorCo employees directly impacted by the problem will receive information today regarding what they need to do to receive reimbursement.
Do executives typically not have to work during weekends when there is an emergency? I know the insurance providers were open so why couldn't this be fixed over the weekend?
ReplyDeleteThere was no emergency and nothing that couldn't wait until Monday.
ReplyDeleteIf I believed the employee was the County's most valuable asset, I would be at the office right away, getting those plans activated. I'd haul in ten Cathy Allens, too.
ReplyDelete@1:51 Easy for you to say, sweetie - you could care less if a county employee can get the medications they need. We know that.
ReplyDeleteYou don't even have a job, so you're probably used to a handout of samples or something. You could sell the Rav4. Oh, wait, you can't do that, at least not legally...
You don't seem to have any emergencies in your world. Someone comes swooping in to hide your car, give you another. County employees aren't so privileged. Have some cocoa, the night is young.
151 you are an asshole! There are children on this plan who need medications for a myriad of reasons and this was no emergency?! Tell that to the employee with a sick child or a child with a life threatening condition. You are lower than scum.
ReplyDeleteThere is no Human Resources Director remember.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a relatively minor hiccup, but for JB's track record to date.
ReplyDeleteThere was a major change to NC health care and I can see how mistakes could be made. But I agree with 6:02 this man is so.... clueless it is just anouther blunder in his term.
ReplyDeleteThis sort of thing is common whenever there are plan changes and the simple remedy is for reimbursement. The bigger problem here is the lack of leadership and track record of this Executive. The failure to appoint a new Human Resources director who should be on top of this is troubling.
ReplyDeleteWHO voted for this Clown?
ReplyDeleteBrown has no integrity.
Brown has no clue.
Brown has his head up his ass.
And so do You!
just more crybaby antics from so called workers of Norco. no one died. move on. nothing to see here.
ReplyDeletenew jobs coming according to ET. maybe its time for you to get a real job in the real world. nah, stay where you are, you won't make it on the outside.
just more crybaby antics from the worthless trolls that don't have jack... jealousy abounds from the so-called hard worker from west easton...
ReplyDeleteThis is a normal part of data check for rolling out benefits for the start of the plan year. The fact that this wasn't checked is awful on the part of the benefits team/hr group. This is an absolute and should have been done in December. In my world of Benefits and how I handle renewals this is a failure. In Benefits your MAJOR requirement is to ENSURE benefits are loaded and active and no employees are left having to pay when they shouldn't. Your customers are the employees plain and simple!
ReplyDeleteI just went through this with my employer last month. I kept my receipts and was made whole in days. I was annoyed, but grateful to have a prescription plan when so many do not. It's inconvenient, but not unusual when plans are changed. Using this for political purposes is also not unusual.
ReplyDeleteI find a mistake like this inexcusable, but I happen to really believe that the employees are the greatest asset in any company or government. I am not buying the "It's Capital Blue Cross' fault" explanation. If the problem is not fixed at this moment, it is time for disciplinary action.
ReplyDelete" The failure to appoint a new Human Resources director who should be on top of this is troubling. "
ReplyDeleteThe County also has a very highly paid benefits administrator whio should not have let this happen, and who should have fixed the problem on Friday.
"There is no Human Resources Director remember."
ReplyDeleteAnd Brown has had since last January to find one to his liking, remember?
"Tell that to the employee with a sick child"
ReplyDeleteI know one worker who did have a sick child and fortunately, he had the money to pay for the drugs out of his own pocket. But this should not be necessary. I find the County's attitude toward this lapse to be very troubling and a demonstration that it has no regard for its workforce.
Let them eat cake!
ReplyDeletebo, your hate is showing. if you are so all knowing and all seeing why don't you run for council or the exec position?
ReplyDeleteMy hate? What I have done here is expose an incredibly arrogant disdain for the county worker by people who hypocritically claim they are the county's most valued asset. I like to tell people who suggest that I run that even I would never vote for me. I believe I am too confrontational. I believe I am far more effective in the role of citizen observer, pointing out what is going on in government, than I would be in government. Not everyone is cut out to be a servant of the people. I certainly am not. Nor, I suspect, are you.
