Instagram creator says her insurer denied her claims over ‘other insurance’ she doesn’t have, then didn’t review her appeal over a missing signature

Over the past few months, Instagram creator Zoe Laker says she has been caught in a frustrating, multi-month dispute with her insurer. Laker usually posts about travel, organization, and wellness. With the bills from an emergency appendectomy in July looming, she took to Instagram to say that her provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, has been denying all of her medical claims.

“Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota is robbing me of thousands of dollars,” Laker said in a video that has since drawn over 68,000 views. “In June of this year, they started denying all of my claims completely, citing a coordination of benefits error. What that means is they think I have other insurance, so they’re not covering any of my medical bills. What I found out is this is a common predatory tactic that insurance companies use to inflate their earnings before their quarterly earnings.”

Her claim that insurers use such denials to inflate earnings is her own characterization and could not be verified. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota’s side of the story is not known, and the company had not publicly responded at the time of publication.

Coordination of benefits is a standard process insurers use to decide who pays first when a person is covered by more than one plan, and it is meant to prevent duplicate payments, according to MetLife. Laker says that does not apply to her because, as she told BCBS when she called, she has no other insurance.

Laker’s account of the appeal

Laker said that after she spoke with BCBS, she was told to file an appeal. She collected the documentation, sent it, and was told to wait for a response by mail. She said the letter, which arrived right before she posted, told her the appeal had not been reviewed because a signature was missing on one page.

Laker said she followed the instructions but still ended up responsible for the balance, and that she is now trying to delay the hospital bills. She said she also filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

In a follow-up post, Laker laid out a timeline of the problems. She said BCBS incorrectly flagged her as having an active policy with Anthem of California, which she says was from a previous year and is no longer in effect. “They then overturned previously approved claims from earlier this year, now falsely denying them and leaving me with the balance to pay,” she said.

Laker said Anthem confirmed that her benefits had ended, but that a BCBS supervisor told her their system showed the other insurance was active until March 2026. Many of her viewers said they had similar experiences.

Laker said it took multiple calls and complaints before BCBS representatives told her she would have to wait another 30 to 60 days while they run her claims through their internal process again.

Some viewers urged Laker to escalate and suggested she contact the state attorney general’s office. BCBS Minnesota’s website lists the Minnesota Department of Commerce as the office to contact about reviews for fully insured Blue Cross plans, and directs members with other plan types elsewhere.