I don't want to come across like I am bad-mouthing my current employer. More interested in advice on how I can move forward in my career and looking for new opportunities.

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Almost four years ago I accepted a job as a j customer service rep for one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the market. I had call center experience, was confident I could balance the metrics, and was anxious to learn about the industry.

The complexity of health insurance fascinated me, the compensation was fair, and the working environment was supportive of growth. Healthcare as a business could be summarized by paperwork, cost, grey area, and medical coding.

But the heart?

The heart is patients, communication, quality of life, and plan parameters. As I started to face some of the obstacles I remember asking my trainer heart heavy after a long day of coverage gap calls.
"Is this it.?" I knew it sounded like a demand. But I needed his honesty.
"Do we have to tell the sick and the poor that they're too broke to get our help"
To which he responded,
"No"
"If we can't help, We find who can."

With his direction and encouragement, I became my site's wiz for resource coordination. I learned about manufacturer assistance programs and the difference in eligibility for commercial members and those on Medicare/Medicaid. I sought out information for every state that offered a separate prescription drug assistance program and memorized the drugs that would qualify for tier exceptions.

Communities like my own are in every state, and concerns about plan understanding and cost accessibility are a fear that is shared regardless of demographic. I wanted to empower people to know how their plan worked so they could overcome challenges that could interrupt their health. I took advantage of every additional training opportunity to expand my availability and scope of audience. A year after I started, I was in 19 different call queues taking between 35-60 calls a day. I spoke to members from federally funded clients like Medicare, Medicaid, and ChampVA to employee waiver groups and advantage plans.
I was recognized often, bonused regularly, and stayed consistent in my metrics throughout the transition from working in the office to working at home as corona swept the county.

My company made overtime mandatory and would add hours to our schedule with only a days notice. The long days bled into months I began to notice the chats meant to sustain camaraderie thinned, as my friends and co-workers began to sink into burnout and found other opportunities.

As the country began to acclimate, my company ramped up hiring. Boasting referral and sign-on bonuses.
One day in a team chat almost a year ago, my supervisor was encouraging us to refer new hires. I had asked what starting wage would be for prospective applicants. To my surprise, she divulged a starting salary of ten cents higher than my current pay rate.
This infuriated me. I had been devoted, and flexible, with 14 running months at the time of perfect quality audits and site-high scores for member satisfaction/resolution NPS.
A meeting with my sup was scheduled to table my concern, and instead of offering to match the current market. I was asked for patience. Coming up on the anniversary of that conversation, I'm losing the commitment to the virtue.

To date I have 24 running months of perfect quality audits, a standing average of 96% for NPS and 98% for customer satisfaction, and 99% for resolution. I contribute to my team by developing how-to presentations as new process pilots role out and have been personally sought out by different workgroups to collaborate on process improvement projects. I maintain my efficiency metrics and embrace critique in coaching as an opportunity to grow.
Recently I was invited to a teams call with my sup and regional manager. It hadn't been scheduled and the spontaneity of it made my palms sweat. My manager explained that biannually my human resource department performs a wage survey and I had been reviewed for a wage increase. She politely explained that it would be implemented into my next check and though the increase was small she wanted me to know that I was appreciated.

Almost holding my breath I asked for the amount of the increase trying to stall the word flood of thoughts I had on the subject.
My regional manager replied,
".13 cents."
And at that moment I felt my head hit the ceiling.

When I accepted my offer letter almost 4 years ago my starting hourly rate was 16.25 and as of today that has only increased by a total of .65 cents.

It's time for me to represent my value. My situation isn't happening to me, I am a participant. And like the members I encourage daily, I have to matter to me first. Open to work, especially in positions that explore quality, engagement, conflict anticipation, and prevention.
Excited about connecting with other opportunities and happy to take this step forward with gratitude for the skills I have gained in my past.

Experienced. Accountable. Clear
Your time, advice, or direction for open positions is appreciated.

Please have a great day!