ReplyDelete10:11 your story would have a bit of merit if you werent so full of shit! You shouldnt have to feel "grateful" for a prescription plan when you work for one of the largest employers in the county as well as an employer that wants to be viewed as a first class employer in the valley.
ReplyDeleteP.S.
Fuck You Henry and Tricia, your time would be better spent inventing another username on lehighvalleylive to go with your 50 other usernames
With a Benefits Administrator handling this, the lapse in RX benefits should have NEVER happened. This is your job. Your employees. The reason you are employed and doing this job. If you don't know how to do, let someone who DOES do it. Unacceptable!!
ReplyDeleteBernie anything new on this? Nothing at all on the ET site that I could find, and only an old article on the MC site.
ReplyDeleteThe Banker
I will start making inquiry later today.
ReplyDeleteI suggest county crybabies go to Gracedale for emergency prescription needs. You might as well. That's the black hole into which all your (and our) money is going.
ReplyDeleteNobody goes without meds. Good pharmacies provide limited quantities of critical medication. Wegman's did this for me last week. If yours doesn't go to Wegman's.
Hasn't that HS grad Allen been temporarily in charge of the HR dept. ? Maybe if Brown had 10 of her, it wouldn't have been overlooked.
ReplyDeleteThe HR department in the county sucks. Has for a long time. Maybe if executives stop putting their friends in positions over there it might actually become professional;. shame that it is so screwed up.
ReplyDelete1:00 your story would have a bit of merit if you werent so full of shit! You shouldnt have to feel "grateful" for a prescription plan when you work for one of the largest employers in the county as well as an employer that wants to be viewed as a first class employer in the valley.
ReplyDeleteP.S.
Fuck You Henry and Tricia, your time would be better spent inventing another username on lehighvalleylive to go with your 50 other usernames
11:56 AM
tricia's busy standing in line for free government cheese.
ReplyDeleteThey have some good folks working in HR including the benefits coordinator. They are understaffed and overwhelmed, particularly without the leadership of a QUALIFIED HR professional. Siemionkowski left over two months ago, and she surely gave notice weeks in advance of that. It is absolutely INEXCUSABLE that Brown has not replaced her in nearly three months. That dept. services 2,000 active employees a well as thousands of retirees. They need a skilled HR director at the helm, not some temporary HS graduate fill-in who is not even qualified to perform her current job.
ReplyDeleteWord to county employees: all HR departments suck. They're staffed by Stepford Wives and contribute nothing to any organization but expense and mitigation of legal claims. They are a necessary evil. If you ever liked your HR department, you were lucky and unusual.
ReplyDeleteAdditional documentation that this administration has problems even running the routine day to day activities of County Government.
ReplyDeleteBernie now who and what entity becomes liable for those hospitalized because of this fine print ommision¿
ReplyDeleteredd
patent pending
The County bears the ultimate responsibility here.
ReplyDeleteBernie,
ReplyDeleteso you are saying that the Brown Hole of the county ass umes its part in ay and all reprecussions caused by this malfunktion? Created and carried out by the decission makers in charge at the time of signing insurance contract? Hopefully there is not one innocent child that has suffered the wrath of the administrational meltdown?
Would this be a personel liability suit as a class action suit by employees against employers?
redd
patent pending
Let's not get too nutz here. I doubt that anyone who needed an Rx filled was harmed by this glitch. On the other hand, this is just another example of how incompetent the Brown administration is.
ReplyDeletePoliticizing nothing.
ReplyDeleteSame thing is occurring in Bethlehem twp. Is the schaffer admin as incompetent as brown's? No. Is cap blue cross to blame? Probably.
But the story isnt as fun that way. For this story, brown gets a pass.
If the same thing is happening in BT, I have not heard it. If the same thing is happening, this is ultimately Shafer's responsibility as Township Manager. I do not give her or Brown a pass.
ReplyDelete