Insurance agents in at least 39 states used illegal or unethical tactics to sell private Medicare plans ... touted by Bush Admin vs. Medicare

Abuses in Enrollment Tactics Found for Private MedicareBy Elizabeth Williamson and Christopher Lee | Washington Post Staff Writers | Wednesday, May 16, 2007; Page A03

Insurance agents in at least 39 states used illegal or unethical tactics to sell private Medicare plans, in some cases enrolling the dead and mentally incompetent, impersonating Medicare representatives, and using personal information stolen from federal records, according to interviews and documents released to Congress.

"Medicare Advantage" plans and enrollments have exploded in the past year, touted by the Bush administration as a valuable alternative to Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors.

But Senate investigators have found that improper sales practices inspired by insurers offering high commissions have drawn civil and criminal cases, damaging the credibility of a program that some have called a model for revamping the Medicare system.

"There's a lamentable lack of oversight when it comes to the sales practices being used to sell Medicare Advantage plans to our seniors," said Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which is to hold a hearing today on the abuse. "Our goal is that these plans must be represented in a transparent, honest and fair way."
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"If the goal were to privatize because you get more efficiency and lower cost, you could see why that makes sense. But none of those things are happening," said Bonnie Burns, a policy specialist with California Health Advocates, a Sacramento-based consumer group that works with that state's health insurance counseling program. "When you have a product few people understand, a very high commission and very short enrollment period, very bad results are just a given."
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At the root of the problem, officials say, are short enrollment periods and big bonuses for agents for signing up new clients. A WellCare "Half-Time Giveaway" offered "volume producers" a chance to win a plasma TV and a $175 bonus per policy.