APS and new healthcare provider

[Anonymous]

As a federal employee, I wanted to chime in on the facebook threads and ask if teachers were urgently writing to their elected officials to advocate for the government not to shut down. How many families in APS would be impacted by a shutdown? That's a major upheaval, but, you don't see parents whining to teachers asking for support.

Ideally, APS would have more than one insurance option available to staff, but, the contracting/procurement/funding is what it is. I understand it's not ideal to have to switch health care providers, but, as numerous people have pointed out, this is routine in the rest of the professional world, and all of us who are not teachers do not get to enjoy summers off to schedule any and every appointment under the sun for ourselves and our families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are terrible. This is a huge change and teachers should’ve been given more of a heads up. They’ve put up with a ton in the last couple of years and morale is terrible already.

APS has known since July. There’s no excuse why they weren’t told sooner.

APS asked for bids from
Companies that provided both HMO and PPO options. Kaiser didn’t bid because they only offer hmo.
+1

CareFirst is great, but they absolutely should have been told earlier if APS knew in July.

Exactly. The people crapping on APS educators here are ignoring obvious and crucial context, which is that Duran's administration has consistently DECREASED and reduced community involvement in decision-making (not that this needed to be a committee-situation, but it's high stakes for many people). Giving a heads up at the last possible moment that a major change is forthcoming is just another example of student-facing staff feeling shut out by leadership. I say this as someone with no love of Kaiser.

Exactly. Last year he wanted to yank health care benefits from extended day staff in the middle of the year. This year he's set up a bidding process that excludes the closed-system health care plan that more than 50% of staff used.

But don't forget that Syphax got 5,000 more square feet for all of the central office staff who telework and have a bajillion paid days off now.

Teachers have been crapped on at every turn.

What’s your source that the bidding process excluded Kaiser?

[Anonymous]

Ah, yes, the argument that APS teachers need to prioritize what's best for other people's children, asserted by the "that's a you problem" squad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a federal employee, I wanted to chime in on the facebook threads and ask if teachers were urgently writing to their elected officials to advocate for the government not to shut down. How many families in APS would be impacted by a shutdown? That's a major upheaval, but, you don't see parents whining to teachers asking for support.

APS parents' Congressional representatives don't support the shutdown, so who do you want them to write to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are terrible. This is a huge change and teachers should’ve been given more of a heads up. They’ve put up with a ton in the last couple of years and morale is terrible already.

APS has known since July. There’s no excuse why they weren’t told sooner.

+1

CareFirst is great, but they absolutely should have been told earlier if APS knew in July.

So then what- teachers get pissed and leave before the first day of school? Is that good for our kids?

Knowing earlier would’ve allowed teachers to start finding new doctors. It takes months and months to get appointments.

Many practitioners I work with require you to show proof of insurance so unless the new plan was in place they wouldn’t be able to do that. Sure they could target providers that carry Blue Cross Blue Shield, but they wouldn’t be able to make appointments yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are terrible. This is a huge change and teachers should’ve been given more of a heads up. They’ve put up with a ton in the last couple of years and morale is terrible already.

APS has known since July. There’s no excuse why they weren’t told sooner.

+1

CareFirst is great, but they absolutely should have been told earlier if APS knew in July.

Exactly. The people crapping on APS educators here are ignoring obvious and crucial context, which is that Duran's administration has consistently DECREASED and reduced community involvement in decision-making (not that this needed to be a committee-situation, but it's high stakes for many people). Giving a heads up at the last possible moment that a major change is forthcoming is just another example of student-facing staff feeling shut out by leadership. I say this as someone with no love of Kaiser.

Exactly. Last year he wanted to yank health care benefits from extended day staff in the middle of the year. This year he's set up a bidding process that excludes the closed-system health care plan that more than 50% of staff used.

But don't forget that Syphax got 5,000 more square feet for all of the central office staff who telework and have a bajillion paid days off now.

Teachers have been crapped on at every turn.

What’s your source that the bidding process excluded Kaiser?

APS put out a bid for companies that offered both HMO and PPO. Kaiser could not bid because they do not offer ppo. It’s disingenuous for Duran to claim that Kaiser didn’t bid when they didn’t meet the criteria APs established.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are terrible. This is a huge change and teachers should’ve been given more of a heads up. They’ve put up with a ton in the last couple of years and morale is terrible already.

