HOUSTON – A Roman Catholic priest brought a lawsuit against his insurer on allegations it mishandled a claim from a year ago, according to Harris County District Court records.
The Rev. John B. Ugobueze initiated legal action against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas on May 10 in the Harris County 333rd District Court.
Court documents explain that the clergyman, who serves as a chaplain at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston, was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Apr. 15, 2015 and opted to undergo an operation at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, which occurred on Feb. 5, 2016.
The plaintiff says he paid for the surgery himself with the expectation that BCBS would reimburse him. The procedure reportedly cost a total of $20,000.
Per Ugobueze, he sought reimbursement from the defendant for much of 2016. Last October, BCBS sent him a check in the amount of $32,603.83 which he thought was in excess of what he was due, the suit says.
Ugobueze further asserts that despite a BCBS employee’s instructions to cash the check, the insurer enacted a stop payment. BCBS sent UTMB a check in the amount of $12,000, to which the complainant insists was not due.
The suit adds the respondent sought additional information from Ugobueze. He complied, but BCBS has not reimbursed him, the original petition says.
A jury trial is requested.
Attorney Brock C. Ayers of The Akers Firm, PLLC in Houston is representing the plaintiff.
Harris County 333rd District Court Case No. 2017-31519