ORLANDO, Fla. — A new watchdog report found Florida is leading the way for fraudulent medical insurance policies, and the victims are among the poorest Americans.
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Investigative Reporter Karla Ray first reported on one Brevard County woman’s delay in medical treatment due to a fraudulent policy being taken out in her name.
Now, she’s learned that the case is one of millions.
When we first met Vinisha Moeykens at a free clinic in Brevard County, she was waiting for a fraudulent insurance policy to be taken out of her name so that she could be treated for what was suspected to be cancer in her lungs.
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“I have absolutely zero. I don’t have a job right now, I am about to lose my place to live,” Moeykens said.
The illness turned out not to be cancer but a serious infection, made worse by the delay in treatment due to a fraudulent insurance policy. Someone had stolen her identity to take out that Affordable Care Act policy, sent the bill to a fake South Florida address, and paid the $943 monthly premium with a tax credit.
“The agent who wrote the policy is on commission, so it’s a win for them,” Space Coast Volunteers in Medicine Director Laurie Stoeckert said.
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Stoeckert has since discovered that this has happened to more of her patients, and now we know millions are outside of this clinic.
“This is a very, very large fraud that’s happening,” attorney Jason Doss said.
South Florida attorney Jason Doss is representing plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit that calls this type of fraud a ‘racketeering enterprise’ targeting the ‘poorest members of American society.’
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The suit claims agents use lead-generation firms to capture victims by running fraudulent ads on social media, luring consumers with the promise of hundreds of dollars per month in cash benefits. Instead, the suit claims agents use these sales calls to obtain the consumers’ names, birthdates, and states of residence to access their information and enroll them in ACA health insurance policies for a commission.
“This is not a victimless crime. It could be a $0 health insurance plan, but it disrupts medical treatments,” Doss said.
A newly released watchdog report from Paragon Health Institute found the fraud’s cost to taxpayers is an estimated $15-20 billion, and Florida leads the way with as many as four times the number of people who are actually eligible for certain policies being enrolled.
“Identities are stolen all the time. I don’t believe there’s a place that it could be any less drastic. But when you’re dealing with somebody’s real life, it’s unimaginable. They’re putting somebody’s life in their hands,” Moeykens said.
Moeykens is not a plaintiff in the class action lawsuit because of her sickness.
Doss says if you ever go to the doctor and your insurance card does not work, it could be because you’ve been targeted with this type of fraud. You can report suspected fraud here.
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