Humana Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc. and five other U.S. health insurance companies have agreed to stop selling a type of government-funded plan for the elderly in response to complaints that sales agents forged signatures and enrolled dead people.
The seven companies are working on new marketing guidelines with the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. The voluntary sales suspension will end as each company adopts the guidelines, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said last week.
The policies, known as private “fee for service” plans, account for about 20 percent of the $60 billion Medicare Advantage program. The halt will have little effect on the companies’ revenue because most sales are made during the enrollment period, mid-November through December.
Robert Laszewski, head of Health Policy and Strategy Associates in Alexandria, Va., called the move “somewhat hollow” in a telephone interview. “Someone came up with a fantastic public relations marketing, failing to tell people that 99 percent of all sales occur during open enrollment.”
