Insurance Application Form got lost

What is the name of your state? AZ

Hi everybody, first post here.
The short version: Went to the doctor and realised afterwards that i'm not insured, even though i have submited the application form to my HR.

The longer version: I was brought to the US from Austria by my company, with a L1 visa, about 9 months ago.
Right after i got here, i took care of everything I was aware of, including Health Insurance.
9 months later i got sick and had to go to the doctor, so i've asked a colleague what the steps were, and he told me all i need is my insurance card. Oops, i don't have one, neither did i know i should have one! So i went to HR and asked them what the problem is, and they told me not to worry, my social security number would suffice. OK then, so i went to the doctor.
After a while i thought i might want to double check, and found out i am simply not in the system. Apparently the person who should have taken care of my Health Insurance doesn't work for my company anymore, so, well, there is no prove that i have ever submited the insurance form.
I should also mention that a month before this situation, i have completed the form again, as i wanted to add my wife to my benefits plan. That didn't work either, since i was a few days late with the application, which got rejected. Again, nobody told me anything.
Now i am stuck in a situation where i have to pay not less than $1700 for the doctor and medication and blood tests.
The boss of the HR department simply won't even think of at least showing the will to help me out, the only offer she made me was to trade in my PTO for cash, which would basically let me without PTO for about 2 years!

Now, is there any law i could rely on, i.e. the fact that ...maybe, they should make sure that every emplyee either submits or declines the application? Anything in that area?

Please bare with me, and consider the fact that in the country i came from these are not things one should ever worry about. I simply had no idea, since nobody ever told me what i should be aware of.

Any kind of help or idea would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time, and btw, i find this forum to be of immense help!

DoodahDude, I'm not ignoring you. I'm doing some research on your situation and will get back to you sometime in the next couple of days, if someone else hasn't already answered your question by then.

Thank you, cbg! I really appreciate it.

One quick question, DoodahDude; did they tell you that you would be paying for any part of the premium, and if so, have they been deducting it from your check?

"did they tell you that you would be paying for any part of the premium"
Yes
"have they been deducting it from your check"
No, and I never got suspicious, since a Medicare Tax appeared on my paycheck, which -in my ignorance and confusion- i thought was the health insurance.

Thank you

Okay, thanks. I'm discussing your case with a bunch of my colleagues, and will let you know what conclusions we reach.

As I told you, I discussed this with a group of my collegues, all of whom have a lot of experience with benefits. We all agree on the following:

1.) Your employer was unbelieveably careless in the way they have handled this.

2.) The right thing for the employer to do, would be to pay the bill and do whatever it took to get you covered on the plan NOW, or else somehow convince the carrier to accept your enrollment retroactively so that the insurance would pay the bill.

3.) Unfortunately, no law exists that would force the employer to do this.

4.) Your situation stinks and your employer should be slapped upside the head for this.

One member of the group, who has a great deal of overseas experience, had one suggestion for you. She says that some countries - she does not know specifically about Austria but cited Holland as an example - will continue to cover you (that's a general you, not a specific you) on their national health insurance as long as you remain a citizen. So her suggestion is that you submit the bills to your national health plan in Austria. Even if they don't pay them, you'll be no worse off than you are now.

Everyone agrees that you should carry this as high up the corporate ladder as you possibly can, since it was the company's screw-up and you're the one being left holding the bag.

Thank you very much, cbg!

Does that mean i should not even think about suing the company? Or should I?

Again, thank you very much for your time and info!

Have a lovely day.

Tough question.

Your employer has not violated the law. On the other hand, their carelessness has left you with a financial obligation you would not have had if they had done what they should have.

It might end up costing you more to actually sue, than you would get back even if you won.

What you might try is very politely explain to them that you do not want to sue anyone, but since you are now stuck with a $1700 bill that you should not have had to pay if they'd fulfilled their obligations to you and added you to the insurance when you applied, you may not have any options. Of course, if they were to make that financial obligation go away by paying the bill for you, you'd have no reason to sue.

Talk to an attorney in your state before using the above argument. And good luck; you've been treated unbelievably shabbily and no company I've ever worked for would have failed to pick up the bill for you if they could not get you on the insurance immediately.,

Thank you, cbg!

I really appreciate your help.

Doodahdude,
the almost exact same thing happened to me (btw I'm from germany). The whole family was supposed to be covered under my husbands dental plan. Our portion of the insurance expenses were taken out of his paycheck and we did receive cards from the insurance company. After going to the dentist and taking one of our kids, we received a bill from the dentist. After researching we found out that the employer had switched ins.carriers and only insuring employees and not dependants.
Long story short, we ended up paying for the bill because the employer refused to help in any way and the insurance co. refused to retroactively insure us since they did not receive premiums. We did receive a refund for the payments that were withheld from the paycheck.
Hope you have a better outcome! Good luck!