Dolans Unscripted - Transcript
SHOW: DOLANS UNSCRIPTED 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
HEADLINE: Senate Tackles Prevention of Health Insurance Scams, CNNfn
GUESTS: Sen. Charles Grassley
BYLINE: Ken Dolan, Daria Dolan
BODY:
SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY ®, CHAIRMAN, SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE: Glad to be with you Ken, and Daria.
KEN DOLAN: Nice to have you.
DARIA DOLAN: Thank you. You know it's not disturbing enough Senator, that there are over 44 million Americans who lack any sort of health insurance. Then to find out, courtesy of the Government Accounting Office that at least 200,000 bogus policies from companies that may or may not even exist. Have been sold to Americans trying to take care of their health care over the past three years. How did the GAO find out about this?
GRASSLEY: Well we had some real live representatives of these 200,000 people before us to tell us about their sad case. About how they thought they were buying legitimate health insurance. And then they would go to use it and they would not be able to use it.
Quite frankly, I think only about 20 percent of the claims that were that needed to be paid were actually paid. Or 20 percent of the bills that needed to be paid would have been partially paid.
DARIA DOLAN: In fact, it's estimated that just for up to the year 2002, $252 million or more than that has not been paid. They're unpaid claims out there.
GRASSLEY: Your question, to me, was about the General Accounting Office. They have an investigative staffs that go out and try to study these issues and come up with some pretty good facts that you can count on. But we also had the National Association of Insurance Commissioners that were speaking about the problem. Besides the witnesses, and besides the General Accounting Office. Also, the Department of Labor testified before a committee about the problem that it is.
KEN DOLAN: Senator Grassley, we're going to go through a couple of things to avoid-so our viewers around the world can avoid a problem. I just want to say one thing. How especially difficult and fertile a time it is for scamsters. Because I might be one of 44 million people that either has no insurance or maybe even a senior citizen-or any citizen for that matter-seeing the cost of insurance escalate. This fertile scamster ground.
GRASSLEY: These people are scam artists without a doubt. They're only in business to rip you off. They're going to look very legitimate for a short period of time until they probably get permission to operate within a state or two. They'll try to operate even in states where they don't have approval to operate. Once they're legitimate. Once they get your money, then from there on, they forget about you as a policyholder.
DARIA DOLAN: So Senator, what you're saying is that in fact they do get themselves licensed by some state insurance commissions?
GRASSLEY: They do. Probably, in states that do not have very good supervision of insurance people. And one of the reasons I held a hearing was not just to education the people about the scam. But to encourage state insurance commissioners, the federal government and most importantly the legitimate insurance industry to clamp down on these scam artists.
KEN DOLAN: Senator Grassley, give us the Grassley 101. A couple things to be concerned about so you don't get ripped off campaign.
GRASSLEY: I think one that's pretty basic to any scam, if it sounds too good to be true at a certain price, it probably isn't true.
KEN DOLAN: Sure. We insure everybody. It's a lot cheaper. And also the name of our insurance company sounds like it might be real.
GRASSLEY: Well you know what we have a very good employer mutual insurance company in the state of Iowa. If one of these companies didn't adopt just about the same name for their company so that they would look legitimate. The second thing is, if you have any doubts about it, just call up your state insurance commissioner.
KEN DOLAN: Well said. Number one, seems to me if they're not licensed in your state, Senator Grassley, you're going to have a hard time chasing them. Check with your state insurance department that they're at least licensed. And you can go after them I there's a problem.
GRASSLEY: Yes. With out a doubt.
KEN DOLAN: Well said.
DARIA DOLAN: It also strikes me that these bogus firms, most of us are well aware, that if we have a preexisting condition and we try to get insurance, we may get insurance but it will never ever cover that preexisting condition. But many of these firms promise they will also cover that, do they not?
GRASSLEY: I think without a doubt. They'll take you under any sort of circumstances. That ought to be a red flag for you, yes.
DARIA DOLAN: Now somebody listening to this discussion and watching us this morning, Senator, may have already experienced being ripped off by this. And don't know what to do. If you think you have been ripped off or are in fact ripped off, what should a viewer do?
GRASSLEY: Well, in every state, you can contact your department of insurance. In some states, you might be able to contact your attorney general and have them work on it. Also, if you are presently paying a premium to an insurance company that seems to be so low as to be real. I would immediately check with your insurance commissioner on the legitimacy of that. So that if there is still some of these scam artists out there, you've been hooked already. But you don't continue to be hooked.
DARIA DOLAN: Before we go forward want to give an 800 number, a toll-free number and website for people Senator, so that they have recourse regarding this. The department of labor has set up a toll-free number at 866-444- 3272. And there is also a website that if you don't want to wait on the phone, you can go to www.askebsa.dol.gov <