Nevada
SIERRA HEALTH INSURANCE is at it again -- they wrongfully terminated my son`s medical insurance policy -- after we've been paying -- on time -- every month -- for 4 years!
Can they do this!? (Well, they obviously can -- they did. Can they get away with it?)
Son was insured through Sierrra Health on an his own, individual policy, from 10/1/05 through 12/31/05 -- we went to pay December's payment, and they said they had no record of him or his policy, and would not let us even make a payment or keep the policy active. Sierra Health terminated him, claiming my son's policy did not exist!!!???
Today, I happened to be updating our address with Sierra Health, and I couldn't help myself -- I decided to try one more time -- this time THEY ADMITTED my son's policy existed and said they have NO IDEA why he was terminated.
They tried to tell us it was because we didn't pay his premium, which is why he was canceled --WRONG -- I had his folder with all his canceled check numbers and dates in front of me -- so she stopped.
- What is going on??
- What recourse, if any, do I have for my son -- who is now, 20, and currently has NO medical insurance though his work?
- Didn't the insurance company break some kind of law by abandoning my son?
- It was suggested I take Sierra Health to SMALL CLAIMS COURT for the back premiums, but I don't know under what grounds.
- Does anyone know the actual statutes the insurance company violated so I can help out my kid?
Concerned mom who's not giving up on her son
Answer
Start with this - Was your son on Cobra, or did he actually have a brand new individual policy? If it was a separate policy, I don't understand why they wouldn't let you re-start the policy even IF you had missed a payment and had a break in coverage. If it was Cobra though, there are very strict laws about keeping the coverage active or not, and once you miss a payment, it CANNOT be restarted under the same policy. If it was an error to term it, though, it *may* be possible to get it reinstated retroactively, but you would have to pay the premiums back to the date of termination all at once. Cobra policies can only be held for a limited time and they can not have any breaks in coverage, once they lapse that's it.