Officials across the country continue to warn consumers of attempts to sell bogus health insurance policies.

States like Missouri have experienced fraudulent activities since President Obama's signing of the healthcare reform bill in March. John M. Huff, director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, said a consumer in St. Louis was approached by a door-to-door salesman who claimed he was a federal agent selling insurance policies under the new law. Federal investigators are also looking into reports that scammers are visiting homes claiming there is an open enrolment period to buy health insurance.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has issued a consumer alert. “State insurance regulators are receiving complaints about scam artists going door to door selling ‘ObamaCare’ insurance policies, or claiming there is a limited open-enrollment period to buy health insurance,” the NAIC warning said. “Some of these scam artists have even set up bogus toll-free numbers to sell policies.”

What It Means to Agents:  Make sure your clients understand: there is no such thing as an “ObamaCare” health insurance policy. The term “ObamaCare” was used during the healthcare debate as convenient shorthand to describe what the President was proposing to Congress. There is no insurance policy by that name, and the government itself will not be issuing insurance policies under the new law – insurance companies will, just as they do now.

May 26, 2010