On Monday the 1st of May, thousands of Florida Blue members got shocking news where they learned about a payment processing glitch. This glitch had caused many accounts to be debited by hundreds and in some cases even thousands of dollars. Let’s know how the Billing Glitch by Florida Blue is affecting its valuable customers.
Billing Glitch By Florida Blue, Here Is All We Know
1. Overcharges For About 9,500 People
Jacksonville-based Florida Blue is also known as Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida. It is the state’s largest health insurance provider and has over 4 million customers. The company confirmed on late Tuesday, that a payment-processing glitch has caused overcharges for about 9,500 people. This problem has caused its customers to be charged multiple times for the same bill. The company immediately took actions to fix the problem.
2. Reversals Initiated
Christie Hyde DeNave a spokeswoman from Florida Blue said, “Within 24 hours of becoming aware of the issue, we initiated charge reversals for all impacted members,” she added “Some members have already seen refunds reflected in their accounts. Other refunds are currently being processed by members’ financial institutions. We expect those refunds should be completed by most banks within the next few days. In some instances, it may take slightly longer.”
3. Company Would Cover All Late Charges And Associated Fees
Christie Hyde DeNave said that the company is directly working with banks across Florida. They are working to have all the late charges and associated fees removed from accounts of the affected members. In the case of those accounts where fees are not removed the company would cover the cost.
4. Unidentified Vendor Responsible
The official of Florida Blue apologized for this problem, they held an unidentified vendor responsible for this glitch.
5. Company Stops Accepting Payments Through Electronic-Fund Transfer
While the company is trying to identify and correct the problem, they have stopped taking electronicfund transfer payments. They have also delayed ongoing automatic payments scheduled for this month. The company said,
“Since members currently will not be able to make payments, we will not cancel a policy for nonpayment until the issue is resolved. During this time, we will ensure that people who need care are able to get it, even if they are unable to make premium payments as a result of this issue.”
Customers Get Knockout by Billing Glitch by Florida Blue
According to Tampa Bay Times, a resident called Tracey Davis’s checking account was overdrawn when she was charged more than $18,000 by Florida Blue. Her definite monthly premium should have been $877.
Another case was reported by the Palm Beach Post, one of Florida Blue customer was charged $40,000 for a premium that was less than $1,100. This resulted to $1,400 in erroneous bank fees.
Florida Blue officials acknowledged the billing errors and immediately apologized, they said,
“We apologize for the problems this situation has created for our members. We commit to addressing it quickly and making things right for the people we serve”.
As they work to fix this problem quickly, they are still assessing how many people have been affected by this billing glitch.
Date: May 04, 2017