I am at the end of my rope and don't know where to turn for help.

I work for UPS Freight in California. In November of 2007 I went on disability after my doctor diagnosed me with a condition requiring a year-long course of Interferon-based chemotherapy.

Shortly after I went on disability, UPS switched my medical insurance provider from Kaiser to Aetna, without asking me or even informing me of the switch. I found out about it when I went to Kaiser to get my prescriptions and was told I couldn't have them because I was no longer covered.

After spending many hours on the telephone with the UPS Benefits Center I got nowhere. I managed to contact someone at a different corporate office who said she would help, and soon after I was told that I would be switched back to Kaiser retroactively, with no lapse in coverage. I was given a verbal apology on the phone and told that as far as my benefits went, it was as though the switch from Kaiser to Aetna never happened.

My usual bill for my medical coverage while on disability was approximately $109 per month to cover both me and my son (the UPS Benefits Center has denied my wife medical coverage for the entire time I have worked there, because we cannot find a translator who is also a notary and who speaks the necessary dialect of Chinese to translate our marriage certificate to their satisfaction).

After my Kaiser coverage was reinstated, I received a bill from UPS for the usual $109, plus an unspecified additional charge of over $350. When I called the Benefits Center to ask what this charge was for, they stated very clearly that it was a charge for switching me from Kaiser to Aetna and then back again. When I told the Benefits Center worker why this was inappropriate, she tried to tell me that the charge was actually for changing my address. This didn't sound right to me, and I questioned her further on the matter. She became extremely evasive and it took me over ten minutes to get her to answer with a simple 'yes' or 'no' to the question of whether or not it is policy to charge workers hundreds of dollars for changing addresses. Finally, she admitted that the address change triggered the switch to a different medical provider, and I was indeed being charged for the switch and not for the change of address. I asked for her supervisor and had to insist many times before she consented to transfer the call. Her supervisor gave me two more explanations for the $350+ charge, both of which also amounted to an obfuscation of the fact that they were charging me for switching me from Kaiser to Aetna without my consent or knowledge.

I once again contacted the person who helped me get my Kaiser coverage back, and she told me that it was completely inappropriate for them to be charging me this fee, and promised to take care of it and call me back within a few days. She advised me to pay the $109 but not the additional charge, which I did. She didn't call me back, though, and apparently did nothing, as my next monthly bill now included the same inappropriate charge along with ANOTHER unexplained charge that brought my total bill up to about $750. I contacted her again, and was again assured that she would take care of things and told to pay the $109 but not the additional charges.

I stopped receiving bills for my medical coverage after March of 2008, and assumed that things had been set right.

Yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment at Kaiser (I have one every month while I'm on the chemotherapy). I was informed that I could not see the doctor because I was no longer covered, and that I had not been covered since March 31st, 2008. The people at Kaiser couldn't figure out how I even got in to see the doctor for my last two appointments, since I wasn't covered then either. No notification of my coverage ending was given to me by UPS, nor did they give me any opportunity to pay for coverage myself under COBRA.

After visiting the UPS terminal where I work, I discovered two things: First, we're Teamsters now. I signed the necessary application card immediately, and am now a member. Second, our benefits package is changing and enrollment is mandatory by this Friday, June 20, 2008 to avoid being automatically assigned the default, lowest-level benefits choices. I should have received my new benefits package already, but nothing has come. I've verified my mailing address with the Benefits Center.

Third, I found out that a similar benefits re-enrollment took place several months ago, and at that time I also received no notification and no new benefits package. Being on disability, I didn't see the notices posted at work, either. Because I did not submit a re-enrollment package, my disability insurance was changed from the 100% long-term disability package I chose to a lesser package that only pays 60% of my salary. I was counting on long-term disability kicking in at 100% of my salary after six months off work, as 60% of my pay is poverty for a family of three with one wage earner.

When I called the UPS Benefits Center today, I was told that workers on disability are NOT switched to different providers and do not have to re-enroll for coverage... the policy, supposedly, is that our benefits are frozen at whatever they were when we went on disability, until the time we return to work. It sure hasn't worked out for me that way, and I am now in a position where I am unable to get my prescriptions and continue my chemotherapy. My doctor says that if I go without my medication for more than 13 days, I will have to quit chemo and wait a year before beginning all over again. The first time they canceled my coverage, it took me exactly 13 days of frantic phone calls and back-and-forth to get my medical coverage back... just in the nick of time.

