I am scheduled for surgery next week with a specialist. I’ve waited a very long time to get this care and am chronically ill from my health problems. I received notice from the hospital billing department today that in fact the hospital is out-of-network with my insurance. This is after at least 6 months of appointments at this hospital and with this surgeon’s office. My insurance was billed for the other pre-op appointments. The billing office informed me today that I would have to pay about 49k up front to even be seen by the doctor for the surgery at this point. I pressed both my insurance and the hospital as to how this could happen. According to the hospital billing office, they had my insurance numbers but not my card on file (I’m quite sure I gave them my physical cards at one of my in-person appointments). They said someone had entered the wrong plan into the system (one that was covered by the hospital) and just discovered this. Something feels very wrong to me, not to mention the psychological stress of having been preparing for a hopefully life-changing surgery that is likely to be off the table. I have the option to file an out-of-network gap exception or use another recommended surgeon, but I am enraged that this mistake was made. I don’t understand how the hospital could just now find out that my insurance is out-of-network. Can anyone advise—is this fishy? What might I do to get my surgery next week? My FMLA is approved, my friend paid money to fly to stay with and take care of me, and childcare and meals are organized. I find the whole thing unacceptable but don’t know how to advocate for myself. My plan is Highmark Blue Cross Community PPO.

I've had this insurance for my great dane as soon as I adopted him at 1 yr 4 months. And it has suddenly quadrupled. I paid around $1k a year, unlimited, 80% reimbursement, and it was worth it due to random illnesses and injuries. When he hit 7 they doubled it to $2k a year (this year). We just moved from IN to CO and I got hit with an additional bill since now the premium is over $4k a year. Like what the hell is this?

Is it even legal for Healthy Paws pet insurance to increase premiums at almost 200% in CA? This is outrageously high!! Anyone experiencing the same? #healthypawspetinsurance

I faxed in a request to cancel and cash out an unneeded long-term care policy. I noticed I was billed again, about a month later. I received in the mail that same day a letter denying my request because the signature doesn't match what they have on file. I called Allstate and they told me all I can do is resubmit and ensure the signature matches, but it'll be declined again if it still doesn't. I was told I'd lose the accrued value if I disputed the charge or stopped the payments. I'm at a loss. My signature hasn't changed. Any suggestions?

I have an interest-free card that I used for some remodeling on a property. It is interest-free for 18 months, so I charged all materials and labor to it. The first payment was due yesterday, and I set up autopay from the property's bank account. The autopay only had one option: "amount due." I naively thought that meant the minimum amount due, not the entire credit card bill. Well, yesterday, the creditor withdrew the entire amount from the bank account. The funds were there, so it was not returned. I called Chase (the card issuer) last night when I saw the transaction pending, and they said they couldn't help me since it was on autopay. I called my bank this morning, and they said they can't help me either since it is an ACH. They mentioned that I could possibly dispute it, but that process would take almost two months. Is there really no way to reverse that charge and pay them the minimum amount due instead? I got the card specifically to avoid impacting the cash flow and had a plan to pay it off while it was still interest-free. I genuinely did not know the amount Chase was going to deduct, it did not tell me when I set up Auto-Pay or anything. Am I just not talking to the right people, or is there really no way to assist me? ********* Update: Called Chase again and a manager helped me. She said since I didn’t have a minimum payment due, the option wasn’t there to pay minimum and that’s why I only had the “pay amount due” option. They are refunding me! And I don’t owe anything till August.

Hi everyone, I got to this forum after seeing some "NW mutual life insurance is a scam" posts and i'm not sure if I got scammed. I was in medical training when a financial adviser told me about getting disability and life insurance.. with NW mutual... I'm 35 years old, very healthy, I pay about 87$ for 2M Term to 80 policy with no annual dividend. And my premium for disability is $110.. Looking for advice if I should switch to a different broker (if thats an option) or just general advice.

Hello all! I was a passenger in a non at fault accident two years ago. My lawyer filed with the person that hit us, and then used my underinsured at the time too (with geico). We just switched insruance and our 6 month premium is 300 dollars more than if I didn't have that claim 2 years ago. Is it normal to have my car insurnace go up because of a non-at fault claim where I was a passenger? Thank you!

We purchased Spot Pet Insurance for our newly adopted rescue Golden and chose “Accident” insurance only . They happily took our application and all monthly payments since July 2024. Over the weekend, he suddenly became lame on his back right leg and was very reluctant to walk or stand up. We know it occurred between his am walk and 3 pm. After taking him to Blue Pearl and getting imaging done as well as pain meds, we submitted our invoice for reimbursement. DENIED. Reason why? We didn’t have the EXACT time of the injury. I submitted an appeal, but if it’s denied we are cancelling. We would be better off putting $100 bucks a month away in his own health account. What a bait and switch!

Is this a good comp plan for State Farm or should I look elsewhere? Hey everyone, I’ve been with State Farm for about 3 months now and just recently had my agent finally sit down and go over my compensation plan — something he’s been promising to do since I started. Here’s what it looks like (full document attached): • Base Salary: $35,000 • Auto/Fire Base Commission: 5% • Life/Health: 20% of 12-month premium • PTO: 8 days • Penalties: $50 deduction off bonus for every incomplete HH checklist Bonus opportunities: • Issue 5 life policies → +3% increase on P&C commissions • Issue 4 health applications → $250 bonus The issue is, I was also promised the chance to join the Aspirant Program, which was a huge selling point for me — but as time passes, it’s becoming clear that he probably doesn’t have much control over that, and it feels less and less likely it’ll happen. So, I’m wondering… Is this a competitive compensation plan for someone in my position? Or should I start looking elsewhere? I’ve got a background in finance and have been putting in real effort here, but I’m starting to feel like this might not be a long-term fit. Appreciate any insight from others in the industry.

I have Aetna DMO, and I am constantly being overcharged for things. It started with the dentist recommending a deep cleaning even when I knew for sure that I didn't need it. I still paid because I thought it was better than letting my teeth worsen. Then the dentist tells me I need 2 inlays. The insurance says they should cost $115, but the dentist's very rude receptionist mentions that they use Emax only, which is a $750 upgrade. It makes no sense to be paying so much for these treatments, and for all I know, I may not even be needing them. What is a good solution for me at this point? Just go to a well-reviewed dentist and pay them cash for this? Or can I maybe get external insurance myself? But I doubt any external insurance will be as good as what my employer is already offering. (Aetna DMO)