What is the name of your state? LA
My family and I evacuated from New Orleans the day prior to Katrina to Orlando, FL where my wife is originally from. During the chaos that ensued, we found ourselves (like many others) trapped, unable to return home for nearly six weeks. Immediately after realising that New Orleans was becoming a disaster area and that we were not legally allowed to return (two days after the initial evacuation), we both contacted our employer, a large local hospital, and gave our contact information via the hospital's website. All phone lines were inoperable at that time. They promised to keep employees informed and asked that we supply a contact number and address if possible. A week into our stay in Florida, my wife suffered a kidney stone and was treated in the emergency room of a local hospital (now her employer). As we were still employees (still paid with benefits) we presented our insurance card in the ER and the insurance company verified it, issued authorization to the ER, and we paid our co-pay.
We returned back to out home the very day we were allowed throught the roadblocks to find complete destruction, and with nowhere else to live, we returned back to Florida to jobs that we started out of financial nessesity during the six week evacuation period. It was at this time that we officially notified the New Orleans employer of our inablitly to return (we were paid for two pay cycles after Katrina before it ceased). Immediately after returning to Orlando, We discovered our checking account to be empty and, in fact, overdrawn over$900.00. This by the New Orleans employer in attempt to recoup all pay from the day of the hurricane on. In addition, (here's my present quandry) they somehow were able to retroactively cancel our health insurance back to the day we evacuated. We were never given any notice of termination, never given any notice that our insurance was to be cancelled, never offered any COBRA, and never during the time of the initial evacuation given any clue that anysuch things would occur. We were never, in fact, contacted at all by the New Orleans employer at any time in any way. Now our (then) health insurance co. (Humana) has denied all claims by the Florida Hospital and is billing us $2,800 that they claim they "overpaid" due to lack of coverage, and the treating hospital is charging us an additional $2000 for the rest of the bill. How can our old employer cancel insurance after the fact this way, and how can an insurance co. issue authorization for treatment as per our active coverage and then deny the claim they already paid (partially)? I don't have enough legal knowlege to intelligently pursue this without advice, and I certainly don't have money to pay for such advice/litigation. Any real advice would be greatly appreciated.
My family and I evacuated from New Orleans the day prior to Katrina to Orlando, FL where my wife is originally from. During the chaos that ensued, we found ourselves (like many others) trapped, unable to return home for nearly six weeks. Immediately after realising that New Orleans was becoming a disaster area and that we were not legally allowed to return (two days after the initial evacuation), we both contacted our employer, a large local hospital, and gave our contact information via the hospital's website. All phone lines were inoperable at that time. They promised to keep employees informed and asked that we supply a contact number and address if possible. A week into our stay in Florida, my wife suffered a kidney stone and was treated in the emergency room of a local hospital (now her employer). As we were still employees (still paid with benefits) we presented our insurance card in the ER and the insurance company verified it, issued authorization to the ER, and we paid our co-pay.
We returned back to out home the very day we were allowed throught the roadblocks to find complete destruction, and with nowhere else to live, we returned back to Florida to jobs that we started out of financial nessesity during the six week evacuation period. It was at this time that we officially notified the New Orleans employer of our inablitly to return (we were paid for two pay cycles after Katrina before it ceased). Immediately after returning to Orlando, We discovered our checking account to be empty and, in fact, overdrawn over$900.00. This by the New Orleans employer in attempt to recoup all pay from the day of the hurricane on. In addition, (here's my present quandry) they somehow were able to retroactively cancel our health insurance back to the day we evacuated. We were never given any notice of termination, never given any notice that our insurance was to be cancelled, never offered any COBRA, and never during the time of the initial evacuation given any clue that anysuch things would occur. We were never, in fact, contacted at all by the New Orleans employer at any time in any way. Now our (then) health insurance co. (Humana) has denied all claims by the Florida Hospital and is billing us $2,800 that they claim they "overpaid" due to lack of coverage, and the treating hospital is charging us an additional $2000 for the rest of the bill. How can our old employer cancel insurance after the fact this way, and how can an insurance co. issue authorization for treatment as per our active coverage and then deny the claim they already paid (partially)? I don't have enough legal knowlege to intelligently pursue this without advice, and I certainly don't have money to pay for such advice/litigation. Any real advice would be greatly appreciated.
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