It's a health insurance premium most people would envy: 10 cents. But Connie Skogstad of Minneapolis was peeved that UniCare, her disabled husband's Medicare Part D insurer, wanted her to write a check each month for a dime.
Skogstad tried to pay over the phone, saying it wasn't worth the paper and the stamp for her to mail it in. Can't do it, the customer service rep said.
So she ignored it. Last month, the bill reached 40 cents, and Skogstad noticed the warning that the insurance would be canceled if the bill wasn't paid.
When Whistleblower contacted UniCare, company spokesman Tony Felts said he couldn't imagine someone losing health coverage for lack of a dime. Last week, Skogstad found out the 10-cent premiums would be waived.
The Medicare subsidy amounted to $37.60 per month, but UniCare's premium was $37.70, a UniCare "special inquiry representative senior" wrote to Skogstad."After completing the review of your case, UniCare has agreed to pay your 2010 premium in the amount of $1.20."
Skogstad, 61, has worked in insurance billing, so she knows something about the system. In Skogstad's experience, bills this small would never be charged. It's the waste of resources that's most troublesome to her. "This is just a small example of the whole picture, when I'm looking at all the health insurance problems going on," she said.
Have you been nickeled and dimed by big institutions?
