East TN woman’s Medicare cut after she claims to have not received renewal notice

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A disabled East Tennessee woman said there was a big mix-up after being dropped from Medicare Part B health insurance covered by TennCare. The state had been paying the bill, but TennCare claims she missed the deadline to renew her coverage.

TennCare said the deadline was Sept. 17, and Jane Martineau never sent in the form, according to the state. But Martineau said she didn't get the renewal notice until recently and has the paperwork to show it. Fortunately, the issue is being resolved.

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Martineau once worked at a factory, but she has been disabled for years because of epilepsy and a battle with cancer. Her income from Social Security Disability had been $1,350 a month. However, on October 29, Social Security sent a letter saying her monthly payment had been cut.

"It says that I didn't fill out the papers and that they deducted Medicare Part B medical insurance premiums and they will take out the $174.70 from my payments," said Martineau.

Her Part B medical insurance had been covered by TennCare. Now, $174 will be subtracted from her monthly disability check.

"It is hard to live on that amount of money and pay the bills and stuff," said Martineau.

To understand what happened, she called TennCare in Nashville. Martineau said she told a representative about not receiving the usual reminder to renew her Part B coverage that she's had for years. She also went over the details of the Social Security letter. Martineau then said she was told to expect a delivery.

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On November 7, she got an envelope from FedEx with quite a few pages from TennCare inside. One dated August 8 reads, "We have made a change to how we send our letters. We try to put all of the letters mailed to your household on the same day in one envelope." Another letter inside, also dated August 8, is the renewal for her Part B. It said she was supposed to renew by September 17.

"So how was I to know that I had any renewal whatsoever?" said Martineau. She filed an appeal to get her coverage renewed, and explained, "He said he would file it but I would not know anything for at least 90 days."

In TennCare's response to our inquiry, the state said, "TennCare mailed Ms. Martineau a letter on August 8, 2024, indicating the renewal packet needed to be returned by September 17, 2024, to keep her coverage."

TennCare added: "We mailed a letter on September 25, 2024, stating that her coverage will end on October 15, 2024, for failure to respond by her due date."

Martineau claimed she did not receive any letters from TennCare until the FedEx envelope arrived. She sent the appeal three days after receiving the letter from Social Security.

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"Hopefully, things will go through and I'll get it back," said Martineau.

TennCare told 6 News to resolve the issue they reinstated Martineau's coverage.

Martineau will still have to fill out the renewal packet and return it, so the state can determine whether or not she is still eligible. TennCare said renewals are federally required and happen once a year. The state added TennCare members can renew online and view their renewal date on the TennCare connect portal. TennCare also said it sends text messages and emails to make sure members know about their upcoming renewal date.