Two legislative committees charged with oversight of the Office of Group Benefits (OGB) are expected to demand that OGB roll back dramatic increases in health care co-payments and deductibles the agency is attempting to impose on hundreds of thousands of state employees to make up for the Jindal administration’s mismanagement of the agency when they meet in tandem on Friday.
The Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee will meet at 10 a.m. on Friday but will not take testimony from the public.
The two committees are expected to instruct Nichols and OGB CEO Susan West to slash the increases in deductibles—some couples’ deductibles increased from $300 to $3,000 under the new plan being proposed by OGB–and co-pays.
OGB has already announced a two-month delay in the implementation of steep increases in prescription drug costs and will refund about $4.5 million in overcharges to state employees.
The Jindal administration is attempting to impose the co-pay and deductible increases as a way to recover hundreds of millions of dollars the administration managed to squander as a cost-savings to the state’s own contributions to employees’ premiums as a means to cover huge gaps in Jindal’s state budget.
The entire scenario reads like the script from an old I Love Lucy sitcom as everything the administration had done with OGB has blown up in its face in an improbable comedy of errors. How more insulting to legislators could it get than for Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols to provide false testimony to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget on Sept. 25 shortly before abruptly leaving the JLCB meeting to take her daughter to a boy band concert in New Orleans?
When asked point blank by State Rep. John Bel Edwards at that Sept. 25 hearing–before heading out to the Smoothie King Arena to settle into the governor’s luxury box seats for the concert—which actuary recommended that OGB reduce premiums by nearly 9 percent, she testified that Buck Consultants made the recommendation.
But Buck reportedly responded by email within days that it never made any such recommendation and that Nichols’ testimony was in direct contradiction to its recommendations.
A July report from Buck reinforces its claim that it never made any such recommendation. “We did not recommend a decrease of 7% effective August 1, 2012, or an additional decrease of 1.77% effective August 1, 2013. Further, we were not asked to provide any recommended rate adjustments for any fiscal years beyond what we provided for Fiscal Year 2012/2013,” the report says.
When witnesses sign cards prior to speaking before a legislative committee, they are certifying that they understand that their testimony is considered as being given under oath.
Edwards also asked at the hearing that Nichols or West provide him with a copy of that recommendation but he said on Wednesday (Nov. 5) that he still had not received that information. “I still have not received any actuarial recommendations for the 2013 and 2014 premium reductions at OGB,” he told LouisianaVoice. “Nor have they told me that such recommendations do not exist. Clearly, they do not.”
If someone were to set out to demonstrate how incompetent an administration could be, he would be hard pressed to find a better example than the manner in which it has handled the Office of Group Benefits—from firing an effective CEO who built up a $500 million reserve fund in favor of a revolving door approach to subsequent CEOs, to firing experience claims handlers with whom OGB members were comfortable, to hiring a California firm with no knowledge of Louisiana’s medical coverage program to handle telephone inquiries because experienced OGB staff were also fired, to attempting to implement emergency rules to enact the cost increases in co-pays and deductibles without the legally required public hearings, to having to refund $4.5 million in prescription drug overcharges for the same violation of the emergency rules procedures, to first claiming that it was not necessary to invoke the emergency rule and then deciding to do just that, to lying to legislators about actuarial recommendations of premium reductions.
The FUBARs and SNAFUs of OGB are so many and so irreversible that they should give pause to anyone who would entertain even the fleeting notion that Gov. Bobby Jindal is capable of leading the free world when, through his inept surrogates, he has, in less than two years, destroyed a relatively small but viable, efficient state agency.
Jindal and Nichols, of course, have a ready explanation for the OGB financial woes: medical costs have risen and it’s all Obamacare’s fault—never Jindal’s.
It’s the same arrogance level as that was demonstrated by Nichols in another appearance before a legislative committee when, trying to explain budget figures, she said somewhat condescendingly, “Let me dumb it down for you.”
Arrogance-a brutal dance-danced by the entitled-without romance.
I will put in a schedule. I am sure $8k will be more than enough
I wonder if Nichols realizes she will have little to no credibility from now on whenever she appears before the Legislature?
Shouldn’t a person who lies under oath to a legislative committee be indicted for perjury & lying under oath? Bruce Greenstein is under a state indictment & still being investigated by the Feds for doing exactly the same thing – lying under oath to hide illegal monetary moves prescribed by Jindal. One can hope!
