Location: NewYorkState.
TLDR: employer cancelled my insurance without informing me, I sought care, now stuck with a bill, employer refuses to respond to me or to my union rep. What can I do?
Hi! Between 2023-2025 I was a graduate student at a SUNY school. I had the SEHP/NYSHIP health plan through this school since I was also employed by them on an assistantship.
In the summer of 2025, the school cancelled my health insurance before I finished my coursework, without notifying me. That same summer I transitioned into another program within SUNY at a different campus, resulting in a 2-3-week lapse in my coverage, which, again, I was unaware of. And wouldn’t you know it, I had to seek medical care in that time period, believing that I was insured.
The urgent care at the time said my insurance went through, and later I began receiving letters from my insurance and the care facility that they were playing ping pong with the bill, as the insurer kept rejecting the claim. Then, the care facility confirmed with me on the phone that my bill was zero, so I thought that was that.
After about 7-8 months of radio silence, the care facility somehow added the bill to my account again. Important detail here is that this entire time I have been contacting my former school/employer for help and answers and received no answer at all. I have contacted their HR department, their graduate center, their alumni services, the department I worked for, and no answer. My union rep has also contacted their HR department and has also not received any answers. I even reached out to SUNY Central in Albany and they also have not answered me, as to how this lapse occurred while I was still completing coursework and why no one notified me of the cutoff date.
I was under the impression that medical bills cannot go to collection under a certain amount, yet today I received a text message from a collector saying this bill has been passed to them.
What can I do? Do I have any way to force my former employer to answer me, if not even my union rep can get an answer out of them? Your information and suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!