The Federal Trade Commission is issuing refunds to consumers who allegedly purchased fake health plans from Benefit Technologies that were falsely marketed as comprehensive health insurance or Obamacare plans under the Affordable Care Act.
According to the FTC's August 2022 complaint, Benefit, which operated under various names including Health Insurance Innovations, lured consumers seeking health insurance into sham insurance policies with exorbitant monthly fees. The scheme involved aggressive marketing and fraudulent websites. After purchasing poor-quality insurance with little coverage, Benefit customers were often charged for additional products they had not agreed to purchase, even if they requested cancellation.
In addition to being billed hundreds of dollars each month, Benefit customers were often charged large medical bills because they thought they were protected by insurance, the agency said.
Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement at the time the initial complaint was filed that Benefits has sold millions of people by selling fake insurance to seniors and consumers seeking health insurance. “I was making a profit,” he said.
As part of the settlement, Benefit agreed to pay approximately $100 million in customer refunds, which will allow former CEO Gavin Southwell and former vice president Amy Brady to sell health care products and He was permanently banned from marketing. Mr. Brady was also prohibited from making telemarketing sales as part of the settlement.
Who can receive a refund?
The FTC announced Tuesday that it will send checks to 463,629 customers who paid $1,000 or more for benefits between 2017 and 2022. Here's what you need to know:
- Customers who paid $1,000 or more in benefits between 2017 and 2022 will get some of their money back.
- As with most FTC cases, affected customers do not need to file a complaint.
- Your check will be mailed automatically and should arrive within two weeks.
- Once your refund check is received, it should be cashed or deposited as soon as possible, as it expires after 90 days.
- Consumers can call the Refund Administrator, Epiq Systems, at (888) 574-3126 for more information.