Bruce Greenstein is NOT being investigated by the Feds. They walked away from the investigation very early on. I’m not going to go into all the detail for my rationale (because I’ve already done so on prior posts), but don’t hold your breath waiting for a State-led conviction. Caldwell has other motives, most notably throwing up a red herring for the CNSI civil lawsuit.
I wonder how Greenstein feels about this — being used as a red herring.
I’m sure he’s furious, and his defense attorney has promised a vigorous defense. If he prevails (which I fully expect), the state’s tab for his legal defense is likely to make Painter’s $300,000 defense cost tab seem like peanuts.
I’m with LA Educator – Shouldn’t she be indicted for perjury?
If Obamacare and rising medical costs were the reasons for the OGB financial woes, then shouldn’t every other health insurance entity in Louisiana, including Blue Cross have experienced similar problems. And what about other states? Did Mississippi’s insurance companies suffer from catastrophic losses due to Obamacare and rising health costs? Guess Jindal and his team couldn’t stand to be next to last in EVERY health related statistic!
My hat’s off to Edwards for going after them with a loaded gun. I just wonder how Jindal and his administration will get out of this. If they do, then surely we know we are like a snow ball down to hell ! It’s time we turn this around! I pray that God gives Edwards all the wisdom, knowledge, and perseverance to fight this to the end and win this for us! If Edwards’s actions depict what kind of governor we will have in him if elected, he will be awesome!! He cares for the people of this state. He certainly has my vote and support. What about you?
Your itemization of the comedy show acts is priceless!! I do have one question. When Wal Mart does a roll back, consumers see it. Do these two committees have real power to force a roll back, or will it merely be an admonition to do so? My guess is no real power, in which case Jindal and crew say, “we appreciate your input. Next issue on the NATIONAL radar?”
Thanks again for not letting crooks get away with screwing the citizens they are supposed to be serving. I hope the legislators read this blog before their meeting.
I hope the legislators read this too because I watched their entire meeting and the changes Kristy and Susan proposed to the plans and I am still not happy with what they propose. Ladies and gents it’s time to storm them with calls and email agian.
According to the Nov. 7 Advocate online, Fannin’s committee is proposing a “compromise” in the form of a roll back of out-of-pocket expenses by increasing premiums 11%. So, a whopper of a shell game. I guess if paying a hostage-taker’s ransom without obtaining the hostage is what Fannin considers a compromise, then all’s good.
It was not Fannin proposing anything, it was Kristy N saying this is what they will give. It is still not enough. The co-pays are still going to double, the deductable is being reduced by 10 to 20%. Big deal. And the RX’s will still be at the current prices. For those of us who have medical problems the co-pays will kill us even if we are still working. Remember, in six years we have only had one 4% merit raise and this is still going to cost us at least 35 to 40% more. What I want to know is why are they only refunding drug co-pays from Aug 1 to Sept 25? What happened to Oct and Nov and Dec? I thought I would choke when KN said they can’t make any changes to the plan in the middle of a plan year. I guess some days you do, some days you don’t.
I didn’t get a raise for my last five years, and according to the rules, I now won’t be eligible for a COLA for ten more years. Not that there will be any 1.5% COLAs in ten years.
Jindal has always screwed powerless little people, while enriching himself and his friends. If Indian karma is real, he’s coming back as an intestinal parasite living inside the gut of a starving vulture, or a low-level state worker who gets screwed over after a lifetime of work by Governor Bobby Jindal III. Take your pick, Bobby!
Increasing premiums by 11%, as I understand it, rolls back the illegal changes that is bankrupting the system. That’s a good start. Now how about impeaching Jindal for corruption and incompetence?
Do they (Jindal/Kristy/Legislature) really think that we state employees are that stupid?!? The increased cost for retirees is being passed off to the working employees by manipulating the #’s. The intentional depletion of the $500 million OGB account isn’t even addressed, of course!!! These changes pissed me off more than anything!! 😡
Link is posted now on DOA website.
Active employees family (or single parent) policy “revision” summarized: The deductible has been decreased from $1500 to $1200. Out of pocket max reduced from $9000 to $7500. Whoop-dee-doo. Still one car accident away from bankruptcy.
Window dressing.