Question:
My insurance company messed up & now I am stuck! BCBS Health options

My paperwork has been on hold for over 2 weeks because my insurance is waiting to hear from someone thet they never will. My husband works for Publix & for some unknown reason BCBS sent my paperwork to the Publix corporate office for approval. I have never dealt with this before requesting services. I spoke with someone at Publix's main office for insurance & they said because I have an HMO I am supposed to deal with Health Options directly. In that case,why did the Health Options fax my file to Publix & tell me they must get Publix to approve it? My doctor can not seem to get this problem resolved & because I am not a medical professional,they will not let me speak to anyone outside of customer service. At least if I would get a denial I could appeal it,but I can't even get that much out of them. If anyone has any ideas on how to get around this,I would greatly appreciate it. My surgery is tenatively scheduled for August 28th & if they don't fix this mess soon,I will have to be scheduled for a later date.    — [Anonymous] (posted on August 2, 2000)

August 2, 2000
I don't know if I completely understand, but seems like your info was sent to the wrong company (?)and you want to get it to the right company (?) I would call and ask to speak directly to a supervisor. Get that persons name and direct number. Call that person daily if no results. You won't get anywhere with customer service or a different person every day. GOOD LUCK!
   — ZZ S.

August 2, 2000
Call out the big guns on this one. I think your insurance co has breached your right to privacy concerning your medical problems. Call and speak to a supervisor, tell them your husbands company has nothing to do with approval and if they don't respond immediately you will call the insurance commissioner in your state. In fact I'd do that first to investgate your right to privacy.
   — Wendy W.

August 2, 2000
Get in touch with the Office of Personnel, Inspector General, since you are with the Federal Employees Health Benefit program, they will take care of it quickly. Call the insurance company once again and tell them you are going to file a complaint under the Privacy Act and ask them who their head supervisor is. They must give you this information. Be demanding, it is the only way to deal with them. You don't have to be a medical professional to get information from your insurance company. Remember you are paying premiums, they work for you. Good luck.
   — Sue M.

August 2, 2000
I don't understand why they are saying that your husband works for the federal gov't, but my understanding of your post is this... Publix is a grocery chain in the south... is your insurance with you husband's employer? What I would ask them to do is resumbit a new packet to the right address... I basically had the same thing happen a few years ago... and I called and got the correct address and fax number to resubmit. Good Luck... You can also call your state agency that oversee insurance providers and asked for there assitance.
   — ann A.