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April 07, 2010 at 08:00 PM
WASHINGTON–Enactment of the new healthcare reform law has spawned fraud schemes by which individuals are seeking to sell bogus policies through 1-800 numbers and by going door to door, a federal regulator is warning.
Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Tuesday disclosed that she has sent letters to state insurance regulators and prosecutors about the new schemes.
At the same time, Medical Mutual Insurance of Ohio, Cleveland, has sent out an alert urging its customers and the public to beware of scammers who may try to sell phony health insurance policies.
“They may try to tell you that, under the reform law, you will need to buy new health insurance,” said Brien Shanahan, Medical Mutual’s director of legal affairs. “These pitches may come to you in the form of phony e-mails, fraudulent online ads, door-to-door or by way of pushy telemarketers,” Shanahan said.
The scams may promise a variety of bogus benefits, Shanahan said. “They include fake coverage, where you end up making huge payments for a worthless piece of paper with totally worthless benefits. Some may even offer enticements such as ‘medical discount’ cards, which are also worthless.”
