Can I sue my place of employment for canceling our insurance?

Question

I'm 8 months pregnant and just found out from my doctors office that my insurance has been canceled since July 1st. The company I work for did not inform any employees that it was being canceled. They are still taking out my monthly fee for the insurance but won't guarantee that it will be reinstated any time soon. Can I sue them for my hospital bills??

Answer 1

You can't really sue them for the medical bills...you might be able to hit them up at small claims court for the premiums they've been collecting since they cancelled the insurance though.

An employer can cancel group/employee benefits anytime they want, which is why personal insurance is always better, at least you have control if it.  In my opinion it's just plain and simply bad business and not very ethical to do it and not tell the employees, nothing illegal about it though.

Answer 2

Honestly, it sounds like your employer was late paying the premiums, and the insurance company canceled the coverage for non-payment.

(Based on the fact that you said that your employer didn't provide notice, and money is still being deducted from your checks.  Also your comment that they are working on getting it reinstated.)

Its possible that if your employer forks over the back premiums to the insurer, they will reinstate coverage back to July 1st so that you have no break in coverage.

Frankly, if I were you, I'd be a little concerned about the financial stability of my employer.  If they are deducting premiums from your checks and not paying the insurance company, you have to wonder what's going to happen down the road with your job security and/or paychecks!

P.S.  The insurance company can't directly tell you or your doctor that the premium wasn't paid, but they will say something to the effect of it being a "group issue."  95% of the time, that's code for "the employer group wasn't paying the premium, so coverage is on hold for their employees."  Ask your insurance company why your coverage was canceled...if they tiptoe around the issue, I bet its that your employer didn't pay them.

Answer 3

They are at least guilty of taking money out of your check for services not rendered. That is a really low thing to do They should definitely give a couple of months notice to give their employees time to get coverage.

I would demand that my money be returned to me that was deducted, because you did not get any benefits. If they are not reasonable about this, go to the labor board.

Answer 4

Start by contacting your employer to make sure it wasn't just mistake. This happens and could be something they are working out.

If it was not a mistake contact the EBSA (http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/). You must be notified if your insurance plan is being terminated whether it be on an individual basis or for the whole company.

They are extremely helpful and can let you know what your rights are and what you can do. Best of luck.