Bruce Broussard is the CEO of health care company, Humana. He is also this week’s Whiner of the Week.
Full disclosure: I’ve recently had some very frustrating experiences with Bruce Broussard’s company. I had a medical policy with Humana, which I cancelled. This didn’t stop the company from continuing to pull out monthly premiums from my bank account. Attempts to fix this problem have been very challenging and I’ve invested hours in trying to convince Bruce Broussard’s employees at Humana that when you have a written record of someone canceling a policy and a phone recording of someone canceling a policy, then it’s likely that the individual canceled the policy. Furthermore, you should stop charging them for the policy.
You may be wondering, are you naming Bruce Broussard the Whiner of the Week based on a personal issue? The award is not designed for personal grudges. But it’s also my column. I’m joking… somewhat.
In all seriousness, I gave Broussard the award based on what I found online about Humana. A short search revealed that I am not the only one who has had money taken out of their bank accounts for medical policies that were cancelled. I’m not the only one who has found customer service to be poor, resulting in endless stall tactics designed to keep the consumer from getting a refund.
My situation is not an isolated incident. The company is charging people for cancelled policies and making interest off the funds while people fight to get their money back.
Humana’s Bruce Broussard has no need to ever go onto CBS’s Undercover Boss TV program. I’ve got all the information he need to know about what’s wrong with his company.
If a customer service representative says they will call you within a certain amount of days with an update, then they should follow through on the promise. I’ve been told that I would hear from someone after three business days. When that deadline passed, I was told, “two weeks.” When pressed for the lack of response, your employees say the person who made the promises didn’t know what he or she was talking about. Nice stall tactic, Bruce Broussard.
Bruce Broussard, did you know that your customer service phone system is set up so that if you reach someone who is competent, you can’t follow up with them later? There is no phone number that reconnects you to that person. Instead, your call is randomly sent to a call center where you have to educate a customer service representative about your problem. There’s nothing less exciting than being on hold for 20 minutes while someone tries to make sense of their predecessor’s notes.
I bet Bruce Broussard also doesn’t know that apparently the computer system that cancels policies does not get along with the system that cancels billing.
And does Humana CEO Bruce Broussard know that while his company can take money out of your bank account for an insurance policy that was cancelled, paying back a refund, according to his customer service representatives, involves a check being mailed in four to six weeks? Apparently, it’s too hard to electronically put money back into a bank account.
At best, Bruce Broussard, your company is incompetent. At worst, you are thieves. Neither should make you proud.
I’ve been told that my issue may be close to being resolved. Of course, I’ve been told this before but let’s stay positive for a moment. Let’s say the wrong is righted. There are lots of people out there who don’t have more than four hours to invest in solving your company’s mistakes or don’t realize that to get any kind of service, it’s necessary to raise your voice.
Your company appears to have an inability to identify problems and implement solutions. You might want to look into that. I’ll be sharing my experiences with the people who regulate your industry.
I’ve reached out to Bruce Broussard through Twitter and have yet to hear back from him. I’m one customer out of many. But today I’m the one who named Bruce Broussard, the Whiner of the Week. I’ll mail you the award in three business days or perhaps two weeks.
