I worked at Meridian Health Plan for about two years before coming to my senses and leaving. To tell you the truth, I disliked working at Meridian from week one. Job Work/Life Balance: For most positions (even salaried positions) you work a set 8.5 hour shift, i.e.: 8:00am - 4:30pm, 9:30am-6:00pm. I started as an hourly employee and found it annoying that I had to "clock-in" and "clock-out" multiple times per day, including a strict 30 minute lunch. I was excited to get rid of this annoying task when I was promoted to a salaried position, however, nothing changed - I still had to use "task timer" to log my every move (when I was going on breaks, lunch, to meetings, in a training, going to the printer, using the restroom, etc.). I also still had to work a set 8.5 hour shift, where I had to arrive and leave work at a designated time, even though I was not in an hourly position. In my opinion, if you are hiring employees in a salaried position, you should not treat them as if they are hourly employees. The plus side of having a set shift is that you do have a work/life balance because, in most cases, you do not have to stay at the office late. I say "in most cases" because that's definitely not always the case. When I was an hourly employee, there was a time when my team was forced to do mandatory overtime hours - ten hours per month during the weekdays in addition to a full 8.5 hour day on three of the four Sundays out of the month (that's working 6 days per week for t
ProsCompany-sponsored activities
ConsManagement, compensation, culture
2.0
Information Systems Technician | Baton Rouge, LA | Aug 3, 2015
Great at the beginning, God awful towards the end
Out of all the positive reviews about this company, I'm ashamed that I have to be the one to tell it how it is.
This is a sink or swim environment, period. It all depends on what department you are in, what degree you may have, or who you can brown nose next. I was part of the Operations team, and my job was to resolve technical issues.
In the very beginning, the job was great. I would come into work, do my own morning routine, and wait until the requests or incidents started rolling in. I felt very important and felt like I was a vital part of the entire health plan. I woke up every morning happy and actually ready to go to work, rather than dread having to go in.
Well, come mid 2013, we were notified that changes were starting to come. We gained new contracts, got more employment opportunities, etc. While this should be exciting, it was not exciting news for me.
This was going to result in a heavier workload, more dedication to work over life, and more inventory to take account for. I was in desperate need for another technician. I was given help, but I was never involved in any of the interview processes. How are you supposed to get someone to help the technician if they aren't a good technician in the first place? I needed to see how quick they were with their skills, and I never got the chance to get involved with that. The CEO of the health plan even told me TO MY FACE that he would guarantee more technicians, but of course, he lied about that and completely
ProsGreat health benefits, good side programs, professional looking environment
Direct quote from current coworker: "If people actually liked their jobs, no one would be drinking during breaks and lunches."
-Incompetent management- never promoted from hard work, but through favoritism, relationships and politics
-People who had been in the department longer than me always warned newcomers that you have to be careful because Meridian "is shady with the way and frequency that they fire people." I didn't believe this at first because the environment seems very fun and upbeat, but then I noticed that employees started disappearing from the department.
-Micromanaged (I know everyone says that, but SERIOUSLY micromanaged). You cannot go anywhere without recording it.
-No sick days- you start off immediately with 40 hours of PTO- sick days, vacation, doctor's appointments, death of a friend/family member. Hopefully you don't get sick often! People constantly come into work sick because you have to use your PTO. If you're sent home because you're sick, you still have to use your own PTO. You also need a doctor's note.
-30 minute strict lunch/15 minute breaks. It takes 10 minutes just to get in and out of the building to be able to get outside or even to a different floor. Lunch always ends up being 20 minutes or less if you choose to eat outside. Forget about eating lunch somewhere else.
-Unfair standards of different departments. Some are invited to events involving drinking DURING the work hours, while others have a strict no alcohol policy. It is not
3.0
Family Service Counselor | California | Mar 7, 2018
Great Potential, Lousy Benefits and Treatment from Corporate
I will start with the PRO- the one thing that keeps me working here- I LOVE what we are called to do- serving military members and their families. We exist to remove the stigma of seeking problem solving support, and are given so much flexibility in doing so. Our direct managers seem helpful and available and also support the greater cause. The day to day work is amazing and full of potential for so much good. The pay is also pretty good until you compare other jobs that pay comparably and offer so much more in benefits. Leads me to the CONs-
While working for a huge corporation where we can see but not partake in benefits, I think it is fair to say we are treated as "less than" employees. (I will say, Centene took over the program in the time I've worked here and I am saddened to see the changes in pay and benefits they have implemented; I know it could be done differently.) They want us to be or make ourselves local to military installations, yet offer the worst benefits to encourage us to stay:
While employees of Centene Corp, including our direct managers, receive great benefits packages with options for health, vision, and dental insurance, MFLCs are only given one option which is the most ridiculous high deductible plan I've ever seen (one that, HR doesn't have the details to provide since I am sure they don't want to scare people off before they start, but expect to pay $6K out of pocket annually before any benefit fully kicks in). We are not given options for d
ProsWONDERFUL work environment, Managers seem supportive, flexibility to get the job done
ConsTERRIBLE benefits- only one option health care, no retirement plan, no PTO, poor administrative support, unrealistic productivity expectations, not treated as a valued team member of the company itself
Honestly, Centene as a company is good, but AcariaHealth as a branch, is horrible. Good health benefits, decant PTO, opportunity to grow (within centene as a whole, not AcariaHealth), and “OK” pay, depending on the branch you work at.