APS has known since July. There’s no excuse why they weren’t told sooner.

Is there a reason APS couldn't have said in the spring that Kaiser didn't put in a bid so they will not be an option in 2024? They may not have known who they'd use yet, but they'd have known that Kaiser wasn't in the running.

Yes, there were not allowed to disclose that per VA law.

This.

I can understand APS teachers being bummed. But the continuing complaining and anger toward APS when you have been given facts about how this works and why this happened is messed up. If Duran tells you all Kaiser didn't bid, that completely invalidates the procurement process. Other vendors would then have information that would affect their bids. APS CAN'T TELL YOU! Think through what it means to be part of public service and civics class and competitive bidding and why this all works the way it works. I get it you don't like the outcome. But this is necessary.

Some teachers naivite about how anything in the real world works is actually shocking to me. Total lack of common sense. It's embarrassing for you and your profession.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are terrible. This is a huge change and teachers should’ve been given more of a heads up. They’ve put up with a ton in the last couple of years and morale is terrible already.

APS has known since July. There’s no excuse why they weren’t told sooner.

+1

CareFirst is great, but they absolutely should have been told earlier if APS knew in July.

Exactly. The people crapping on APS educators here are ignoring obvious and crucial context, which is that Duran's administration has consistently DECREASED and reduced community involvement in decision-making (not that this needed to be a committee-situation, but it's high stakes for many people). Giving a heads up at the last possible moment that a major change is forthcoming is just another example of student-facing staff feeling shut out by leadership. I say this as someone with no love of Kaiser.

Exactly. Last year he wanted to yank health care benefits from extended day staff in the middle of the year. This year he's set up a bidding process that excludes the closed-system health care plan that more than 50% of staff used.

But don't forget that Syphax got 5,000 more square feet for all of the central office staff who telework and have a bajillion paid days off now.

Teachers have been crapped on at every turn.

What’s your source that the bidding process excluded Kaiser?

APS put out a bid for companies that offered both HMO and PPO. Kaiser could not bid because they do not offer ppo. It’s disingenuous for Duran to claim that Kaiser didn’t bid when they didn’t meet the criteria APs established.

Wrong. Kaiser offers PPO plans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are terrible. This is a huge change and teachers should’ve been given more of a heads up. They’ve put up with a ton in the last couple of years and morale is terrible already.

APS has known since July. There’s no excuse why they weren’t told sooner.

+1

CareFirst is great, but they absolutely should have been told earlier if APS knew in July.

Exactly. The people crapping on APS educators here are ignoring obvious and crucial context, which is that Duran's administration has consistently DECREASED and reduced community involvement in decision-making (not that this needed to be a committee-situation, but it's high stakes for many people). Giving a heads up at the last possible moment that a major change is forthcoming is just another example of student-facing staff feeling shut out by leadership. I say this as someone with no love of Kaiser.

Exactly. Last year he wanted to yank health care benefits from extended day staff in the middle of the year. This year he's set up a bidding process that excludes the closed-system health care plan that more than 50% of staff used.

But don't forget that Syphax got 5,000 more square feet for all of the central office staff who telework and have a bajillion paid days off now.

Teachers have been crapped on at every turn.

What’s your source that the bidding process excluded Kaiser?

APS put out a bid for companies that offered both HMO and PPO. Kaiser could not bid because they do not offer ppo. It’s disingenuous for Duran to claim that Kaiser didn’t bid when they didn’t meet the criteria APs established.

Kaiser does offer PPOs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are terrible. This is a huge change and teachers should’ve been given more of a heads up. They’ve put up with a ton in the last couple of years and morale is terrible already.

APS has known since July. There’s no excuse why they weren’t told sooner.

Is there a reason APS couldn't have said in the spring that Kaiser didn't put in a bid so they will not be an option in 2024? They may not have known who they'd use yet, but they'd have known that Kaiser wasn't in the running.

Yes, there were not allowed to disclose that per VA law.

This.

I can understand APS teachers being bummed. But the continuing complaining and anger toward APS when you have been given facts about how this works and why this happened is messed up. If Duran tells you all Kaiser didn't bid, that completely invalidates the procurement process. Other vendors would then have information that would affect their bids. APS CAN'T TELL YOU! Think through what it means to be part of public service and civics class and competitive bidding and why this all works the way it works. I get it you don't like the outcome. But this is necessary.

