Chicago Tribune Jon Yates column

Aug. 30--When the Problem Solver last wrote about Jon Paulsen, the Oak Park resident was worried he would never see the $2,061.66 the Cook County treasurer's office owed him.

The money, the result of a successful appeal that reduced his 2012 property taxes, had been in bureaucratic limbo since he submitted a "certificate of error" application June 27.

In the Aug. 21 column, the treasurer's chief financial officer, Patrick Nester, said Paulsen's application arrived at the height of tax season, which slowed the agency's response.

Normally, Nester said, it takes six to eight weeks to process a certificate of error. Because May, June and July tend to be among the treasurer's busiest months, it can sometimes take longer for money to be sent, he said.

Nester said the treasurer's office processed about 18,000 certificate of error requests in May and June. He said at the time that Paulsen should see his $2,061.66 within a week.

In fact, the money arrived exactly a week later.

"The Cook County treasurer's office sent a check," a happy Paulsen reported Thursday.

His takeaway?

"If the treasurer's office (handles) that many certificates of error, then there must be something wrong with the Cook County real estate tax assessments," Paulsen said.

Making headway

Technically, Erin Carver's old health insurance plan remains intact, but the Wheaton resident reports some progress in her quest to extricate herself from it.

Carver, first featured in the July 27 column, signed up late last year for insurance through the federal marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act.

After landing a job that provided employer-sponsored health insurance in May, she tried to cancel her Obamacare plan. She was told by the plan's administrator, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, that she had to file her cancellation request with the marketplace.

In the months that followed, bills for the old plan continued to arrive, as the policy continued.

The policy still hasn't been canceled, but there has been some movement.

Last week, her new insurance company, also Blue Cross, informed her that the waiting period for coverage of pre-existing conditions has expired, meaning she can now get treatments that she had put off for months.

"I celebrated the news that I'm now approved for coverage for pre-existing conditions by making an appointment with my ENT," Carver said in an email, referring to her ear, nose and throat doctor.

Also, Blue Cross sent a letter, dated Aug. 25, telling her that because she hasn't paid her premiums on the Obamacare policy she was trying to cancel, the insurance company has placed the old policy "on hold."

Carver has her fingers crossed that the "hold" becomes permanent.

"Hopefully (this is) a step towards cancellation," she said.

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