My experience with AcariaHealth started off very well. I honestly thought it was one of the better organizations I have worked at. Very laid back, not very micromanaged by management as long as you did what you were supposed to do, department moral was unexpectedly high, the leadership team cared about the employees, development was the best I had experienced; all-in-all, a great company. Until new management was introduced. That’s where it all went down hill from there.
There were more employees being let go then being hired which meant we were extremely understaffed. Management would find ways around the rules to let employees go and the HR team was so intimidated by management that they looked the other way and allowed it.
Management lead every meeting, changes, conversation, etc. with fear and threats. There were a lot of “cliques” within the leadership team. There were conversations/“gossip” that some leaders would have about employees and how they should find a way to let certain employees go just because they ask to many questions, have an opinion, question a policy change that doesn’t make sense, or just because they plainly don’t like the employee for whatever personal reason. If you weren’t liked by management, you would al
ProsHealth Benefits, PTO, Different branches to choose from within Centene.
ConsManagement, Lack of work ethic, Advancement, Development.
Honestly, Centene as a company is good, but AcariaHealth as a branch, is horrible. Good health benefits, decant PTO, opportunity to grow (within centene as a whole, not AcariaHealth), and “OK” pay, depending on the branch you work at.
My experience with AcariaHealth started off very well. I honestly thought it was one of the better organizations I have worked at. Very laid back, not very micromanaged by management as long as you did what you were supposed to do, department moral was unexpectedly high, the leadership team cared about the employees, development was the best I had experienced; all-in-all, a great company. Until new management was introduced. That’s where it all went down hill from there.
There were more employees being let go then being hired which meant we were extremely understaffed. Management would find ways around the rules to let employees go and the HR team was so intimidated by management that they looked the other way and allowed it.
Management lead every meeting, changes, conversation, etc. with fear and threats. There were a lot of “cliques” within the leadership team. There were conversations/“gossip” that some leaders would have about employees and how they should find a way to let certain employees go just because they ask to many questions, have an opinion, question a policy change that doesn’t make sense, or just because they plainly don’t like the employee for whatever personal reason. If you weren’t liked by management, you would al
ProsHealth Benefits, PTO, Different branches to choose from within Centene.
ConsManagement, Lack of work ethic, Advancement, Development.
On paper, Meridian Health Plan (MHP) appears to be an attractive employment opportunity. It touts itself as a fast paced and growing company in the healthcare space. While that is true, be careful of ”gotchas” that come with the company culture. While MHP may look good from afar, the truth is that it’s far from good.
Don’t be fooled by the “Top 100 places to work in Detroit” advertisements. Employee satisfaction is low, which is evidenced by a turnover rate of over 40%. Repeat: Turnover is over 40%!!!
The Human Resources paradigm at MHP is unlike anything you could fathom, and is the furthest thing from being a service to “internal customers” (employees). HR leadership oversees a “churn and burn” culture and governs their archaic policies with an iron fist. Communications are poorly communicated with little explanation other than a “do it now because we said so” attitude. Employees are not treated with respect and they have no consideration for work/life balance.
On the service side of HR, responses are slow and they seem generally overwhelmed or too busy to get to employees, who tend to be a “nuisance”. Simply put, HR does not “give em the pickle” (customer service credo expected of employees).They don’t empower departmental managers and override their authority with regularity. If they just learned to get out of the way and do their own job, the company would be a much better place to work.
Even the company’s attempts at employee recognition are out of touch. MHP offers
Prosspirit week, bagels/jeans on fridays, bonuses
Conshr, work/life balance, pay for parking, facilities, culture
My manager was a bully who engaged in the following unprofessional behavior:
• Notorious micromanager who reveled in tightly controlling the work of their subordinates.
• Lacked the ability to interact with others in a normal manner. Often yelled and belittled people instead of respectfully making their point. Unwilling to complement employees when deserved.
