I knew I was losing my employer provided health insurance at the end of 2016, so in December I enrolled in a policy through the government sponsored program at HealthCare(dot)gov. I filled out the application and got Blue Cross Blue Shield and it came with a subsidy so my monthly premium was reduced to less than $400 per month.
I paid my first premium and finalized my membership by filling in my information at the BCBS website. I was informed that my ID cards and packet of information explaining everything I needed to know would be arriving in the mail in about a week.
By the end of January I called BCBS to find out why I hadn't received anything. It was virtually impossible to talk to a live person because I would always be put on hold for literally hours at a time. I tried almost every day and at different times of day and it actually took me until late February to get through when I sat and read a book while I listened on speakerphone for someone to finally get to me after almost 4 hours.
The representative explained to me that I needed to create an account on the website before they could send me anything and I told them I knew that but I couldn't create the account because it wouldn't accept my information for some reason. He told me the reason whey was because my address didn't match what was on the original application from the government website. It was a simple typo where part of the street address was slightly different. The problem was they were unable to correct the information because what they received from the government was registered with the federal government as my legal address for the purposes of proving that I was conforming to the personal mandate.
So I can't create an account with the incorrect address and the insurance company can't correct the information. I have to go through the government website to get it changed there. In the meantime I'm paying monthly premiums for services that I can't receive.
Here's where I need help. I've tried to go through the HealthCare(dot)gov site to make the required change and I don't see where it's possible to do so. I've tried various phone numbers to try to talk to someone in person but everything I've tried comes up as a dead end. I desperately need to get to see my new doctor for a physical and to update my necessary medications but I have no idea what doctors are in my coverage plan or what facilities. I can't do anything until I get an account set up with BCBS and I can't do that until I get my address corrected by the government. And I've run out of ideas on how to make that happen.
It's been suggested that I consult a legal professional who specializes in health care issues but I'm just a poor boy living paycheck to paycheck. I can't afford to pay a lawyer to deal with this for me. I'm hoping that there is someone on this forum who knows how this stuff works and can give me helpful advice on how to proceed.
I paid my first premium and finalized my membership by filling in my information at the BCBS website. I was informed that my ID cards and packet of information explaining everything I needed to know would be arriving in the mail in about a week.
By the end of January I called BCBS to find out why I hadn't received anything. It was virtually impossible to talk to a live person because I would always be put on hold for literally hours at a time. I tried almost every day and at different times of day and it actually took me until late February to get through when I sat and read a book while I listened on speakerphone for someone to finally get to me after almost 4 hours.
The representative explained to me that I needed to create an account on the website before they could send me anything and I told them I knew that but I couldn't create the account because it wouldn't accept my information for some reason. He told me the reason whey was because my address didn't match what was on the original application from the government website. It was a simple typo where part of the street address was slightly different. The problem was they were unable to correct the information because what they received from the government was registered with the federal government as my legal address for the purposes of proving that I was conforming to the personal mandate.
So I can't create an account with the incorrect address and the insurance company can't correct the information. I have to go through the government website to get it changed there. In the meantime I'm paying monthly premiums for services that I can't receive.
Here's where I need help. I've tried to go through the HealthCare(dot)gov site to make the required change and I don't see where it's possible to do so. I've tried various phone numbers to try to talk to someone in person but everything I've tried comes up as a dead end. I desperately need to get to see my new doctor for a physical and to update my necessary medications but I have no idea what doctors are in my coverage plan or what facilities. I can't do anything until I get an account set up with BCBS and I can't do that until I get my address corrected by the government. And I've run out of ideas on how to make that happen.
It's been suggested that I consult a legal professional who specializes in health care issues but I'm just a poor boy living paycheck to paycheck. I can't afford to pay a lawyer to deal with this for me. I'm hoping that there is someone on this forum who knows how this stuff works and can give me helpful advice on how to proceed.
