One of my
husband’s retirement benefits was a flexible spending account that reimbursed
him for his Medicare Part D premium. He had never made a claim because he hated
filling out forms, but in 2015, he decided, with my help, to find out the
procedure. Then he went into the hospital. Then he died. A couple of months
after that, he got a letter reminding him that he had until the end of May to
make a claim for 2015. Okay, I thought, I’ll do it.
I called
the phone number on the letter, got sent a claim form, called to make sure I
was filling it out correctly and also to make clear to the woman I was speaking
to that this claim was for my dead husband, so please don’t make out the check
to him.
Of course, a
few weeks later comes a check made out to Jack Robbins.
Again, I
called, and at this point I learned that Jack’s flexible spending account was
administered by “a third party,” not the benefits office of the company where
he had actually worked. And while I had notified that company (let’s call it
Company A) that he had died, that information had never been sent on to the
“third party” (let’s call it Company B). I was then put on hold while a
benefits person at Company A got in touch with a benefits person at Company B,
and, I thought, conveyed the proper information
to Company B.
I then went
back to Company B, where I was told that not only would they send me a check
for that premium reimbursement as soon as the computers had all the right
information, but that I was also entitled to that same survivor’s benefit. How
would I get that, I asked? We’ll send you the information to set that up, I was
told.
This was all
six months ago. I waited for the information to come; it never did. Life
intervened, and this all went to the back of my mind. But the new year reminded
me that this was a very loose string. So I called Company B today.
The woman I
spoke with was very helpful, and even offered to direct deposit the
reimbursement so I wouldn’t have to wait for a check. But in looking up how to
set up an account for me, she saw that the computer still showed an active
account for Jack. Could it be that Company A’s computer had never properly sent
the information that Jack is dead to Company B’s computer? Jenna, Company B’s
representative, said she would look into it and call me back within two days.
Maybe I will have a Slice of Life Thursday.
–––––––––––––#SOL17––––––––––––
It’s
Slice of Life Tuesday over at Two
Writing Teachers. Check out this encouraging and enthusiastic
writing community and their slices of life every Tuesday. And add one of your
own.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^#52essays2017^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yet another writing challenge. There are no rules for this one about what constitutes an essay, so in case I don't get another more traditional-looking essay written this week, this will do.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^#52essays2017^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yet another writing challenge. There are no rules for this one about what constitutes an essay, so in case I don't get another more traditional-looking essay written this week, this will do.
