SC Budget and Control Board, SFM Review

Staff members are professional courteous and helpful. It is,a nice clean place and overall great experience.

Good afternoon, my name is Carrie Lee Alexander. I just want to take a minute to say thank you to one of your excellent employees. I did not get her last name. Her first name was Raquel. She was an African American female.
She used her professional and spiritual gifts to walk me through some difficult moments I was having today. If it had not been for Raquel, I would not have been able to walk through and complete the retirement process that I needed to do today. She is truly an asset to your agency. Give her a raise please.
Sincerely
Carrie Alexander

I have been a state employee in SC for a year now. I came from NC where their state health plan is excellent. Had I known how drastically different the coverage would be in SC, I honestly would have never taken this job. I am CONSTANTLY having to fight denials and even when something is a covered benefit, the deductibles are so high that you run through your flex spending halfway through your benefit year.

Last fall, my 19 year old daughter's oral contraceptive was denied because our "benefit does not cover contraceptive services for dependent children." The entire reason she takes "birth control" in the first place is because her menstruation was so heavy and painful in high school, she kept having to miss classes every month. I won my appeal after her doctor sent in documentation stating it was medically necessary. So now we pay $8 instead of $15. That may not sound like a huge difference to you, but for a family of 5 on one income, it really is.

Presently, I am having to appeal the denial of about $2,000 worth of medical fees related to my other daughter's (age 22) Nexplanon removal and insertion (this only has to be switched out every 3 years). She has difficulty remembering to take a pill every day and opted for an internal option to regulate her heavy and painful periods.

When I called PEBA about the denial, I was told they don't cover "maternity care" for child dependents. Interesting. This isn't maternity care, but let's pretend it is. Let's say one of my 3 daughters gets pregnant while in college because you wouldn't cover medications used to prevent the pregnancy in the first place. See how that works? God forbid a woman in 2019 have control over her body.

PEBA needs to dump their archaic beliefs and move into this century. Women (and trans men) use hormonal contraceptives for medical reasons other than preventing pregnancy. But even if all they wanted was to put motherhood off for a bit, they should still have access to AFFORDABLE options. Don't even get me started on the fact pap smears aren't covered. So PEBA, when a woman gets cervical cancer because they couldn't afford the pap smear, will you cover the chemotherapy and radiation? Asking for a friend.

PEBA is the WORST insurance company. I am on the state plan. What in the world am I paying for? This is a prime example of socialized medicine. Stupid insurance dr s telling my specialist how to treat me. Absolutely unbelievable.

Terrific experience. Excellent customer service. Very professional and well informed people, from in the lobby (the receptionist) to my planned meetings (the actual consultants whom I met with). This has to be a great place to work, everyone seems helpful and positive. What a great environment.

Very Good Service. The Staff is exceptionally courteous and respectful to their customers. The programs are impressive and useful for workers like me.

Peba insurance is useless. Coming from another state where everything was covered, this plan is poor. Peba state insurance doesn't cover annual visits except every three years. Pap smears aren't covered yearly. Mammograms aren't covered yearly until you turn 40. The dental plan is not good. The deductible starts over again yearly. Once you pay the deductible, doctor visits still aren't covered at 100%. This equates to a bill every time you visit the doctor.

Great location close to the highway and the interstate access. The staff is very courteous and professional.

When you get a bill with claim denied from doctor or lab, you prepare yourself for frustrating, lengthy and sometimes confusing calls. I'm so glad I called S.C. PEBA benefits first. Kelly was very helpful and even completed a conference call to the lab with the claim in question. Absolutely made my day!!