Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Looking for Owners of "Unclaimed Funds"

ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 26, 2017 (Newswire.com) - More than 12,000 individuals and companies in New York state have not cashed more than $2.66 million in checks issued by Excellus Health Plan, including by its d.b.a., Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS). This isn’t money left in their pockets, but is in the form of unclaimed checks issued in 2013 to members and providers.

A complete list of names of people and companies with checks to claim is available on the company’s website at excellusbcbs.com/unclaimedfunds .

"This is money that was paid for claims or refunded premiums. It rightfully belongs to our members or providers and we want to make sure they have one more chance to claim it before it goes to the state."

Christopher C. Booth, president and chief executive officer

Printed legal notices listed by county will be placed on either April 26 or April 27 in regional daily or weekly newspapers across New York state. 

Every year, the state requires insurers like Excellus BCBS to make a list of unclaimed checks that are at least three years old. The names are then placed in advertisements in local papers in an attempt to find the people who have money to claim. If the property is not claimed by the end of August, the money is then turned over to the Comptroller of the State of New York.

“This is money that was paid for claims or refunded premiums. If the money remains unclaimed, it will go to the state,” said Christopher C. Booth, president and chief executive officer. “It rightfully belongs to our members or providers and we want to make sure they have one more chance to claim it before it goes to the state.”

Most of the funds that have yet to be redeemed were allocated to Excellus BCBS members and providers. Checks may not have been cashed for a number of reasons. The member may have moved and not left a forwarding address, a member may have died, or the member simply forgot about the money.

To claim a check prior to August 31, do one of the following steps:

• Via email, contact Customer Services or Provider Services
• By phone:
  • If you are currently a health plan member, please call the phone number on your member identification card.
  • If you are no longer a health plan member, or if you are calling on behalf of the estate of a family member, call Excellus BCBS: 1-800-499-1275.

Please note that checks will not be mailed to claimants until after August 31.

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Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, a nonprofit independent licensee of the BlueCross BlueShield Association, is part of a family of companies that finances and delivers vital health care services to about 1.5 million people across upstate New York. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield provides access to high-quality, affordable health coverage, including valuable health-related resources that our members use every day, such as cost-saving prescription drug discounts and wellness tracking tools. To learn more, visit excellusbcbs.com.

For Media questions, contact: Melissa Klinko (Melissa.klinko@excellus.com) or Kevin P. Kane, MS, APR (Kevin.kane@excellus.com ).

Source: Excellus BlueCross BlueShield