NITRO, W.Va. — Employees of Mardis Gras Casino will now be able to activate their health insurance coverage.
The workers who are members of United Steel Workers Local 14614 were growing increasingly concerned they had not heard any word on the activation of coverage with Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The slow activation was a result of several problems according to Steelworkers Local Rep Ron Brady.
“I’ve been working with them every day and there was some mix ups about how to get everything set up as an approved vendor. Plus, they’re based in Buffalo, New York and because of that big blizzard some of them in the office didn’t work for several days,” Brady said.
Another issue was the changing name of the former BB&T to Truist. A lot of the paperwork was under the old bank name, which required a certification from Truist on their company letterhead, which took more time
But Brady said he was notified Thursday all of the hurdles had been cleared and premiums for both January and February had been paid in full.
“Highmark was good to work with us and go ahead and log everybody into the system. So all they’ll have to do is hit activate and it will be retroactive back on January 1,” he explained.
Brady said employees should be notified via email of the payment and coverage.