A former federal employee who was fired, rehired after a judge’s order and then fired a second time says her health insurance coverage was canceled and backdated after she had surgery, leaving her with the bill.
She’s one of tens of thousands of federal probationary employees who the Trump administration fired twice.
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WATCH HEREKeri, a mom and homeowner who lives in a Maryland suburb, thought her job would be protected. She worked for the Department of Commerce on the CHIPS and Science Act, which allocated money to help build semiconductor factories in the U.S. to create less dependency on China.
“I thought under this new administration, because they are fans of what our mission was, when we were offered the Fork, I thought, ‘I don’t need to take that ‘cause I’m safe,’” she said.
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SIGN UP She was referencing the Fork in the Road email that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sent to all federal employees shortly after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, offering them money to quit.
Keri was on medical leave for recovery from major spinal surgery when she received the DOGE-inspired follow-up message asking federal workers to list five things they accomplished that week.
“My husband said, ‘You can’t work.’ I just had surgery a few days before that. But I did. I worked from my bed,” she said, fighting tears.
In February, termination came anyway, then reinstatement after a judge’s order – and then she was fired again. For Keri, it sparked chaos, including having her health insurance not only canceled but also backdated.
She found out after having a minor surgical procedure that she said she took care to get preapproved.
“So, I called Blue Cross and they said ‘Yes, that’s what they’re doing.’ And I said “Well, what happens to the surgical procedure I had? The medication I picked up since 4/8, which, one of them, the retail cost is over $2,500,’” she recalled.
“So, they said, “You will be receiving a bill for those things because we thought you were reinstated as well. We never got the news that we had to terminate you, so that’s why we were showing you as active in our system,’” she continued.
Keri said watching the collapse of agencies helping the American people and the extreme economic threat to families and communities like hers is a lot to handle both financially and emotionally.
“Right now, I’m working off faith. I don’t know. We have kids. We have a mortgage, car payments. I don’t know how we’re gonna do this,” she said.
She said the job search is disheartening because so many others are looking now too.
News4 asked if there’s anything that gives her hope. She said she’s grateful for elected officials’ work to fight for fired federal workers. She also said it feels good to see “We support federal workers” lawn signs and know that people care.
