"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Skip Gundlach" skipgundlach at gmail dotcom wrote in news:9cc0d
:



Oh, wonderful, BC/BS. Let me tell you what they did to me in the late
80's.......

I had a group plan BC/BS of SC with one of my client music stores I do
lots of work for. $386/month for me, wife and daughter...ouch! It was
to stop the wife screaming at me, which worked.

I used to have occasional kidney stones, just to keep me from being too
happy, caused by Charleston's calcium-laced lake drinking water. I drink
homebrew distilled, now, much better. One of the stones didn't pass in a
day of being doubled up on the carpet, so I bit the bullet and checked
into the hospital under the BC/BS plan to have it removed with laser
litho-something-or-other-to-boost-the-price. I was in there a few days
with tubes sticking out of "it", not fun.

The bill was about $3000 plus $1200 for the doctor for his 1/2 hour
trouble. They submitted the forms to BC/BS of SC....

BC/BS of SC had waited, patiently, for me to make a claim then I got a
letter saying they could not pay my bill UNTIL I agreed to take my WIFE
off the policy as they didn't want anything to do with someone who MIGHT
have a claim for a thyroid condition. I refused. She was the reason I
agreed to give these *******s $386 a month for nothing! "We'll cancel
your policy.", they told me. I asked them what happened to all the
thousands I'd put in over the last 3 years. They said they'd return my
money because they cancelled. I told them to send me a check,
immediately. No interest, of course, they kept that. Nice company, eh?

Your story seems so bizarre to me. Did BC pay for your kidneystone?
Secondly, what did your wife's thyroid condition have to do with it, unless
it wasn't disclosed when you apply? Finally, did you consider reporting thi
s to SC's insurance dept?

Situation is much better now, due to pertinent national legislation which
eliminates insurance companies from pulling this kind of stuff. Only
trouble is, rates have risen through the roof because now insurance
companies are "blind" to the risk they must accept, on group policies.
Access has improved but at significant costs.

I paid the bills, and put the rest into the credit union at the AFB near
the house, applying $386/month to MY ACCOUNT, this time. After a few
years, credit union voiced concern I was over their CUA account limit, so
I've let it run on interest all these years since then. Screw BC/BS. I
probably got enough to pay, now. Well, they USED to pay fair interest on
it....not any more.

How awful......

In essence, you self insured, which is what I always recommend to my healthy
clients. Take a high deductible plan and stuff the savings into a savings
account or MSA.

Just don't go bare.

BTW.....my kidney stone was a 13k bill.

-Greg