State Employees can Use Catalyst Rx website to compare prescription prices

State Employees enrolled in OGB’s standard PPO, EPO and HMO health plans can check prices at area retail pharmacies using the prescription price comparison tool on the Catalyst Rx website. Catalyst Rx administers prescription drug benefits for OGB plan members.

Plan members can log in to the secure Catalyst Rx website at www.catalystrx.com for costs for both brand and generic drugs, with prices displayed from lowest to highest. The search results include the address and phone number of each pharmacy, along with maps and directions to each location.

LASERS-Did you know?

If a member selects the Maximum Plan as a retirement option, he/she will receive the basic benefit, paid monthly for the lifetime of the member.

It does not pay a monthly benefit to your spouse, or other dependents. Should you die before your member contribution account is depleted, your beneficiary receives a lump sum payment of your remaining member contributions.

State’s worker makeup shifts

The number of better-paid, politically appointed, fire-at-will state government employees has climbed dramatically in recent years, according to the Louisiana Department of State Civil Service.

Meanwhile, the number of lower-paid, rank-and-file, classified employees generally has been declining.

Louisiana government’s employment agency reports that the number of the state’s unclassified employees has risen by 22 percent between 2002 and 2009. The classified work force has dropped 8 percent over the same eight-year period.

Also, unclassified employees make an average of about $20,000 more annually than classified employees, the latest Civil Service numbers show.

“I’d like to know why … the dramatic shift from classified to unclassified,” said Public Affairs Research Council President Jim Brandt. “The unclassified are usually the political appointed members of the state work force.

Brandt said it is time to get behind the numbers and find out exactly where the unclassified jobs are located and how they came into being.

LASERS-Did you know?

DROP/IBO account funds may be paid to you monthly, yearly, in a lump sum, or rolled over to an IRA or other qualified plan.

The money in your DROP/IBO account must be withdrawn within your expected lifetime in accordance with IRS rules.

Streamlining Panel looks at budget cuts

A group set up to devise ways to cut costs in state government recommended Tuesday closing ferries, trimming Medicaid expenses and privatizing the laundry work at juvenile prisons.

The Commission on Streamlining Government is tasked with helping state officials grapple with a $3 billion state budget shortfall over the next two years.

Commission members must finalize a list of recommendations for Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Louisiana Legislature by the end of the year. Lawmakers would decide which of the proposals to enact.

The full commission deferred some controversial ideas. The panel decided to delay a decision on:

• Temporarily increasing the employee share of Group Benefits premiums.
• Reducing the number of state government jobs by 5,000 a year.

LASERS-Did you know?

LASERS recommends that members request an estimate of their retirement benefits one year before they plan to retire.

If a member is more than one year away from retirement, the benefit calculator, located on the LASERS web site should be used to calculate a regular benefit.

State Civil Service Commission to hold evening session to consider merit change plan

The State Civil Service Commission will hold a 5:00 p.m. public hearing on Tuesday, December 8th. to take comment on proposed changes to state employee pay rules. Chairman James A. Smith said the Commission decided to hold the evening meeting to make it easier for state employees to attend. Commission meetings are usually held during business hours.

The proposed changes, would impact classified state employees’ annual merit increases. After hearing initial comments at their public hearing on the morning of November 4th, the Commission decided to continue the matter to December to allow more time for comment.

The December 8th hearing will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. A further hearing is scheduled at 9:00 a.m. December 9th. Both hearings will be held in the Louisiana Purchase Room in the Claiborne Bldg at 1201 North Third Street in Baton Rouge.

The best option for those wishing to address the Civil Service Commission will be to call in advance to 225-342-8083 or email Foster.Alessi@La.gov to pre-register. Those that pre-register will have reserved seating in the Louisiana Purchase Room. Registration on Tuesday, December 8th for the Civil Service Commission meeting will begin at 4 p.m. There will be three sign-in tables outside of the Louisiana Purchase Room:


· A table for individual employees

· A table for individuals representing groups

· A table for pre-registered employees

Comments will be limited to three minutes and will be strictly enforced to ensure all comments can be heard.