N Carolina man loses health cover after one missed payment, cancels treatment

The experience underscores two practical lessons for people with individual health insurance: confirm that automatic payments are actually active, particularly after an insurer changes its payment systems, and understand exactly how long the policy's grace period lasts. For 12 years, Cord Silverstein paid for health insurance without interruption. Then one missed monthly payment turned into a coverage crisis for his entire family and forced him to postpone a medical treatment costing as much as $20,000, states a report by American web portal AOL. The Morrisville, North Carolina, resident believed he had enrolled in automatic payments, but the arrangement failed and after paying his May premium, he missed the June payment. Later, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina notified him on July 7 that his policy had been canceled, states the report. Six days later, Silverstein contacted the insurer, prepared to settle the outstanding bill. By then, however, reinstatement was no longer an option under the terms of his policy. Scroll down to read what happened next.One missed payment, no easy way backSilverstein was directed to the Health Insurance Marketplace, where he would need to qual...