Brokers Blame Tech Vulnerabilities for ACA Plan Switching, Signup Scams

May 17

CMS recently said it received tens of thousands of complaints from people who were enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans without their consent by unscrupulous brokers during the first three months of this year. That led the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP), a broker trade group, to criticize CMS for its handling of the situation and claim that all brokers had been unfairly blamed by the agency.

But one industry expert says that there is “plenty of blame to go around” for the unauthorized enrollments, which can result in financial harm to plan members and insurers alike.

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Health Plan Weekly

Peter Johnson

Peter has worked as a journalist since 2011 and has covered health care since 2020. At AIS Health, Peter covers trends in finance, business and policy that affect the health insurance and pharma sectors. For Health Plan Weekly, he covers all aspects of the U.S. health insurance sector, including employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act individual marketplaces. In Radar on Drug Benefits, Peter covers the operations of (and conflicts between) pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a particular focus on pricing dynamics and market access. Before joining AIS Health, Peter covered transportation, public safety and local government for various outlets in Seattle, his hometown and current place of residence. He graduated with a B.A. from Colby College.