Some teachers naivite about how anything in the real world works is actually shocking to me. Total lack of common sense. It's embarrassing for you and your profession.

As a teacher in FCPS, I agree with you. The angst and complaining we have had in FCPS in changing from BCBS to Cigna this yearhas been ridiculous. All of my providers have been in Cigna and I have had no issues. We have great insurance and it is relatively inexpensive compared to the corporate world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are terrible. This is a huge change and teachers should’ve been given more of a heads up. They’ve put up with a ton in the last couple of years and morale is terrible already.

APS has known since July. There’s no excuse why they weren’t told sooner.

+1

CareFirst is great, but they absolutely should have been told earlier if APS knew in July.

So then what- teachers get pissed and leave before the first day of school? Is that good for our kids?

Knowing earlier would’ve allowed teachers to start finding new doctors. It takes months and months to get appointments.

Okay, so now you know. It’s September. Start looking. You HAVE months and months to schedule an appointment if you don’t wait until January to do it.

What kind of problem solving skills are you guys teaching the students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a federal employee, I wanted to chime in on the facebook threads and ask if teachers were urgently writing to their elected officials to advocate for the government not to shut down. How many families in APS would be impacted by a shutdown? That's a major upheaval, but, you don't see parents whining to teachers asking for support.

Ideally, APS would have more than one insurance option available to staff, but, the contracting/procurement/funding is what it is. I understand it's not ideal to have to switch health care providers, but, as numerous people have pointed out, this is routine in the rest of the professional world, and all of us who are not teachers do not get to enjoy summers off to schedule any and every appointment under the sun for ourselves and our families.

Seconding all of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are terrible. This is a huge change and teachers should’ve been given more of a heads up. They’ve put up with a ton in the last couple of years and morale is terrible already.

APS has known since July. There’s no excuse why they weren’t told sooner.

+1

CareFirst is great, but they absolutely should have been told earlier if APS knew in July.

So then what- teachers get pissed and leave before the first day of school? Is that good for our kids?

Knowing earlier would’ve allowed teachers to start finding new doctors. It takes months and months to get appointments.

Many practitioners I work with require you to show proof of insurance so unless the new plan was in place they wouldn’t be able to do that. Sure they could target providers that carry Blue Cross Blue Shield, but they wouldn’t be able to make appointments yet.

I’m a healthcare provider and there are ways around this.

First off, MOST will understand the situation and be willing to work with you. Offices are more than willing to work with those who have stable employment, which includes teachers.

If not, schedule a cash-pay appointment for 2 weeks after your enrollment date. Call them the day your BCBS coverage starts, converting the cash-pay appointment to one covered by insurance.

As long as the office you’re calling covers the lowest-tier BCBS plan, they’re going to take the others, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a federal employee, I wanted to chime in on the facebook threads and ask if teachers were urgently writing to their elected officials to advocate for the government not to shut down. How many families in APS would be impacted by a shutdown? That's a major upheaval, but, you don't see parents whining to teachers asking for support.

Ideally, APS would have more than one insurance option available to staff, but, the contracting/procurement/funding is what it is. I understand it's not ideal to have to switch health care providers, but, as numerous people have pointed out, this is routine in the rest of the professional world, and all of us who are not teachers do not get to enjoy summers off to schedule any and every appointment under the sun for ourselves and our families.

Seconding all of this.

I understand the frustration, but it really is a bad look.

A lot of workers everywhere are hurting. Read the room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a federal employee, I wanted to chime in on the facebook threads and ask if teachers were urgently writing to their elected officials to advocate for the government not to shut down. How many families in APS would be impacted by a shutdown? That's a major upheaval, but, you don't see parents whining to teachers asking for support.

Ideally, APS would have more than one insurance option available to staff, but, the contracting/procurement/funding is what it is. I understand it's not ideal to have to switch health care providers, but, as numerous people have pointed out, this is routine in the rest of the professional world, and all of us who are not teachers do not get to enjoy summers off to schedule any and every appointment under the sun for ourselves and our families.

Seconding all of this.

I understand the frustration, but it really is a bad look.

A lot of workers everywhere are hurting. Read the room.

I agree.