The stress of all this bureaucratic underhandedness since November has taken a huge toll on me. I am ordinarily a stoic fellow, but the accumulated problems I have had with trying to prevent UPS from murdering me have reduced me to uncontrollable bouts of weeping since yesterday. Over the course of the last few months I also suspect that I may have developed a stomach ulcer, as I have all the symptoms and can only temporarily soothe the pain and nausea in my gut by drinking huge quantities of whole milk. The strain on my marriage and my family life in general has been formidable; the lack of money in general and the lack of medical benefits for my wife have generated a serious state of discontent in our home, and an overwhelming emotional depression for both my wife and me. I find it very difficult to sleep, and often wake up in the middle of the night, unable to get back to sleep after having terrible nightmares and huge anxieties regarding our precarious position both financially and as regards our medical coverage. I don't want to die, I don't want to be poor, and I very especially don't want my wife and our toddler to be deprived of their husband and father and breadwinner. The fact that this is all happening in an apparent attempt to save a multibillion-dollar corporation a little bit of money at the expense of my health and possibly my life inspires a towering rage in me, and I feel so helpless and without resources to fight with that my anger has no outlet.

Where do I turn for help with all of this?

Many communities have not for profit attorneys who may be able to help you. I am not in the legal field, but it sounds like a legal issue. Have you tried contacting your local about these problems. they usually can not discuss legal matters, but there might be a article covering your situation that you are not aware of. I am not familiar with your contract language covering disability clauses. Look in your phone book or go to your state website for the state bar association to find a pro-bona attorney. Good luck and I wish you well with your health.

Thanks. My Local has done nothing for me, they know all about the case and they just don't seem to be able to do anything about it.

The really awful thing about all this is that UPS has a well-established history of handling employee lawsuits like this one by quickly settling out of court, but requiring that the plaintiff sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. That way you're not allowed to tell anyone what UPS did to you, and they don't have to change the way they treat their employees... so you might get paid off, but the next guy in line is going to get exactly the same dicking they gave you.

The latest developments in this pathetic saga of mine:

A gentlemen who identified himself as being from the Teamsters in Washington, D.C. called me to listen to my story and ask what exactly I wanted as an outcome. I told him I just wanted my medical coverage back, the disability money they owe me, and to go back to work. It's already too late for me to continue my chemotherapy and I will have to wait a full year before I can begin it again. I haven't heard back from the Teamsters since then, it was several weeks ago now and I have no idea what's going on if anything.

I have spoken with a number of attorneys, looking for someone to take the case and sue the pants off these villains. Nobody seems much interested, and I didn't know why until I spoke with an ERISA specialist. He told me that the ERISA laws put in place by the federal government claim to protect workers, but actually protect corporations. He described ERISA as "an atrocity". What ERISA means to me is that I can sue UPS, but I cannot get the case heard by a jury like a normal workplace lawsuit, and I can only sue for the medical coverage and disability money they owe me... ERISA says I can't sue for pain, suffering, SHORTENING OF MY LIFE, PROBABLY BY DECADES, or anything other than the medical coverage and disability money, which is not a large enough amount to interest a lawyer anyway.

This just outrages me. I read about a recent (non-ERISA) case in which a middle manager for UPS sued the company for racial discrimination (he's black, and says they were telling racial jokes in his presence), and sexual harassment. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want to diminish the importance of maintaining a non-hostile workplace or anything, but the fact is that all they did to this guy was hurt his feelings. He was awarded TEN MILLION DOLLARS by a jury. I can't even sue them for ten thousand, and they've put me through nine months of pure hell and seriously impacted my health and well-being. It's possible that the chemo worked, but I can't even find that out without medical insurance... and the odds are not good; if you do the chemo for a year it's a 40% chance of being cured, and mine was interrupted by UPS canceling my medical coverage after only seven months.

If I ever meet a member of UPS' board of directors face-to-face, he'd better either be handing me a huge check, or be running like hell in the other direction.