Potentially hundreds of homeless individuals in Florida were signed up for ACA exchange plans they could not afford in a fraud scheme, according to a June 13 report from KFF Health News.
Community organizations in Florida said they have seen an increase in insurance brokers offering unhoused individuals cash payments to sign up for premium-free ACA plans. Though the plans do not have premiums, many people enrolled in them cannot afford copays and other fees associated with the coverage.
Brokers often receive commissions from payers for each person they enroll, typically around $20 to $30 per member per month, according to the report.
When people are enrolled in the plans, they are often disqualified from other forms of charity care that are more affordable. The fraud schemes are most prevalent in non-expansion states, where many low-income adults are not eligible for Medicaid coverage, KFF Health News reported.
CMS canceled more than 34,000 fraudulent ACA policies in 2022
Read the full KFF Health News report here.