I can't even work up a good mad about this, I just keep starting to cry.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
I have been calling the outsourced HR services of my late, unlamented former employer since my last day of work, trying to find out about my COBRA benefits. They kept telling me I couldn't sign up until the first day after my severance ran out, April 1.
So on April 1, I call to sign up, am told that the paperwork will be sent to me, and that the coverage will be retroactive to 4/1.
The paperwork and bill are actually sent on 4/11, and I am billed for approximately 3.5 times the figure I was quoted per month, AND I was billed for two months, April and May.
When I called to ask about this, I was told that the $179/month (not the %57 I was quoted) was correct, and that even were I to give them a credit card number (which I don't have) right this minute, my coverage would not be effective until after outsourced HR received the payment and forwarded it on to the insurance company, who then would add me back to the policy.
So for the crown I may need, I can go ahead and pay the approximately $500 up front and then request reimbursement from the insurance company.
Yes, because we all know how easy that is.
Basically, I have to give Aetna almost $200 of my money for a month in which they are going to do absolutely nothing for me.
2 comments:
When I first got my COBRA coverage, they told me that if I needed to go to the doctor, just go and present my insurance card like I normally would and just pay my copay.
What they told you about having to wait for your payment is a load of horsepucky. According to the Department of Labor website, "COBRA coverage begins on the date that health care coverage would otherwise have been lost by reason of a qualifying event."[http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.HTML] In your case, April 1, NOT the day that they get around to processing your payment. You have 45 days from April 1 to pay your first premium and if you go to the doctor/dentist tomorrow and you pay your premium within that first 45 days, YOU ARE COVERED.
Thank you! Even though I rescheduled my dentist appointment, I still need a refill on my Lexapro, so I'll just order the refill the way I normally would.
Thank you again. Now go update your blog, missy!
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