Julie Appleby | (TNS) KFF Health News
A lawsuit filed on Friday outlines a scheme in which large insurance sales agency call centers enrolled or switched people into ACA plans without their permission in order to make money.
According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, two call centers were involved in this scheme. Tens of thousands of dollars were paid daily to obtain the names of people who responded to misleading ads about free government “subsidies” and other rewards. In return, sales agents used this information to enroll them in ACA plans or switch their existing policies without their consent.
The lawsuit alleges that as a result, consumers lost access to their doctors or medications, faced financial costs, and had to repay tax credits that were used toward the unauthorized coverage.
Some consumers were switched multiple times or ended up with duplicate policies.
The lawsuit claims that there was a plan to target low-income Americans into enrolling in health insurance through deceptive ads and unauthorized switching, to gain compensation or commissions that