Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois shafted a veteran. Now Hear This: our community is not going to take this lying down!

As our feature article from the Marshall Allen newsletter reports, this carrier made an error in continuing to review the plan for former Navyman Brian Ridzy long after the coverage had run out. Upon discovering this mistake, it began to claw back payments to all of his medical providers…to the tune of $110,000. 

Nothing Brian did or said could cause BCBS of Illinois – a part of the behemoth Health Care Services Corporation (HCSC) which boasted $1.5 billion in net income in 2022 – to work with him. Brian, surviving on a $2,200 monthly disability check from the VA, was abandoned to the wolves (aka collection agencies) in early 2023. 

Providentially, a friend at his church referred him to an online activist group, Veteran Mission Possible (VMP), which then referred him to Marshall Allen. Marshall, a former investigative journalist for Pro Publica turned healthcare activist and founder of Marshall Allen Academy, tucked Brian under his wing. 

“I had anger, stress, anxiety and felt overwhelmed,” Brian says. “The minute I spoke to my VMP contact, I felt calmed. When I talked to Allen, I felt reassured. When I began to work with his advocate, Marilyn Whitley, I felt I was blessed.” 

Marilyn’s bulldog tenacity and 30-year career in nursing and healthcare, along with the VA Tri-Care staff acting as Brian’s secondary carrier to painstakingly backdate the claims to see them paid, have given him a clean slate.

All this was funded by people who have subscribed to Marshall’s newsletter In The Know.

HCSC - Don’t treat veterans like you do civilians!

Many people do not understand that veterans are just as integrated into America’s healthcare “system” as civilians. Perhaps even more so, given that their spouses and children seldom receive full VA services and that health access is “discretionary.” Of some 20 million veterans out there, less than 50% of them use the VA and rely on a company or private coverage – or, nothing at all.

Which leaves vets at the same “mercies” experienced by their civilian counterparts. Let’s talk about that.

As Marshall tells us in his newsletter, HCSC’s annual report lists its corporate values as:

*Integrity – Always do the right thing in the right way, even when no one is watching.

*Commitment – Act with our members in mind.

*Caring – Think about how our actions and work impact others.

Based on Brian’s experience, I suggest this rewrite:

*Integrity – The right way is to keep the company’s bottom line in mind. Your supervisor is watching.

*Commitment – Act with our profit margin in mind. (Your continued employment depends on that.)

*Caring – Ahhh, fuhgeddaboudit.

You’re on our radar now

This editorial and Allen’s newsletter will be circulated throughout our membership and social media. We will invite people with similar experiences to share their stories. We’ll encourage whistleblowers within your organization to step forward and tell us what your marketing department does not want revealed.

What’s our horse in this race? Reducing the horrendous rate – 44 per day – of veteran suicides. 

Studies tell us that of the many social determinants that lead to suicidal ideation and then the act itself…debt is a major contributor. Every claim you deny, every penny you shave from your payouts, is a penny closer to someone losing hope. You need to know that. Everyone needs to know that.

Keep that in mind for your next annual report.