A Los Angeles-based company has agreed to pay the Federal Trade Commission $45 million to settle allegations that it fraudulently represented itself as a broker of government health care plans.
MediaAlpha claimed to broker plans on websites like governmenthealthinsurance.com and affordablecarecalifornia.org, but in reality, they “actually sell consumers nothing,” the federal complaint says, as reported by Seamus Hughes’ Court Watch.
“Instead, after harvesting consumers’ personal and contact information, Defendants auction it off to telemarketers and other lead generators,” the complaint continues.
“As a result of this misconduct, people who seek medical treatment learn they have no coverage for the care they need,” the federal complaint further explained. “Other consumers learn of the deception later when they are faced with substantial unexpected medical cost.”
As a result, MediaAlpha had to turn those websites over to the FTC.
“MediaAlpha is also barred from misrepresenting that the products they market are affiliated with nonexistent government-approved programs or offer benefits that MediaAlpha hasn’t verified,” the FTC said on its website.
The company denied the allegations in a statement posted to its website.
“We are pleased to put this matter behind us. While we strongly disagree with the FTC’s allegations, we believe that settling this matter is in the best interests of MediaAlpha and our shareholders,” the statement said. “MediaAlpha has always been committed to transparency and compliance, and we share the FTC’s goal of preventing the misuse of our under-65 health marketplaces by third parties. As part of this settlement, we have agreed to further enhance our industry-leading compliance processes in under-65 health.”
Now, the company can get back to its primary principle, as listed on its website.
“MediaAlpha was founded on a simple premise: Be transparent and people will reward you with their trust.”
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