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by Tricia

I noticed online today that my health insurance provider received the manual check that I wrote to them. I sent it Wednesday – they cashed it Friday. Whew. We are now officially covered and I can begin the claims process to get paid for things we paid out-of-pocket. I’m not looking forward to it, but at least it will be a learning experience.

I also found out that the original online bill payment that my bank sent did make it to Blue Cross and it was cashed on the 12th. I really goofed with how I handled everything, because now that check will bounce on them since we put a stop on it. That could result in a fee. I tried asking the customer service rep about it and he didn’t know. I guess we’ll see.

What I should have done was let that first check go for a while longer and then cut a check from my checkbook. I got really flustered, though, during this whole thing and didn’t think too clearly. I also seem to forget that I have a savings account I can pull from. You live…you learn.

With all of the information that I have, I believe my bank did its job and sent out the payment as they should have. I believe that the delay with everything lies with Blue Cross and I will confirm that when I call next week to find out when they cashed the second bill pay check from my bank. I believe that they are a company that is not equipped to handle online bill payments. Even though all of the necessary account information is included on the check, they delay the payment processing unless you have the voucher from your bill with the payment.

Now that this is somewhat resolved, I can dig into our finances and see if we can squeeze out some money to our savings account. I still would like to get that balance increased to $4,000.

by Tricia

After everything that has been going on with our health insurance lately, guess what I got in the mail today? It was my next health insurance bill. That’s not very unusual for this time of the month. The $1,200 showing as due by the first of July was the unusual part. I think my heart skipped a beat.

My eyes scanned that bill as quickly as it could to figure out what the hey was going on. I am supposed to be billed $400/month (roughly). Ah, I found it. I was being charged for three months. Three months! Due by July! Are they wanting me to need the health insurance?

The initial shock wore off quickly and I went straight to the phone. It turns out that their system had a glitch and “randomly sent out three month invoices to some customers.” The customer service rep went on to assure me that the only amount that will be due is a one month payment.

That seals the deal. I will never, ever, give my health insurance company my banking information to automatically withdraw payments. I am also not paying them through my bank’s online bill pay since it didn’t work too well. I am going back to doing things the old fashioned way with writing my own check, paying for a stamp and sending it off in the mail.

As for continuing to use online bill pay for everything else? I’m still on the fence with that. We only send out a few checks a month and I’m thinking of going back to the old fashioned way for all of them. I liked the convenience of online bill pay, but I really miss knowing that my checks cleared the bank. The other option is to get a new bank with a better online bill pay system. I still have to think about it some more.

What an interesting June so far. I guess it’s keeping me on my toes! 🙂