My husbands employer cancelled his insurance and failed to tell us and when he came down with pnuemiona we used it and now we have 2000 dollars worth of medical bills from the hopsitals and docotors visits. They even pulled the money out of his check. We brought it to the employer and they said they would pay it and it has been 4 months and no payment, plus they let him go. What do i do? I called the Department of labor and they said I need to contact the insurance and get a summary plan descrition and then do this and that. I would rather just sue the company it would be easier. Would we have a fighting chance and is that right if we sue them?
2007-10-04 11:57:35 · 4 answers · asked by Kay 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Insurance
I'd follow the suggestions of the Department of Labor first for a few reasons:
1) You don't have to pay a lawyer (Is it really going to be worth it to pay $2-3K in attorney fees to collect $2K in medical bills from the former employer, when the Department of Labor is suggesting a way to handle it outside the courts?)
2) If you end up having to go to court, it will look better to the judge that you took the steps recommended by the Department of Labor.
3) Don't presume that suing is going to be the "easier" option - your court case could drag out for a long time. And then even if you win it doesn't mean that the former employer pays up right away.
2007-10-04 12:19:59 · answer #1 · answered by sarah314 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Do you have something in writing from them saying they would pay the bill? If not, how can you prove they said they would pay it.
People love to say "get a lawyer and sue" - do you have any clue how involved a law suit is or how long one takes? Sure you could sue and in 3-4 years it might actually see a court room. Also - their has to be bad faith on the part of the health insurance company - the lawyer has to be able to collect more then the medical bills - or how else are you going to pay him? I can tell you now - his bill for services will be much more than 2000.
I know talking to a health insurance company is about as much fun as beating your head into a wall - but, start out there. Get them to tell you why the charges were not processed or why they were rejected. Sometimes it's something as simple as the provider coded the bill wrong and if the provider resubmits the bill with the correct code they will pay.
If they deny coverage for the bills - get them to send you a denial letter stating why they denied coverage.
If the employer said they would pay the bill - do the same thing as you would if you contacted the health insurance.
That way - if you decide to hire an attorney - the more work you do ahead of time (for free ) means less work the attorney has to do. Which is good - cause he's gonna bill you for everything he does. Attorneys are not charities and they don't work for free. They will get paid by you or by a % of your settlement.
2007-10-04 19:24:04 · answer #2 · answered by Boots 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would get a lawyer and sue. In the very least they owe you the amount that they continued to take out of your paycheck for insurance that they weren't providing.
2007-10-04 19:05:02 · answer #3 · answered by Angie 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
listen to the dept of labor & sue the employer
2007-10-04 19:40:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