Royal Oak woman questions 10 insurance notices for care she says she never received

A Royal Oak, Michigan, woman says she discovered 10 insurance explanations of benefits describing medical care she never received, with some claims resulting in payments by her insurer. Sarah Prentice began investigating the records after learning that a claim for cancer treatment could affect her ability to obtain life insurance.

Prentice first received an explanation of benefits for cancer treatment in November 2025. She said she had neither undergone nor needed that care. When she contacted her insurance company, she was told the claim had been denied and there was no reason to worry. She did not pursue the matter further at that point.

The issue resurfaced in September 2026 while Prentice was working on her life insurance policy. Underwriters flagged what appeared to be a history of cancer treatment and told her she could potentially be denied coverage, she said. Prentice, who has worked in the insurance industry for two decades and whose husband is a financial advisor, then requested the underlying data to learn more.

Her review uncovered records for a range of treatments beyond cancer care. Prentice said the explanations of benefits listed CPAP treatment, surgery in Colorado for lacerations to her torso and treatment in Florida. They also described SARS infusions as recently as July 20, 2026. She said none of that care had taken place and found that her insurer had paid some of the claims.

Questions about the chemotherapy record led Prentice to an Arizona doctor's office. She said staff reviewed the records and found that the provider had signed off on the treatment, but a separate entity was listed as the billing provider. That entity was a Florida durable medical equipment provider also referred to as Safemed. Prentice said she was unfamiliar with both the Arizona provider and the Florida company.

Other records involving treatment in Colorado and Texas connected back to a local referring doctor, Prentice said. Although that doctor had a national provider identification number, she could not establish who the person was. Local 4 reporter Kyla Russell was also unable to match the doctor.

Prentice shared her experience after watching an earlier Local 4 report about another woman facing a similar issue. Concerned about the possible consequences of the records, she urged others to contact their providers promptly and seek a letter to have inaccurate information redacted.

Local 4 contacted the billing providers and referring doctors mentioned in its report, including the Florida company and the local doctor. The outlet had received no responses.