Anthem Blue Cross customers with auto-pay Medicare supplement premiums should check their bank account after a computer glitch mistakenly double-charged customers this month — a problem that could affect policyholders statewide.
Santa Barbara resident Cynthia Morocco told the News-Press on Thursday she and her husband, both in their 70s, had double Anthem debits from their respective banks, then were levied additional $35 non-sufficient funds fees when the withdrawals, several hundred dollars each, exceeded their balance.
When Anthem couldn’t tell her what the problem was, Mrs. Morocco went to their agent, who told her about the glitch.
In response to a News-Press inquiry, Anthem released this statement Thursday night:
“We are aware that some of our Medicare Supplement members were incorrectly charged twice for their monthly premium.
“We quickly identified and corrected the problem, and we are in the process of returning the duplicate funds to these individuals as quickly as possible.”
By way of an unfortunate typo, the company apologized “for any convenience” this may have caused its members.
Members with questions should call the customer service number on the back of their Anthem ID card, according to the statement.
Anthem says sorry over double chargesWhile Mrs. Morocco would welcome getting their money back, the banks, she said, won’t reverse the overdraft fee until the money is back in the accounts.
