I was unemployed and had to get on state-funded medical insurance. Not long after I signed up, I found a full-time job. The catch was that I had to work for them for a year before I could get their insurance, which meant I had to stay on the state insurance.

The year passed, and I started asking the higher-ups when I would get their insurance. I was told “soon.”

A couple of months pass, and now it’s December. They once again tell me “soon”, but this time, they give me a stack of forms to fill out. I tell them I need an exact date so I’ll know when to cancel my current insurance. They say they’ll let me know when they know. 

Christmas is on a weekend that year. The Friday before, I’m told that my new insurance will start on January 1st. I call my current insurance, and they tell me I can’t cancel online or on the phone; I have to go in person. The office will be closed the Monday after Christmas. AND they fail to mention that I can make an appointment.

On Tuesday, I go to the local office and wait for two hours. A lady calls me back to her office. I have to explain three times why I’m there. Either she doesn’t understand, or she thinks I don’t understand. She finally gets it.

Insurance Lady #1: “Oh! Your new insurance starts on January 1st.”

Me: “Yes.”

Insurance Lady #1: “So, you need to cancel this insurance as of December 31st.”

Me: “Yes. December 31st will be the last day.”

I sign a few forms, and that should be it.

In late January, I have a doctor’s appointment. Fortunately, I’m able to keep going to the same practice. I give my new insurance card to the receptionist, and she scans it and starts typing on her computer.

Receptionist: “You still have [Former Insurance].”

Me: “No. I canceled that.”

Receptionist: “This shows that it’s still active. You have to cancel in person.”

Me: “I did go in person.”

Then, she tries to argue about what insurance to use. I finally convince her to bill the correct one.

I call and make an appointment at [Former Insurance]’s office. I see a different lady. And again, I have to explain three times why I’m there.

Insurance Lady #2: “If you canceled, then you should be canceled.”

Me: “Yes. But the receptionist at my doctor’s office said it was still active.”

She takes a minute to look up my information.

Insurance Lady #2: “Huh.”

Me: “What?”

Insurance Lady #2: “It shows you were here on [date]. Insurance was canceled. But it also shows that it’s active.”

Me: “Oookay. How do we fix it?”

She leaves the room for a few minutes. When she comes back, she does something on the computer.

Insurance Lady #2: “It should be fixed now.”

“Should”?! I don’t have a lot of faith in “should”.

Me: “Can I get that in writing?”

She rolls her eyes but prints out an official letter. I carry it in my purse for a year just to be on the safe side. And that should be the end of it.

Fast forward a few years. I’ve been diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. I’ve had two surgeries. My oncologist has ordered a few tests and procedures before I start chemotherapy. First up is genetic testing. He wants to know if I have the breast cancer gene. Spoiler alert: I don’t.

I’m at the cancer center talking to the lady responsible for getting approval from insurance.

Approval Lady: “I’m sorry this is taking so long. [Former Insurance] can drag their heels with this stuff.”

Me: “I don’t have [Former Insurance]. I have [Current Insurance]. The receptionist scanned my card when I came for my first appointment.”

She checks her computer.

Approval Lady: “Oh, my gosh! You’re right. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how that happened.”

She fixes (?) something in the system. I get approval for the genetic testing the next day. And that should be the end of it.

A few months later, I’ve finished chemo and I’m about to start radiation. My oncologist wants to check on my heart. He orders an echocardiogram. This will be the second one since my diagnosis. I’m talking to the approval lady again.

Approval Lady: “I’m sorry this is taking so long. [Former Insurance] can drag their heels with this stuff.”

Again? Seriously?!

Me: “I don’t have [Former Insurance]; I have [Current Insurance].”

Approval Lady: “Oh, my gosh! That’s right. Didn’t this happen to you before?”

Me: “Yes. Does this kind of thing happen a lot?”

Approval Lady: “No.”

I am a customer service representative for a big insurance company.

Me: “Thank you for calling [Company]. How may I help you?

Caller: “I need to terminate my policy.”

Me: “I’m sorry to hear that. Your account says you’ve held this policy for the past twenty-five years. May I ask why you want to terminate the policy now?”

Caller: “My husband died two months ago, and I just don’t have the money to keep paying for everything. Your bill came due, and I can’t afford it.”

Me: “Ma’am… this is a life insurance policy.”

Caller: “…”

Me: “Your husband paid into this policy for twenty-five years so in the event that something happened to him… you would have money. So, I’m not going to cancel this policy, and instead, I’m going to transfer you to the claims department. Tell them exactly what you told me, and they’ll talk you through the process of getting the money you’re entitled to.”

I have an old, retired mobile phone that I use exclusively for banking. This is because I have noticed that my bank, despite all protestations to the contrary, sells my number to telephone marketing firms. As a result, the ringer is always off and I never check calls. Nobody I care about has this number.

