FTC Warns 25 Healthcare Plan Marketers and Lead Generators Not to Deceive Consumers During Open Enrollment
The Federal Trade Commission announced on October 29 that, with open enrollment season for healthcare plans in progress, its staff are sending warning letters to 25 companies that market healthcare plans or generate sales leads for them, putting them on notice about deceptive or unfair claims. Additional letters are expected on a rolling basis.
The companies market or advertise Affordable Care Act Marketplace health insurance or other healthcare products, such as limited indemnity plans and medical discount programs. Claims the FTC says may violate the law include misrepresenting a plan's benefits or limitations, including insurance benefits; misrepresenting that a plan is major or comprehensive medical insurance, or the equivalent, when it is not; and misrepresenting a plan's costs.
"Making healthcare more transparent and affordable is a top priority for the FTC," said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Open enrollment is not an invitation to misrepresent what their plans actually cover."
Readers shopping for coverage during open enrollment should note that products marketed as "plans" or discount programs are not necessarily comprehensive health insurance, and should verify actual coverage and total costs before enrolling.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的联邦贸易委员会总部大楼。Gunnar Klack 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Federal Trade Commission headquarters in Washington. Photo by Gunnar Klack, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
