When Terrie Los, a biologist, lost her job last August, she enrolled her family in COBRA, the federal program that allows people to stay insured with their former employers if they pick up the full cost. Her husband is a small business owner and cannot afford group insurance for himself or his few employees.

For months, Los paid nearly $1,600 a month to keep her family of four covered. Then, in February, her husband overlooked 8 cents on the bill. Not realizing that they underpaid, The Loses learned a month later their plan was canceled.

Apparently she is not alone. A Miami couple lost its coverage over 4 cents, according to NBC6, but it was later reinstated. Ceridian, the third-party administrator handling both cases, has received lots of media calls and consumer complaints of a similar nature, according to spokeswoman Stephanie Brown. She pointed out that as a third-party administrator, Ceridian is not calling the shots.

The Colorado Division of Insurance doesn’t oversee COBRA, a U.S. Department of Labor program, but top officials there say they are familiar with such stories where people fall victim to unbent rules.

Ceridian is looking into the Los family’s case, and I’m still reporting the story. Look for a complete story at Gazette.com/health as the story comes together.