In February, Bill Myers had a $62,478 operation to fix an aortic aneurysm. But he hasn’t seen a doctor to make sure the complicated repair is working and healing properly. He also has stopped taking medication for his other medical problems, including high blood pressure and cholesterol.

It’s because Myers has no health insurance. And he has more than $70,000 in medical bills. “After finding out I’m that far in debt, there’s no way I’m going back,” said Myers, 44.

Myers is one of the laid-off employees of Turbine Airfoil Designs in Harrisburg. Their situation might provide the perfect example of how broken the U.S. health care system is.

In March, the workers learned their Capital BlueCross medical benefits had been canceled because TAD hadn't been paying the premiums. It gets worse.

Capital backdated the cancellation to last October. That left some TAD employees with five months of medical bills. During those months, they received no hint their bills might not be covered.

TAD told them not to worry. Their Capital BlueCross benefits cards remained valid. Whenever anyone, including hospitals and medical practices, checked with Capital, they were told the medical care was covered.

Almost everyone agrees the TAD workers bear no fault. But all the bills have come home to them. So have letters and calls from bill collectors, and threats that their credit will be ruined.

“I’m at the point I don’t even answer the phone unless I can see who it is on the caller ID,” said Jason Beachler, 39, of McAlisterville. Beacher has about $3,000 in bills, with much resulting from a trip to the emergency room after his wife got glass in her eye while working on a ceiling fan.

Beachler and his former co-workers are lashing out in many directions. Most are union members, and blame TAD for reneging on contract-required benefits. They blame hospitals for turning them over to collection agencies. They’ve also noticed that hospitals have charged them full price — not the lower, contract rate the hospital had expected from Capital. And they blame Capital for not warning them that their bills might not be covered.

“There was nothing there to lead us to believe we didn’t have insurance. I think the responsibility lies with them, too,” said Terry Hocker, 64, of Swatara Twp.

Yet it’s hard to pinpoint the villain — at least from a legal standpoint.

TAD officials admit the company is responsible for the bills. But they also say TAD doesn’t have the money to pay them. Capital says it did nothing wrong.

Beginning last October, a recession-crippled TAD was unable to make full premium payments to Capital. Capital tried to work with TAD to keep the coverage in place. But after five months, Capital pulled the plug. It said continuing to carry TAD would have been unfair to Capital’s other customers.

Capital further said it followed the rules in canceling the coverage. A responsible employer would have notified employees of the situation and that bills might not be covered, Capital said. The state Insurance Department, however, is investigating whether Capital might bear some responsibility.

On their end, hospitals had noticed bills submitted to Capital weren’t getting paid, and were listed as on “hold.” They didn’t know why. “We’re caught in the middle of this, just like the patients are,” said Lori Moran, a spokeswoman for Holy Spirit Hospital.

More than anything, the situation demonstrates the need for health reform, said Joel Ario, the Pennsylvania insurance commissioner. It shows how quickly even people with good health insurance can find themselves uninsured, facing financial nightmare, and unable to afford medical care, Ario noted. It shows the absence of options for people who lose employer-sponsored health insurance.

Many of the laid-off TAD workers and their spouses are older, with significant health problems. Some shopped for new coverage. They learned monthly premiums could equal nearly half of their unemployment income.

They also learned it wouldn’t cover their existing medical problems for the first year.

So on top of their insurance premiums, they must pay for the medical care they are most likely to need. “It’s costing me $363 a month and it doesn’t cover anything,” said Judy Fisher, 63, whose husband, Robert, is laid off from TAD.

TAD workers tell of two people who had to stop cancer treatment. Several said they are living without medical care. “I’ve been more or less putting my life in God’s hand. The day he wants me is the day he takes me,” said Myers, of Bernville in Berks County.

Pinnacle and Holy Spirit Hospital have each turned bills involving TAD employees over to collection agencies. In an interview, four Pinnacle officials strongly defended the collection tactics.

Patricia Taleff, the director of patient business services, explained Pinnacle has no recourse or reason to bill Capital once a patient is no longer a Capital member. And billing TAD, or even forwarding any information about an employee’s medical situation, would violate privacy laws, Taleff said.

But as soon as TAD workers apply for financial aid, the bill collectors will be called off, Taleff said. “I really want to work with these individuals,” she said.

Holy Spirit recently suspended bill collection involving TAD workers. It did so in mid-September, when it first learned of the their situation, spokeswoman Lori Moran said. Holy Spirit will await the outcome of TAD’s efforts to resolve the situation.