GREENSBORO, N.C. — Mahmood Khan hovers over his newborn baby wearing a smile that stretches from one side of his face to the other. Baby Miya is Kahn’s second child, but it has been more than 30 years since he changed a baby's diaper.
“It’s beautiful. I had to refresh my memory,” Kahn said.
Being a dad a second time around, especially so long since the first time, has been a gift for Kahn. He and his wife are thrilled to be parents to such a sweet baby.
“She keeps us on our toes, but we are lucky she sleeps through the night,” Kahn said.
After the baby was born, Kahn’s wife took time off from work to care for baby Miya. She signed up for short-term disability so she would be paid while being out of work. The plan was to take 12 weeks off and then go back to work.
“We (had) problems from the start. (From the) very start, we reached out to (the insurance company) so many times I can’t even recall,” Kahn said.
It took several weeks and multiple calls according to Kahn before his wife’s insurance company started to send the disability check. Even then Kahn said the amount she was getting was low and this went on for several weeks.
“Every day it was like a bad nightmare feeling,” Kahn said.
Eventually, the amount got worked out and the first six weeks of disability were paid but after six weeks, the payments stopped.
“They just outright refused (to pay us), they said the case was closed we don’t have enough documentation,” Kahn said.
It all seemed confusing to Kahn since his wife’s doctor and her office assisted in sending the proper paperwork to the insurance company. The situation was creating a bit of a financial strain on the family.
“We needed the money,” Kahn said.
Kahn said he tried to get the issue resolved but couldn’t. After spending several weeks trying unsuccessfully to get the funding restored, he called WFMY News 2 for help.
“You got involved in it, reached out to the insurance company, you contacted the employer,” Kahn said.
We also reached out to Kahn’s doctor to better understand what happened with the paperwork. The exact reason why the payments were stopped is a bit unclear as we were limited to what we could do based on rules and regulations in place surrounding the release of medical information.
What we were able to do was involve Kahn’s wife’s employer to help navigate the case. It took some time but a couple weeks later, the employer reached back out to us and the family. While they again couldn’t provide specific details about why the disability payments stopped, they decided to pay for the remaining six weeks of disability themselves.
“We got a check straight from the employer. They paid out of their pockets,” Kahn said.
The family was elated but more so relieved. The money paid out was desperately needed and was immediately used.
The payout allowed both Kahn and his wife to finally relax about money and focus on their newborn baby.