Paine College restores employee benefits, works to expand
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Paine College has announced the return of benefits for its employees and is working to expand, a little over a month after the college announced the suspension.
On Thursday, Paine College officials sent out a statement saying insurance coverage benefits have been made available to all full-time employees.
A new broker team is working with the college to assist in providing expanded benefits.
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Available benefits include medical, dental, vision, disability insurance, life insurance, and short- and long-term disability. Supplemental benefits include accident insurance, hospital coverage, and critical illness insurance (including cancer coverage.)
Employees have completed benefit presentations and open enrollment was ongoing until June 28 with coverage beginning on July 1.
Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones, president of the college, said:
“The College sincerely regrets any interruption in insurance benefits for its employees, and expects the new insurance coverage to fit the needs of employees. We are pleased that we could work through this matter together to arrive at a positive resolution. Though employee coverage was temporarily interrupted, we believe we are now in a better place with our insurance. This caused us to examine internal procedures to ensure this does not happen again.”
On May 15, officials announced it was suspending benefits for its employees.
“Due to rising costs of maintaining health benefits for employees, the college decided to pursue a more cost-effective provider,” said Paine College in a statement.
The college says it was unable to reach a viable agreement with its recent provider which resulted in cancellation of coverage.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused our employees,” Jones said. “We are currently negotiating with insurance carriers in search of a lower-cost provider. It is our intent to resolve this matter expeditiously and restore affordable health and medical benefits for our employees.”
The college says vision and dental coverage remain active.
“We are committed to the well-being of our employees and keeping the lines of communication open as we navigate through this process,” said Jones. “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our employees for their dedication and cooperation during this time.”
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