But is that all? Let's say you discover your daughter wasn't eligible after she graduated from college. Let's say Gannett already paid $20,000 for surgery after an accident during the period she was ineligible. Will the company make you repay all that money? That's what worries an eagle-eyed reader, who noticed the following on the website of the Indiana company Gannett hired to conduct the audit: "Chapman Kelly will also work to ensure that an effective financial recovery process is implemented and operated."Your thoughts, in the comments section, below. Use this link to e-mail feedback, tips, snarky notes, etc. See Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
What bothers me most about the letter from Roxanne Horning is the unstated message it clearly delivers -- Gannett does not trust its employees to be honest. As one colleague said recently about the Gannett HR department's attitude toward its employees, "We know you are cheating and we are going to find you and we are going make you pay." I've worked for this company for a lot of years, as has my colleague, and neither of us knew of a situation where we could say someone was cheating about dependent eligibility. Which begs the question -- how widespread is this problem, really? Are there really that many employees of Gannett who are lying about dependent eligibility that it is having such an enormous impact the helath care costs of a corporation that rewards the CEO with a $1.75 million bonus while he presides over a dramatic decline in the value of the stock. I've thought about this a lot since receiving the letter from the head of Gannett's HR department and while I have nothing to hide, I am offended that the company I have been loyal to for more than three decades views me as a potential cheat, not as a valuable employee.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Gannett's in the wrong here.
ReplyDeleteI'm single. Therefore I get the shaft when it comes to my insurance rates. For coverage of a single person I pay half what an employee with a family of 5 pays. And my rates go up every year. So if my coworker defrauds our insurance company for $20G for an ineligible dependent then I want them to have to pay it back. Just like we employees want Gannett held accountable for not paying overtime, we should want our coworkers held accountable for playing fast and loose with the insurance therefore jacking up rates for everyone.
In any case, how could an employee possibly not know that their divorced spouse or adult child isn't covered?
BTW: I offered this for discussion purposes; I'm not siding with or against the employee in the example I give here. My share of the health plan costs me plenty, too. Like most people I, don't like it.
ReplyDeleteFrom the FAQ:
ReplyDeleteIf I have a covered dependent that is not eligible for coverage, am I going to get fired?
No, but you do need to remove the dependent from your health plans immediately by calling Your Benefit Resources (YBR) at 866-343-2333.
I am a former Gannett employee who now works for another newspaper group. As my children turned 18, the insurance company starting sending me a form each year to verify that my children over 18 are indeed attending college full time and what college they attend.
ReplyDeleteSeems simple enough - wonder why Gannett's insurance company doesn't do it?
Gannett sure is sending out signals that it doesn't trust its employees.
ReplyDeleteYes, there will always be people in every aspect of society that seek ways to shortcut or cheat systems. Are there people in Gannett who perhaps are knowingly or unknowingly doing something with their health benefits they shouldn't be? Probably so.
But it goes both ways.
Do employees trust Gannett?
It seems obvious that if you were to build your company and management philosophy on trust and good intentions towards your employees, it is returned up the chain.
Between this HR letter, OT abuse, etc., it's no wonder why many employees aren't trusting of their Gannett employers and respond with disdain or minor destructive acts - i.e. Cherry Hill.
Whether you're of the Christian kind or not, the golden rule is something to live by both in spiritual and secular life. It benefits all.