![]() ![]() They seemed surprised to find out - from me - that this was the case. I believe the reason I was not told this is because the people who handle phone calls from "members" do not understand that the system works this way. That she would appear to have no health insurance coverage at all. I was NOT told that when providers tried to look her up using social security number and birthdate, they would be told she does not exist in the system. She responded that she was sorry I was not told that my mother's card would be deactivated. I tried to impress upon the person I spoke with at my mother's insurance company that this bit of information is something that would be useful for them to share with their customers who call to report lost or stolen cards. These, however, are not sufficient credentials to parse the mysterious ways of American health insurance companies. I am a Goddess of Science and Empress of Engineering and Avenging Angel of Angry Women. ![]() Why the human being can use the exact same information to locate you in the system that the automated system cannot process to locate you in the system, I cannot explain to you. Instead, they must persist and insist upon speaking with an actual, live human being who, unlike the automated system, can use your social security number and birthdate to look you up in the system and verify that you do, in fact, have health insurance coverage, even if you do not currently have a valid insurance number. The automated system will just inform them that "you do not exist within the system". Not even if they try to look you up using your social security number and birthdate. IN THE MEANTIME, they can verify that you still have insurance coverage, BUT NOT BY USING THE AUTOMATED SYSTEM when calling the health insurance company. Should you be so unfortunate as to actually need to use your health insurance during this period, here is what the health insurance company will advise you to do:Įxplain to the health care provider that your card was stolen, that the old number is no longer valid, that a new card is being issued with new number, and that as soon as you have the new number you will inform them of the new number and they can bill using the new number.Įxplain to the health care provider that your card was stolen, that the old number is no longer valid, that a new card is being issued with a new number, and that as soon as you have the new number you will inform them of the new number and they can bill using the new number. In the interim, it would be to your advantage not to need any sort of health care or prescription medication service whatsoever. Just remember, this is the best health care system in the world at your service. I don't know why, in this modern age of computers and all manner of fancy technological achievements the youngsters have these days, it should take three weeks to (1) cancel old card and number, (2) assign new number to account, (3) produce new card, and (4) mail new card to account holder, but it does. It could take up to three weeks for you to get it. Sadly, however, you will have to wait for that new card with new number. You want that old number canceled, and you want a new card with new number issued. This is a good thing, as you don't want someone who might have stolen your card or who might find it to be able to use it and generate fraudulent health care claims that you will have to spend hours dealing with on top of all the other nightmare of paperwork you are already handling. When you call to report your lost or stolen insurance card, the insurance company will naturally want to issue a new one for you, with a new number on it. I'm going to tell you something the health insurance company probably won't, because I'm not sure that the people who answer the phones even understand that their system works like this. This has resulted in hours and hours of work for me to deal with replacing the cards, working with the bank to contest the fraudulent charges on her account, etc. As I recently reported, my mother's wallet was stolen last week, containing her bank card, driver's license, and insurance and Medicare cards. ![]()
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