OPINION: The insurance quagmire that just doesn’t end

March 29-- Mar. 29--I feel bad complaining about a health insurance issue given that, for many people, being insured has become a luxury.

Still, when you have to spend a countless number of hours over a month or more to get the benefit you've paid good money for, it is frustrating beyond words.

It all started when Rich retired and I went on the COBRA plan he had at Evergreen Packaging. The company uses a third-party billing agency, Right Choice Benefits, which basically means we send the money to them which is then forwarded to the health, the dental and the vision providers.

That was working for a while, but when I switched to the automatic billing option, there was a mix-up, which triggered a letter to all the companies saying I was no longer covered.

The problem was quickly solved, but the third-party company failed to notify the companies such as Blue Cross of Illinois, Delta Dental or VSP Union Vision. I didn't discover the issue until I went to the eye doctor, and wasn't covered. I produced paperwork showing they were taking my money, and stating how much was being sent where. That meant nothing.

To straighten out the issue took more emails and phone calls than I can possibly count as the direct providers and the third-party billing company pointed fingers at each other saying the problem was not theirs. Between each contact, time was needed to "research" the issue, which seemed to just be a line to get me off the phone.

What's so time-consuming is being put on hold as you work your way up the "queue," as in "you are now seventh in the queue."

The vision insurance was the easiest thanks to Susan Duerr, who made it her mission to get to the bottom of the bureaucratic boondoggle. She volunteered to call Right Choice, while I waited on hold to see what she found out.

After 15 minutes or so, she hung up because she wasn't moving up in the queue. I assured her that was just how it was, and if you waited long enough, you would get to No. 1. She was able to ultimately solve the problem.

My husband solved the dental component with the fewest number of phone calls, but the health insurance part was a nightmare I wouldn't wish on even someone who hadn't been very nice to me. (In my job, there are a few of those.)

The Right Choice Benefits consumer relations division insisted they had sent information to Blue Cross of Illinois stating my policy was active -- and that they had confirmation from the provider showing it had been received.

Blue Cross, on the other hand, insisted they had no such communication, thus no evidence my policy was active. One time when I called Right Choice and asked to speak to a supervisor, I was on hold so long it would have lasted through the weekend if I hadn't given up when it was obvious all had left the office and I wasn't moving up in the queue.

Ultimately, it was Bryan Wisniewski with the Blue Cross customer service division who made it his mission to untangle the problem. It turned out the email Right Choice had sent to Blue Cross went to an account that wasn't active, which meant there was no way they got a confirmation of its delivery.

He was able to find a person at Right Choice to confirm that the account was active and send the information, which settled the matter.

About 10 days ago, I finally got an insurance card from Blue Cross/Blue Shield. What a relief that was. The problem is, just yesterday, I got a second insurance card with a different number. I fear it will be a "here we go again" situation.

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