HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Mississippi Today) – Christine Jimenez spends her workdays on the phone explaining affordable health care to callers who dial 1-800-MEDICARE. Meanwhile, her own health care expenses are piling up.
Despite working for a Maximus Federal call center contracted to help manage patients under the Affordable Care Act and Medicare plans, the 27-year-old described her own company provided health insurance as abysmal.
Last year, she said about $18,000 came out of her paychecks to cover health insurance costs for her and her three kids — that’s more than half her $32,000 salary. That’s not counting out-of-pocket costs. The family deductible for the coverage was a staggering $9,000.
Jimenez and most of the call center’s workers don’t get paid sick days. While they get “earned” days off, that time off isn’t paid.
So on Wednesday, Jimenez and several of her colleagues went on strike. About 30 people — a mix of workers and organizers — gathered nearby Maximus Federal’s Hattiesburg call center demanding better treatment from the company.
“I was scared to come out today,” Jimenez said. “But it was important to show my daughter that no matter how small you are, you can come together and make a difference.”
After employee pressure, Maximus recently dropped the individual deductible of $4,500 to $2,500, which is closer to — but still about $830 more than — the national average. But Jimenez and others say they’re not done fighting for better pay and benefits from the...
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