ACAScrewedMe
New Member
- 11
I purchased a UMPC (Pennsylvania) plan on the Marketplace, and my coverage was just terminated for non-payment. I got the termination letter on 7/20 that says my coverage was canceled effective 5/31. After doing some research, I found that my May payment was short (I accidentally only paid about 40% of the bill), but I didn't know about it until the next bill came out. I never received a warning letter or phone call, although my provider says they did both.
I have electronic billing set up, and I never got a notice in my plan message box nor in my email. I paid my bill in full (including outstanding charges for May) in June, then I paid my bill for July. I also saw several doctors due to an unfortunately timed problem with my leg. I did all of this under the assumption that I had healthcare. Which makes sense, because UPMC kept accepting my payments.
I already filed an escalation with the Marketplace, and UPMC denied my request for reinstatement. They said that I fell outside the "CMS guidelines" for payment grace period. Even worse, they're going to cancel the payments for all of the healthcare I received in June, so I'll need to pay for that now. I called the Marketplace for assistance, and they told me that I don't qualify for a Special Enrollment, but I can appeal the decision or apply for healthcare in January.
I'm already technically without healthcare for the past 2 months, so I'm guessing I'll get a tax fine for that? If I appeal, they said it could take up to 3 months, so that's probably 3 more months of fines. With my income, that's over $1500 worth of fines.
I'm completely at a loss, and my leg is still injured. I thought ACA was supposed to make getting healthcare easier! I'm not sure whether I should appeal or get a lawyer or sign up for a cheap health plan & pray that the tumor in my leg isn't cancer. PLEASE HELP!!!!
I have electronic billing set up, and I never got a notice in my plan message box nor in my email. I paid my bill in full (including outstanding charges for May) in June, then I paid my bill for July. I also saw several doctors due to an unfortunately timed problem with my leg. I did all of this under the assumption that I had healthcare. Which makes sense, because UPMC kept accepting my payments.
I already filed an escalation with the Marketplace, and UPMC denied my request for reinstatement. They said that I fell outside the "CMS guidelines" for payment grace period. Even worse, they're going to cancel the payments for all of the healthcare I received in June, so I'll need to pay for that now. I called the Marketplace for assistance, and they told me that I don't qualify for a Special Enrollment, but I can appeal the decision or apply for healthcare in January.
I'm already technically without healthcare for the past 2 months, so I'm guessing I'll get a tax fine for that? If I appeal, they said it could take up to 3 months, so that's probably 3 more months of fines. With my income, that's over $1500 worth of fines.
I'm completely at a loss, and my leg is still injured. I thought ACA was supposed to make getting healthcare easier! I'm not sure whether I should appeal or get a lawyer or sign up for a cheap health plan & pray that the tumor in my leg isn't cancer. PLEASE HELP!!!!