The Excellent Storm: Deceptive Advertising of Restricted Profit Merchandise Continues as Tens of millions Dropping Medicaid Seek for New Protection

By Rachel Schwab and JoAnn Volk

An enormous protection transition is underway for hundreds of thousands of people that have relied on Medicaid all through the COVID-19 pandemic. After a three-year pause, states have begun disenrolling residents from Medicaid, a important security internet program for folks with low incomes that gives medical insurance to a number of the most underserved Individuals. This course of will depart many of those people in want of latest protection that meets their well being care wants.

A secret shopper study carried out by researchers at Georgetown College in June 2023 suggests that folks shedding Medicaid who’re eligible for high-quality, reasonably priced protection by means of the Inexpensive Care Act (ACA) market are dealing with aggressive advertising of restricted profit merchandise. Regardless of the supply of sponsored market plans, deceptive gross sales ways put hundreds of thousands of former Medicaid enrollees susceptible to buying insurance policies that expose them to catastrophic well being care prices, or forgoing protection altogether.

The examine discovered:

• On-line searches for medical insurance led to web sites and solicitations from gross sales representatives selling restricted profit merchandise, reasonably than the ACA market.
• A researcher spoke to twenty gross sales representatives utilizing two profiles of customers shedding Medicaid who’re eligible for a $0 premium plan with no deductible on the ACA market.
  • Not one of the 20 representatives talked about the supply of a $0 market plan with no deductible.
  • Over half of representatives tried to promote the customers restricted profit merchandise.
  • Representatives ceaselessly made false or deceptive statements that hid the restrictions of restricted profit merchandise or misrepresented the supply or affordability of market plans. Most representatives promoting restricted profit merchandise additionally refused to offer written plan data.
  • Many representatives, notably these promoting restricted profit merchandise, used aggressive gross sales ways, resembling pressuring customers to decide to a plan over the telephone or suggesting that plans would develop into unavailable or costlier in the event that they took further time to have a look at their choices or funds.

You’ll be able to learn the total report here.

CHIR thanks The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for his or her beneficiant help of this examine.

Monetary Curiosity Disclosure: Rachel Schwab serves as a Senior Analysis Affiliate within the Middle on Well being Insurance coverage Reforms at Georgetown College. She has additionally served as a advisor for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Inc.