The Arkansas Insurance Department (AID) has suspended the license of a non-resident agent who deceived customers into buying health policies not compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr has issued an emergency suspension order against Joseph Lata, who is currently based in Pompano Beach, Florida.
The AID said Lata used deceptive and misleading descriptions to sell health policies not in compliance with Obamacare while allowing an unlicensed person to sell insurance in Arkansas.
“The agent whose license we are suspending actually told a female member of my staff that he didn’t think she needed maternity coverage, which is part of an ACA compliant policy,” Kerr said.
According to the suspension order, Lata worked with two others to solicit the sale of an unsuitable health insurance product to an AID investigator.
In their phone conversation, Lata failed to explain to the AID personnel that the plan being sold was a short-term medical insurance policy that was not compliant with Obamacare.
One of the people working with Lata also made the misleading claim that Arkansas was allowing only 1,000 residents to enrol in a special lower-cost policy.
Kerr said Lata’s suspension is part of the AID’s efforts “to curtail high-pressure telemarketers selling health insurance plans to Arkansans that are non-compliant with ACA, despite their promises.”
“AID will continue to investigate these groups of people who have chosen to prey upon Arkansas consumers with high-pressure, misleading tactics,” he said.
