Deceptive Marketing Could Lead to Bad Health Insurance Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
Beware of Skimpy Health Insurance Plans
Search online at healthcare gov to avoid dubious marketing
Marko Geber / Getty Images Shopping for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act? Type the federal government’s website, into your browser. Th at advice is from university researchers who said consumers searching online could unwittingly be steered to alternative plans that do not comply with key provisions of the ACA. These consumers could be “vulnerable to catastrophic medical bills,” they warn. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Open enrollment for 2022 began Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 15. Be careful of search terms
The Georgetown University researchers found that consumers who searched online using phrases like “cheap health insurance” or “ACA enroll” — and visited websites that turned up high in search results — could be led astray by the deceptive marketing of alternative plans. Alternative plans lack ACA protections, the researchers said. Such p olicies fail to protect people with preexisting conditions and exclude many essential health benefits, they noted. Despite such limitations, enrollment in these products has increased in recent years in part because of dubious marketing aimed at people looking for comprehensive major medical coverage, they said. The university’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms produced , which said its findings were in line with past analyses. High-pressure tactics
“These analyses all reached similar conclusions — sales representatives often misrepresent the coverage to consumers, urge them to purchase plans over the phone without written information, or fail to disclose major coverage limitations,” including services, the new report said. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Telephone calls with 20 sales reps took place, but in only five cases were the secret shoppers referred to ACA-compliant plans. In fact, both secret shoppers would have been eligible for ACA-compl iant insurance without paying any premiums or for $2 a month in premiums. Yet in most cases the shoppers were offered plans with monthly premiums of $70 to $300. Additionally, the reps did not disclose accurate information about the affordability of marketplace plans, the report said, and one rep remarked that marketplace plans “are just going to end up costing you more money.” The report also said now is broadly available — and more affordable — because of enhanced premium subsidies enacted in the , signed into law in March. During a COVID-19 special enrollment period Feb. 15-Sept. 15, millions of people were eligible for plans with zero premiums ; during the current open enrollment period, they may qualify for small premiums or none whatsoever. Since the secret shoppers compared plans during the now-concluded special enrollment period, researchers believe some consumers now seeking coverage likewise will confront dubious marketing. The report is called “.” Katherine Skiba covers scams and fraud for AARP. Previously she was a reporter with the Chicago Tribune, U.S. News & World Report and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She was a recipient of Harvard University’s Nieman Fellowship and is the author of the book Sister in the Band of Brothers: Embedded With the 101st Airborne in Iraq. More on health AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS