After misprocessing a half dozen of Shirley Raskind’s bills, Blue Cross was ordered to make sure the Los Angeles woman received the money she was owed by physicians.
Raskind sued Blue Cross of California for $758, claiming she’d been forced to pay that amount over her plan’s $4,000 out-of-pocket maximum, and in addition to a $1,500 deductible.
Suzanne Fogel, a representative from Blue Cross, admitted the insurance giant had mishandled six of Raskind’s bills, but said Raskind’s physicians had the money, not Blue Cross.
“We paid too little to the provider, and told the provider (Raskind) owed more than she did,” explained Fogel, who said Blue Cross has since paid the physicians.
But Raskind had already paid the bills. And she told the court neither her physicians nor Blue Cross was being cooperative.
“Every time I call, there’s no response,” Raskind said. “They just pass the buck all over the place.”
Judge Pro Tem Donna Goldstein scolded the insurance company for expecting Raskin to collect from physicians who have been paid twice. She continued the case to January and ordered Fogel to personally ensure Raskind is reimbursed — either from the physicians or, failing that, from Blue Cross itself.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 16, 2002. Read the original PDF.