Telemarketers Are Using a Weird Trick to Sell Bare-Bones Health Plans

Bloomberg – no paywall: “…The Strohmengers are among more than 100,000 US households that have bought plans tied to fake jobs in recent years, data compiled by Bloomberg News show. And their experience echoes complaints from hundreds of consumers across the country, according to a review of government records and interviews with customers, salespeople and regulators. But because the plans are backed by obscure companies with names like Socios Buenos and Vitamin Patch, not by insurance carriers, it’s unclear who, if anyone, has the authority to regulate them. Some Republican officials have endorsed the legal theory behind the plans, seeing it as a way to deregulate the US health-insurance system without congressional action. That theory is the subject of a long-running dispute in a federal court in Texas that may be resolved in the coming months. Favorable action by the Trump administration or a judge could bring the plans to millions more customers and reshape health insurance in America. It might also make a fortune for the former TV comedy writer behind it all…But if you look for health insurance on the internet, you might end up talking to a telemarketer offering a cheap product that, in the end, doesn’t provide much coverage. Policy experts call it “junk insurance.” The heart of the industry is South Florida, where hundreds of call centers clutter the boulevards and office parks around Fort Lauderdale. Even though junk policies are cheaper than plans sold under the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 law known as Obamacare, they pay bigger commissions, making them more profitable to sell and leaving less money to fund claims. Fast-talking salespeople have been known to use fake names, pose as government workers and pretend plans are backed by Aetna Inc. or Blue Cross & Blue Shield. Top earners flaunt gold chains and Lamborghinis on Instagram. The products they sell are varied. Fake-job plans are the newest addition to the lineup…”