Internet Business Told to Stop Misrepresenting Kansas Health Exchange

December 22, 2011

An Internet business operating out of Washington state has been told to cease misrepresenting itself as linked to any official Kansas health insurance exchange.

Kansas Commissioner of Insurance Sandy Praeger has ordered a halt to any Kansas references located on My HIX Insurance Exchange, as well as a telephone number linked with the site.

Kansas Insurance Department (KID) officials said references were deleted from the website and confirmed by the apparent website administrator Nathan Nead of Maple Valley, Wash., after receiving the Dec. 14. cease and desist order.

The website purported to offer health insurance plans through the Kansas Health Insurance Exchange, which presently does not exist. Also, Nead isn’t a licensed Kansas insurance agent.

“A health insurance exchange in Kansas wouldn’t be operational, under federal law, until late 2013, at the earliest,” Commissioner Praeger said. “Many Affordable Care Act provisions are already misrepresented, and this just adds to potential confusion by consumers.”

KID officials said the website appeared to collect contact information to be sold as leads or otherwise distributed for value to insurance agents. The emergency order can be found at http://www.ksinsurance.org/legal/orders/2011/HixE.pdf.

A vigilant Kansas insurance agent is credited with alerting the department to the website links, Commissioner Praeger said.

Source: Kansas Insurance Department

Topics Kansas

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