Veteran Loses Insurance Over 2-Cent Mistake

Ronald Flanagan already has the donor for a potentially life-saving stem cell transplant, but he can’t have the surgery—because a $0.02 mistake left him without insurance. The Vietnam veteran’s wife, Frances, accidentally paid $328.67 instead of $328.69 when paying November’s bill online, she tells ABC Denver. As a result, Ceridian Cobra Services dropped the couple—and though the company says the Flanagans were warned, they claim that’s not true.

Ceridian claims several notices were sent, but Flanagan, who is fighting cancer, says the only thing they ever saw was the two-cent shortage on a December bill—with no notice that that shortage could lead to their policy being canceled. They paid the December bill without adding on the extra two cents, and Ceridian promptly cashed the payment. It wasn’t until a Jan. 13 doctor’s appointment the couple found out their coverage had been dropped.
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