I have five different insurances for my family of three. They’re all aggravating, but Vermont Health Connect is the worst.
After applying for my wife last July and being denied subsidies under an arcane rule whereby we were assessed as individuals rather than family, I reapplied last November, as our situation had changed due to my retirement. It took hours to submit the required personal data, then another hour on the phone, until I finally got her enrolled with MVP, or so I thought. I asked about next steps and was told I would hear directly from MVP.
By February I had received neither card, policy number, nor invoice. I called Vermont Health Connect — on hold for 20 minutes listening to Muzak — then spoke to someone who said she’d have to transfer me to “eligibility.” After another 20 minutes, I was told that Health Connect had never transmitted my wife’s file to MVP. Either that or it had been corrupted such that MVP couldn’t read it, or another possibility: It was lost in cyberspace.
Never mind, he told me; this happens from time to time. He said he’d manually send it.
Later, Health Connect called back to say the carrier did have the file after all, but I’d need to call MVP to get the coverage started. And if, because of all this, I’d missed the first payment, I’d have to start from scratch with a brand new application.
Don’t you just love this system!
Ethan Parke
Montpelier