Floridians became eligible to enroll in Affordable Care Act health insurance coverage starting Tuesday, just as workers at some of the largest call centers went on strike.
The target of the one-day protest was Maximus, a federal contractor that operates 10 call centers handling enrollment for Medicare and the ACA’s federal marketplace. Two are in Florida: in Tampa and Lynn Haven.
Florida leads the nation for Affordable Care Act enrollment. A record 2.7 million Floridians signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act for 2022, a 600,000 increase from the previous year.
“The majority of calls I handle are from Florida,” said Audrianna Lewis, a customer service representative in Mississippi who went on strike Tuesday. “People call needing help enrolling in their plans, comparing plans, seeing if their doctors are in network, or getting approved for ACA subsidies.”
Workers are asking for a minimum wage of $25 per hour and at least 30 minutes per shift of non-call time during which they can compose themselves and prepare for the next caller, according to a prepared statement. Right now, they get $15 an hour, a federal requirement for government contractors.
They are also demanding clear policies to protect them from abusive calls, including the ability to disconnect or escalate calls immediately without fear of punishment.
Some of the workers, including Lewis, say they have reported harassment from callers — and gotten the brush-off from management.
“We want to help people. We didn’t want to go on strike,” Lewis said. “We have been pushed to our limit with high call volume, no support to take breaks between calls, and when we have abusive callers, we don’t feel supported.
“This is our way of raising our voices to be heard,” added Lewis, who also helps enroll Florida seniors in Medicare Advantage plans. She says she takes 30 to 40 calls during her 8-hour shift each day.
The one-day strike took place mostly at call centers in Bogalusa, La.; Hattiesburg, Miss.; London, Ky.; and Chester, Va. It culminated in a planned virtual strike on Zoom led by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), with support from the NAACP and a show of solidarity from Apple employees, who have recently formed unions.
How many people protested is hard to say, with a spokesperson for the workers asserting that more than 600 participated, and a company representative saying the number was 177.
Maximus spokeswoman Eileen Cassidy Rivera said enrollment carried on as usual on Tuesday despite the strike.
“Our teams have plans in place to ensure there is no disruption to assist those seeking help,” Rivera said.
Maximus has 10,000 to 15,000 workers at its call centers handling Medicare and ACA enrollment depending on the time of year.
“Over the past several years, Maximus has improved pay and compensation, reduced employees’ out-of-pocket health care expenses, and improved work processes and safety,” Rivera said. “We continue to look for ways to assure that Maximus is an employer of choice.”
She also said if a caller is “persistently inappropriate or obscene, or uses derogatory or disrespectful language,” an employee can hang up and is not required to ask their supervisor for permission to do so.
Maximus is a global company that has contracts with various government agencies. It has not been negotiating with the employees who are striking.
Meanwhile, the Communication Workers of America has complained to the National Labor Relations Board that Maximus has attempted to clamp down on union organizing activity.
In a written statement, a company representative said: “Maximus welcomes the opportunity to work directly with our employees and discuss and hopefully resolve their concerns.”
South Florida Sun Sentinel reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.
