Blue Cross refunding money to victims of system errors
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is responding to an ongoing I-Team investigation into a computer system failure.
The insurance giant revealed exactly what went wrong, and what's being done so that customers won't have to endure costly billing errors again.
Blue Cross Blue Shield sent a four-page response to the attorney general's office detailing what went wrong in the system failure.
RELATED: Click here for the full four-page letter from BCBS to the NC Attorney General's office
Also, the state's department of insurance wants answers; the insurance commissioner has received more than 450 complaints about Blue Cross, and the calls continue to come in.
In its letter to the AG's office, BCBS said it has refunded more than $1.9 million to customers who had money drafted from their bank accounts in error.
The company went on to state that the system failure that triggered a flood of customers charged for canceled policies and double-billings also resulted in thousands of 'under' billings, costing the company about $1.8 million.
Mike Morand has gone from an outraged customer to a satisfied one.
"Yes, I was able to get the refund at my local CVS," Morand said.
When the I-Team met Morand earlier this month, he was paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket at his local pharmacy for his wife's expensive multiple sclerosis medications.
His 2016 Blue Cross health policy was coming up inactive, even though Morand had paid his premiums well in advance.
A day after ABC11's story ran, Morand had coverage.
"We've even gotten two calls from a nurse at BCBS just checking on my wife to see how she was doing."
When asked if that had ever happened before, Morand replied: "No, I didn't even know they had a nurse on staff."
Blue Cross went on the tell the AG's office that the primary reasons for the bank withdrawal errors were enrollment processing delays or errors in its switch to its current technology platform. It was an acknowledgement of the problems with the software that a company insider told the I-Team had not been properly tested.
The customer horror stories aren't over, however. Betsy Matthew, a Durham Tech consultant, emailed us about her attempt to cancel her son's policy. She says she and her husband have spent more than 30 hours on the phone with company reps.
Asked whether the matter was resolved, Matthew said: "No! Absolutely not. The website still shows that the policy is active."
The attorney general's office also asked Blue Cross to explain what it's doing to repair the problem.
The company says a detailed analysis of membership data is underway, and it is aiming to refund any overpayments within 48 hours.
