Action 9: Charlotte woman thought she asked right questions, still surprised by medical bills

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Andreia asked Action 9 not to use her last name.

She needed her wisdom teeth out. She said she asked her oral surgeon to call her insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield, to find out how much it would cost her. She said she would have called BCBS herself, but she thought the clinic would get a more precise answer.

“All you have to pay is a $20 copay. ‘Oh, wow, awesome,’” Andreia told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “I have the procedure, come back home, end of the story, right? No. So, three weeks later, I start getting bills.”

She said the first bill was $125, and she paid it. Then, she got another bill for $865.

“Man, it took me like 14 emails and four formal letters and eight phone calls and talking to eight different people,” Andreia said. “And, I was spinning, spinning, spinning my wheels, getting nowhere.”

Action 9 emailed BCBS. It wouldn’t discuss Andreia’s case with Jason, probably for privacy reasons, but did call her.

Action 9 investigates new crowd funding tactic to tackle medical bills Action 9 investigates new crowd funding tactic to tackle medical bills

“[BCBS told me,] ‘Oh, we want to listen to you. Tell us what’s going on. We promise we’re going to take care of this,'" Andreia said. "And, guess what, they did.”

BCBS refunded the $125 and told her not to pay the $865.

“I couldn’t be happier with the ending of the story soo thank you for helping me get heard,” Andreia told Jason.

She did everything right:

• Checked on her tab ahead of time
• Kept good records
• Was persistent

This made our job much easier -- Jason may not have been able to help otherwise. She could have checked with her insurance directly, but it may not have made much of a difference.

© 2020 Cox Media Group