Deceptive marketing practices, including deepfake AI versions of celebrities like Taylor Swift and Joe Rogan, have led to fraudulent enrollment in ACA plans in recent years, according to a June 5 report from Bloomberg.
Primarily in 2022 and 2023, AI-created ads were promoting fake cash giveaways and misleading viewers into calling telemarketing centers. The ads were produced by third-party advertisers who used AI-generated content to attract attention, capitalizing on a pay-per-lead model. Calls were then redirected to brokers to sign viewers up for ACA plans, often without their full knowledge or consent, leading to disruptions in existing coverage or leaving individuals with hidden costs.
According to the report, federal regulators received hundreds of complaints in 2024 from consumers who had been switched to new plans without their approval or who were later asked to repay subsidies they weren’t eligible for.
Health insurers have voiced concerns about the deceptive tactics and have distanced themselves from the practices, but current regulatory oversight may not be enough to prevent further harm to consumers. CMS has also begun to implement changes to prevent such fraud, such as requiring consumers to make nominal payments when enrolling so that they understand what they are signing up for.
One company specifically discussed in the report is Enhance Health, one of the largest brokers of ACA plans. The company signed up over 1 million people in 2023 alone, though it is not responsible for creating the misleading advertisements.
“Our rigorous policies around enrollment have always required that lead vendors conduct themselves ethically in full compliance with the law,” an Enhance spokesperson told Bloomberg. “Whenever we received any incoming calls asking about cash cards, our policy was to ensure that callers understood they were enrolling in health insurance, and they were referred to the health-plan carriers who would have the accurate information about what they were offering.”
Read the full report here.
