I got another letter from my health insurance company. In the past, the letters were filled with good news. This one, however, warned me that they were about to drop my coverage. I had to work so hard to find an affordable health plan. It seems unfair that it could be lost, in the blink of an eye!
In 2009, I lost my job, which meant that I lost my health insurance along with it. It took until 2012 for me to find affordable health insurance coverage again. In between, I spent countless hours searching for information about health insurance plans.
I applied to some, and got denied. I applied to others, and got approved, only to later discover that the plan wasn’t anywhere near as affordable as it was supposed to be. It took the help of an insurance broker before I finally was able to have health insurance coverage again.
Since then, my health insurance company, Anthem, has been sending me letters in the mail. The first one told me that my plan would soon be including maternity coverage (without costing me anything extra for it). The second letter informed me that the plan would, later on this Summer, also be covering birth control.
The letter that Anthem sent to me this time, however, was not good news. Not at all. The top line read: “Important Information Regarding Your Premiums”. It went on to say that they did not receive the payment for my premium on June 1, 2012. The letter was dated June 4, 2012, and I received it on June 11, 2012. It said that I had a 31 day grace period in which to pay my premium or they will cancel the policy for non-payment.
Previous to this, I had no way of knowing that Anthem decided that the billing date for my health insurance premium would be the first of the month. The first premium was paid when I got approved for the insurance. The timing between when I applied and when I was approved was a little goofy, so, the second premium was for half the cost, and for half a month. Since Anthem asked for that payment on the fifteenth of a month, it seemed as though they were giving me until the fifteenth of every month to pay the premiums.
Not so! At the time that I am writing this blog, everything has been resolved, and the premium payment has been made. It troubles me, though, that an insurance company can drop you, so quickly, if your bill gets paid a little late. I worked so hard to find health insurance coverage. It seems like I could lose it, in the blink of an eye, if my payment arrives a little later than expected one month. This is especially true since I haven’t had reason to use the health insurance yet, so I am not costing Anthem anything at all so far.
Image by Matthew Hurst on Flickr