Obmacare is clogging the courts in more ways that one. Las Vegan Larry Basich paid the premium on his Nevada Health Link insurance plan in November, but as of Feb. 25, it wasn’t clear who was covering Basich. The retired civil engineer had a triple bypass on Jan. 3 and now has $407,000 in medical bills.
Via LVRJ
Consumers are getting restless.
And wherever there are unhappy consumers, lawsuits often follow.
Whether they are frightened of going without medical care, angry about not receiving their insurance cards or trying to prove a point, Nevadans increasingly say they are weighing legal action over the rollout of Nevada Health Link, the state exchange through which they can buy coverage to comply with the federal Affordable Care Act.
The exchange’s glitch-riddled website has prevented thousands from enrolling in plans.
Other consumers who have made it through the system say they have paid premiums but received no verification of a plan, and can’t see their doctor as a result.
Courts nationwide already are clogged with Obamacare-related lawsuits ranging from whether tax credits apply to consumers who bought on the federal exchange to whether the law’s employer mandate is constitutional.
A growing number of legal challenges relate to how the law is affecting consumers.
A California legislator is suing the Covered California exchange because he said the agency has forced cancellation of more than a million existing policies.
Also in California, two consumers have sued for being persuaded to switch to new coverage when they didn’t have to. New York’s attorney general is investigating on behalf of patients who enrolled through the state’s exchange but have been left without coverage.
The wave of lawsuits hasn’t washed over Nevada yet, but it’s a matter of time.
“A class action suit is just waiting to happen. I definitely see it happening,” said Pat Casale, a Las Vegas insurance broker with Pat Casale &Associates.
“Eventually, people’s claims will be paid, but eventually isn’t good enough,” said Casale, who has had clients go without care after coverage mix-ups in plans bought on the exchange. “Pretty soon, phone calls are going to be coming in from providers for payment, and the pressure is going to be on.”
Richard Harris, managing partner of the Richard Harris Law Firm in Las Vegas, said his firm has received calls from disgruntled patients. Harris said he knows of no lawsuit filed in Nevada, though that could change if the exchange doesn’t improve soon.
“The question is whether you’re wrongfully denying people coverage which they’re entitled to. You could make a case for tort liability in the abstract, yes. There’s technically tort liability for the state,” Harris said.
How liable the state might be is the question. First, some background on the issues exchange users face.
Start with the smaller cases.
Lori Friel-Frame has reached out to the Review-Journal several times to share her woes. Friel-Frame most recently wrote to say she was “going to have to contact an attorney for some action.”
Here’s why: Friel-Frame signed up for coverage through Nevada Health Link on Dec. 17. She said the exchange mistakenly deducted her $945.72 premium twice. What’s more, she never received any plan information, and discovered any coverage she did have excluded her doctor from its network, even though the provider was listed on the exchange website.
HT 4MNR