XP from 0-6: COBRA Issues?

2BWEDN2007 · October 2008

I'm going to make this as short as possible.....promise.

My son was a preemie born at 24w5d. He has countless doctor appointments due to his condition. I decided to stay home FT with him and since I was the primary carrier of our insurance we had to elect COBRA. I gave my notice on 7/11/08 and was sent the COBRA forms on 8/11/08. The notice said I had until 10/7/08 to elect COBRA continuation.

We faxed these forms in 3 times and each time I called ADP told me they had not received the forms. The third time I called I told them I have a fax confirmation saying you received the forms. "Miraculously", this time they received them. They told me it would take 3 days to process. I called back 3 days later and was told it takes 4-5 days to process. I called on 10/8 the day before we left to go out of town (and the day after the cut off date) and the automated system said the paperwork had been received, was being processed and our insurance company should have our policy backdated in 2-3 business days. Fast forward to Friday, we get home from vacation and Jacob's doctor calls and says our insurance is still listed as inactive and unless we pay the bills we have accumulated since July 31st when our coverage ended we need to reschedule our appt. until our insurance is back up and running.

I call ADP and they tell me there is no active account under our SSN. I proceed to SCREAM at the woman on the phone (I couldn't help it) and explain the entire situation above. She puts me on hold for 5 minutes and comes back to tell me that the forms were processed prior to the 7th, but the account has since been terminated. There is no way I cancelled the account. I was out of town for over a week and hadn't called since that day to confirm they had received the forms. We can't afford to pay the accumulated bills (literally thousands) so my son can be seen tomorrow. He is due to have his first Synagis shot for RSV ($1,500), his 6 month vaccinations and a weight check. This bill alone will be thousands of additional dollars.

Anyone have a similar experience with COBRA? I don't know if they are usually this incompetent, but seeing as they are going to make tens of thousands of dollars off of us as long as we have COBRA you think they'd get with the program. Last time I called they said they could put in a research request and to call back tomorrow to follow up on it. This way they can tell me why the policy was cancelled, but I am beside myself. We have no coverage right now and will owe on all my son's bills since the policy ended in July.

LULUNJ · October 2008

Sorry you are going thru this nightmare. I do not have cobra, or a similar problem (just yet, cause the bills havent come in)...but, I am sorry, why can't the doctor see your baby, give the shots, and take care of your baby as needed??? The insurance issue will be taken care of ..it is just a matter of a mistake on their part. Good luck, and if staff in doctors office are telling you that your baby cannot be seen I would ask to speak to the doctor directly.

Mrs Manners · October 2008

I had a problem getting my son added on my insurance plan through my employer and then through the insurance company. It didn't happen until the day he was scheduled for his first synagis shot at home. It'll be ok to delay the shot a few days while they get this all straightened out. My office never submitted the paperwork even though they got it from me so it showed that his coverage had terminated. I freaked out but it all worked out and everything was covered. It was stressful (stress I didn't need) but was ok in the end.

SuwaneeGirl · October 2008

I would recommend you contact your state insurance commissioner asap and file a report and complaint about your situation.

You should also enroll your child in whichever state-sponsored healthcare plan you are eligible for. In my state there are several programs and they're not just for indigent care. In the meantime, you can go to the county health department; you can obtain all vaccines there for a small charge. They may also administer the RSV shots or arrange for you to get them.

ijack · October 2008

Call them and make them do a case study and reinstate it. I've actually had to have our ins company do this 2x since I left my job (beginning of June) and hopefully it's all worked out now. They should be able to look through their phone records and computer files and find out when you called and who you spoke to and what happened.
GL!

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