Employer Retroactively Backdated Insurance & Now Says I Owe Full Price For Services Rendered

Location: Pennsylvania

I was laid off from The Company in June 2025. Our health insurance was managed through a Third Party Platform.

My Separation agreement said “we will pay 8 weeks of COBRA and you can renew COBRA after at your own cost”. I signed up for the 8 weeks of COBRA. My coworker friend who was also laid off emailed The Company’s head of HR with a question related to health insurance because they logged into our Third Party Platform and it said the insurance was still active - 9 weeks after separation. The HR head said let me give you a call and admitted she made a clerical error and extended the insurance by 8 months instead of 8 weeks. HR told coworker on the phone that they tried to undo it by contacting Third Party Platform, but they said ‘no, you cannot change it once it is finalized. The insurance is active for 8 months”.

My coworker friend told me about this conversation with HR head and since I was still unemployed, I logged into the health insurance portal to check for myself and indeed, it was listed as active until Feb 2026. I called and confirmed it was active. I continued to use this insurance until it expired in Feb and signed up for my new employer’s plan.

It is June and I am receiving EOBs for services I received in Oct-Dec (the only time I used The Company’s insurance). EOBs are saying I did not have insurance. I called the health insurance company and they told me The Company retroactively backdated my insurance to end at the originally intended 8 week mark and if I want info I have to contact The Company’s HR.

I’m receiving bills to the tune of a few thousand dollars. I see The Company filed a ‘Corrected’ 1095-B that shows coverage from Jan-Aug. the separation agreement said 8 weeks paid but the clerical error was made to 8 months.

Is it legally enforceable for me to have to pay for these services as if I didn’t have insurance, when the insurance was indeed active during the time period? I had several calls with insurance during this Oct-Dec period confirming that certain services would be covered and they confirmed they were. Am I liable to pay for a clerical error that ultimately benefitted me?

Thank you.