• Played favorites with employees. Favored employees were allowed to openly break the rules and perform at such a low level that they were effectively rendered incompetent.
• Did not consistently hold employees accountable for quality of work. For instance, one employee kept track of user acceptance testing issues by scribbling them on post it notes that were shoved into a desk drawer. These issues should have been recorded in a tool such as Excel or SharePoint.
• Berated employees for not completing an impossibly large amount of work in a very short timeframe. Did not listen to explanations on why this timeframe was insufficient. This was often used as an excuse to discipline employees.
• Made up and changed rules on the fly in order to fabricate reasons to discipline employees.
Other concerns with Centene outside of my management include:
The cliquish coworkers ostracize those who are not friends with them and exclude them from work related conversations and meetings.
One coworker in another department developed the habit of not communicating with me directly when contacted with work related items. They
First of all, i'd like to state that management is extremely clicky and advancement is totally based on popularity. That's a small community for ya. But it should be based on experience and resume credentials. Also adding to that, I believe they target struggling communities for two reasons: 1. the land is cheap and easy tax break. 2. They are taking advantage of these communities by bringing promise to a struggling town, knowing that the people that do make a living there, have no other choice but to stay, (keeping them under their thumb by paying just enough to keep them there.) Every person that has been there longer than 5 years is completely miserable and rude. A result of this horrible environment. They do not care of each individual employee, they care only of the entire picture, which is you as an individual do not matter.
I have personally been told that my doctor note would not excuse my absence. If it has resulted in punishment, I would have sued. They have many rules, but no one ever enforces them. They allow a problem to go on and on unless multiple people complain. They allow harassment in the form of subtle bullying. Cracks and jokes about the way people look etc, by management themselves. When things are reported, they vow that retaliation is not tolerated, but everyone I know is inadvertently retaliated against. I have personally been accosted and harassed for standing up for myself.
They promote people that have done horrible things. treating others badly
ProsNone
ConsManagement, training, rules, learning curve, communication, advancement, tech issues, and its cold all the time
A hostile work environment in which fake interactions between fellow employees occur on a regular basis.Everyone worked in fear daily to the point that they keep quiet.Team leaders would develop personal "cliques" and if you were not liked or a part of that leadership you would be cast aside, targeted daily by management as well as other members on the leadership team. Morale sucked and team leaders along-side the managers would bring out the worst in everyone. If you were not a favorite you would be criticized, shunned by the "clique", treated disrespectfully, harassed, and gossiped about. In reference to the fake interactions, many of the leaders and their associates would become friendly with an employee just to find out their weaknesses so it could be reported to management or used as fuel to disseminate amongst their peers. Clueless team leaders would monitor and micromanage all of your interactions; if they found any faults you would be reported to management instantly to be reprimanded. Anyone within the "clique" would receive immunity making them exempt from any company rules and or policies that were broken on their behalf; while the least favorite employees would receive a scolding.
Employees seemed to regress in this organization due to a negative work culture and toxic environment. Every meeting would start off negative with no positive feedback. Developing yourself or attempting to advance within the organization would prove to be impossible if you weren't li
ProsFood parties, great coworkers
ConsEverything
Questions And Answers about Centene
If you were in charge, what would you do to make Centene a better place to work?
Asked Feb 20, 2017
Stop their greed and actually care about their members and employees. Start the whole company over !
Answered Nov 8, 2021
Permit work from home more. We were told in the merger Centene does not favor it. So many positions are telephonic so it makes no sense to force staff to go to an office, not to mention poor work life balance.
Answered Jul 16, 2021
How are the working hours at Centene?
Asked Aug 28, 2016
6 AM to 7 PM with no overtime pay. You're salaried, good luck!
Answered Nov 25, 2020
Great its a Monday through Friday and if needed they allow over time
Answered Jun 23, 2020
What tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at Centene?
Asked Aug 3, 2016
Know that you will be a temp worker for awhile
Answered Aug 5, 2020
As the culture is different in each market, ask directly about it and listen carefully for what is not said.
Answered Feb 24, 2020
What is the interview process like at Centene?
Asked Jul 25, 2016
Typical, 2-3 interviews. Be sure to ask all questions you wish answered, such as: is travel required with this position?
Answered Jan 4, 2021
They’re looking for personable people to handle not so happy customers at times.
Answered Dec 21, 2020
How do you feel about going to work each day at Centene?
Asked Oct 17, 2016
for a while i cried everyday for about 3 months. I had displayed my knowledge and became a target for management
Answered Sep 22, 2020
not encouraged or eager to go to work I am a hard working person and always have but now I don't feel like going into work happy like I use to
