State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, oversees the State Health Plan. Cab Baldwin would like to get more SHP members as clients. On Thursday, Sept. 28, he received some unexpected business from the treasurer.
Baldwin is managing director of North Carolina Orthotics & Prosthetics, Inc., which treats patients to avoid limb loss and provides devices for those that need them if surgery is required. He met with Treasurer Folwell to recoup money from the Unclaimed Property Division (UPD) of the Department of State Treasurer (DST).
“As a medical provider, we deal with payers from all over the nation, and tracking payments can be a very difficult task. But thanks to the state Treasurer’s Office, we were able to get reimbursed for funds that had gotten sidetracked,” Baldwin said.
Money that has become undeliverable for a variety of reasons is safeguarded at UPD until the rightful owners claim it. During a review of data in UPD, commonly called NCCash.com, DST staff identified $7,663.23 belonging to North Carolina Orthotics & Prosthetics. The company not only has operations here in Roanoke Rapids, but also at locations in Goldsboro, Henderson, Rocky Mount and Wake Forest.
“North Carolinians have a far better chance of finding money in NCCash.com than they do of hitting the lottery. That’s why we’re always promoting the need for everyone to check for their name, their spouse’s name and maiden name, business, church, nonprofit and civic organizations,” Treasurer Folwell said. “There’s nothing we like better than putting money back into the hands of the rightful owners. Today we were especially grateful to return funds to a medical provider whose client base includes those who teach, protect and otherwise serve.”
NCCash.com is currently safeguarding nearly $1.09 billion in escheated funds, representing 17.7 million properties statewide. The money is awaiting return to the rightful owners after being lost, misdirected or overlooked. More than 19 million owners are associated with those properties. There is $8,751,593 representing 105,491 properties waiting to be claimed in Halifax County.
For the fiscal year that ended June 30, UPD paid 193,319 claims totaling $108,586,512, both historical records for a one-year period.
Under state law, UPD receives and safeguards funds that are escheated, or turned over, to DST. The unclaimed property consists of bank accounts, wages, utility deposits, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, bonds and contents of safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned.
Unclaimed property can result from a person or entity forgetting they are due money, or from a move of location and forgetting to provide a new address. It also could result from a typing error in a house number or zip code in an address, a name change, or data loss from a business converting its computer system. As society becomes more mobile and steadily moves to electronic transactions, the risk of having unclaimed property has increased.