One day, I haul this phone out of the drawer I keep it in and notice dozens of unanswered calls and an equivalent number of text messages, all from the same number. On a whim, I start scanning the messages.

Message #1: “Pick up, please!”

Message #2: “Please pick up; this is very important!”

Message #3: “Could you please call me back immediately? URGENT!”

Message #4: “Answer!”

Message #5: “Call me!”

Message #6: “G**d*** it! Why won’t you pick up?! This is a matter of life and death!”

Message #7: “F*** YOU! This is important!”

Message #8: “Die! Just die! F***er!”

Message #9: “Please call me! VITAL!”

And on and on. There are over 200 messages of varying degrees of desperation, many of which are crude and abusive. Fascinated, I click through to the voicemail and listen to the first message.

Caller: “Hi! This is [Caller] from [Insurance Company]. Are you getting the best deals on your auto insurance? Call me back for a free quote.”

Amazingly, I didn’t call back. The messages continued for several weeks before stopping completely with a final “F*** YOU!

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I am doing customer service for a health insurance company, which is always stressful for the people calling because the US healthcare system is a mess. I try to be patient and understanding with my callers because of this.

This particular caller, however, is at 100 before I can even get my greeting out. The usual thirty-second process of getting her information so I can pull up her account takes about five expletive-laden minutes, and she refuses to explain her issue, deciding instead that I personally have caused every problem that has ever happened in her entire life with my stupidity, poor attitude, and existence.

I barely say more than ten words the entire time because I’ve found that interrupting a rage-rant goes nowhere.

Suddenly, the fire alarm goes off. I am forced to cut in.

Me: “Ma’am, I need to hang up; the fire alarm is going off.”

This sets her off even more.

Caller: “If you hang up on me, I will get you fired! That fire alarm is fake! You need to stay here and help me!”

Me: “I will call you back, ma’am, but I have to leave due to the possible fire.”

She continues screaming at me.

Caller: “If you leave, I will make sure you are fired!”

My supervisor comes by on her way out and sees me still on a call.

Supervisor: *Yelling* “Hang up and get out! This isn’t a drill!”

Me: *To the caller* “Ma’am, I have to go.”

And I disconnect. Then, my supervisor and I race down six flights of stairs and out of the building to wait for the fire department to come.

It turns out someone on another floor lit a trash can on fire. After about an hour, we all troop back inside to get back to work. Five minutes later, one of my coworkers tells me:

Coworker: “I just talked to a woman who was screaming about getting you fired for hanging up on her!”

This particular office doesn’t have a good support system for their staff, and my supervisor in particular is not fond of me, so I am worried.

A while later, my supervisor comes by.

Supervisor: “[Caller] just called and told me to fire you.”

Me: “As she promised.”

Supervisor: “I advised her that if she ever threatened one of the representatives again, then I would have her insurance canceled and have her blacklisted from the company.”

I’m not sure if that’s actually possible, but I loved that one time they actually defended us! I can’t imagine being so entitled that I would try to force someone to stay when they might burn to death.

Some people are so determined to be unhappy, they’ll go to wild lengths to bring others down to their level. Check out more curmudgeons with 12 Great Stories About Grouches, Grumps, And Gripers!

My primary care physician (PCP) referred me for a routine diagnostic procedure, as it’s been some years since the last one. I could not remember where I’d had the procedure done the last time, so I called my PCP’s practice (which accepts my insurance) to ask for guidance in finding a practitioner.  

After some considerable delay — a couple of weeks, but no big deal — they referred me to an outside medical group for this procedure, which surprised me because I had been under the impression it could be done within their group.  

I phoned the outside medical group and made an appointment. There was some additional rigamarole before the appointment can come off, so it was scheduled for about a month hence.

After all this, I got a call from the medical group’s office asking for clarification of my insurance information, which I’d given them when I booked the appointment. Turns out they got the name of my carrier wrong, substituting a name that didn’t even remotely resemble that of my carrier.  

When I clarify the actual carrier, they said:

Employee: “Oh, we don’t accept that insurance.”

Me: “That doesn’t matter. My insurance will reimburse me regardless of where I go. I can pay at the appointment, and all I need from you is the correct procedure code, which I can submit to my insurance on a claim form.”

A few days later, they phoned to cancel my appointment.

Employee: “We don’t accept your insurance.”

I didn’t argue. I figured that if a practice employs people so stupid that they record my insurance information wrong and can’t understand that I can pay for the procedure and get reimbursed by my insurance, I certainly don’t want to have any procedures done there.

The irritating part is that this is not the first time this has happened. Now I have to find a different practitioner for this procedure, and it looks like my PCP’s group will be no help in that matter.

I’m amazed at how the insurance companies seem to call all the shots regarding medical practices.