Lost your health insurance? Watch out for scams and bad actors
If you’re one of the thousands of people in Washington state who’ve lost your job and your health insurance, we know these are incredibly difficult times for you and your family. Unfortunately, you also need to watch out for bad actors trying to take advantage of your situation.
We’ve heard from consumers shopping for health insurance who thought they were on the state’s official health insurance exchange, only to learn later they’d been tricked into buying less substantial coverage.
Last week, we partnered with Washington’s Exchange, Wahealthplanfinder.org to help spread the word about what to look for.
This problem is not unique to Washington state, as the U.S. Government Oversight Agency (GAO) found. They recently announced findings from an investigation that revealed some insurance agents may have used deceptive sales practices when marketing health coverage.
If you believe you’ve tricked or potentially misled by an insurance agent, contact our office right away.
As many as 12 million people lost their employer-sponsored health insurance since the coronavirus pandemic hit, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute.
At the end of August, the number of people without health insurance in Washington state was down to eight percent or more than 620,000 people, after soaring to a high of 13% in May.
If you or someone you know has lost their health insurance, the official health insurance marketplace is www.wahealthplanfinder.org. Depending on the circumstances you may qualify for free or low-cost coverage, but you must enroll through this site. If you have questions, contact our free health insurance experts.
