World News | Biden administration proposes crackdown on fraudulent health insurance ads

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed banning misleading ads for the Medicare Advantage plan targeting older Americans and, in some cases, convincing them to sign up for plans that don’t cover their doctors or prescriptions .

The rule, proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, would ban ads for Medicare Advantage plans that use confusing text, images or logos. The rule would also ban ads that don’t specifically mention the name of a health insurance plan.

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It’s a positive step toward addressing a growing problem in the Medicare Advantage market, a thriving business offering private versions of the government’s Medicare program to people 65 and older or with disabilities. Nearly half of Medicare enrollees (approximately 28 million) are now switching to Medicare Advantage plans.

Some are duped by TV commercials, online ads and mailings placed by marketing agencies and brokers hired by some insurance companies to win customers.

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The proposed rule “takes important steps to make Medicare Advantage plans accountable for providing high-quality coverage and care for enrollees,” agency administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a statement.

The problem has become so common that CMS agents have been secretly buying plans by calling the phone numbers advertised, discovering that in some cases, brokers exaggerate the benefits enrollees will receive and the benefits they will receive in the new plan. will save money. Several states also reported an increase in complaints of deceptive marketing schemes in 2021, according to an investigative report released last month by Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee.

“These proposals are an important step toward protecting seniors in Medicare from scammers and unscrupulous insurers and brokers,” committee chairman Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement Wednesday. (AP) )

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)