INSURANCE COMPANY TO PAY $625,000 TO RESOLVE CLAIMS OF
UNLAWFUL AND DECEPTIVE SALES OF HEALTH PLANS
Settlement will provide $515,000 in
Consumer Relief
BOSTON – A Florida-based insurance agency has agreed
to pay $625,000, including consumer restitution, to settle allegations
that it used deceptive and unlawful practices to sell health plans to
Massachusetts consumers, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.
“Massachusetts has strict
regulations regarding the marketing and sale of health insurance for a reason:
to prevent companies like this one from taking advantage of people regarding
something as serious and essential as healthcare.” said AG Healey. “We
took action against this company for engaging in deceptive practices in
violation of these regulations and secured monetary relief for harmed consumers.”
According to the complaint, filed in
Suffolk Superior Court, Health Plan Intermediaries Holdings, LLC (HPIH) d/b/a
Health Insurance Innovations, sold health insurance plans to Massachusetts
consumers from Unified Life Insurance Company that were not authorized for sale
and engaged in several other deceptive practices. Those practices include
claiming that the unauthorized health insurance covered services that it in
fact excluded, describing limited health insurance as comprehensive, and
passing off coverage limitations as positives, rather than negatives.
Under the terms of the consent judgment
approved by the Superior Court, HPIH must pay $625,000, including $515,000 for
consumer relief, which will be distributed by HPIH to purchasers of the Unified
plan. The company will also pay $100,000 in civil penalties to the Commonwealth
and $10,000 for costs of the investigation. Under the settlement, HPIH is also
banned from selling non-Medicare-related health plans in Massachusetts for a
year.
In the past, the AG’s Office has
taken action against other insurance companies for related and similar issues
regarding health plans including UnitedHealth
insurance companies and United
Life Insurance Company.
Consumers concerned about illegal
health insurance practices in Massachusetts are urged to call the AG’s Health
Care Helpline at (888) 830-6277.
This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Emiliano Mazlen, with
assistance from Division Chief Eric Gold of AG Healey’s Health Care
Division, and Anthony Crespi of AG Healey’s Civil Investigations Division.
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