FTC向25家医疗计划营销与线索公司发警告信：开放登记季期间勿以虚假条款误导消费者
美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）10月29日宣布，正值医疗计划开放登记季，该机构工作人员已向25家营销医疗计划或为其生成销售线索的公司发出警告信，提醒其不得以欺骗性或不公平的宣传误导消费者。FTC 表示，后续还将滚动发出更多警告信。
这些公司营销或推广的产品包括《平价医疗法案》市场医保计划，以及有限赔偿计划、医疗折扣计划等其他医疗产品。FTC 列举的可能违法宣传包括：歪曲医疗计划的福利或限制（包括保险保障内容）；把并非大病或综合医疗保险的计划宣传成等同于此类保险；以及歪曲计划的费用。
FTC 消费者保护局局长克里斯托弗·穆法里奇（Christopher Mufarrige）表示，让医疗更透明、更可负担是 FTC 的优先事项，面临医疗费用上涨的美国人不应再担心所购计划名不副实；开放登记季不是歪曲计划实际保障的邀请，FTC 将持续监测这一市场。
正通过市场平台选购医保的读者应留意：名称带「计划」「折扣」的产品未必是综合医疗保险，投保前应核对实际保障范围与总费用。
FTC Warns 25 Healthcare Plan Marketers and Lead Generators Not to Deceive Consumers During Open Enrollment
The Federal Trade Commission announced on October 29 that, with open enrollment season for healthcare plans in progress, its staff are sending warning letters to 25 companies that market healthcare plans or generate sales leads for them, putting them on notice about deceptive or unfair claims. Additional letters are expected on a rolling basis.
The companies market or advertise Affordable Care Act Marketplace health insurance or other healthcare products, such as limited indemnity plans and medical discount programs. Claims the FTC says may violate the law include misrepresenting a plan's benefits or limitations, including insurance benefits; misrepresenting that a plan is major or comprehensive medical insurance, or the equivalent, when it is not; and misrepresenting a plan's costs.
"Making healthcare more transparent and affordable is a top priority for the FTC," said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Open enrollment is not an invitation to misrepresent what their plans actually cover."
Readers shopping for coverage during open enrollment should note that products marketed as "plans" or discount programs are not necessarily comprehensive health insurance, and should verify actual coverage and total costs before enrolling.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：位于华盛顿的联邦贸易委员会总部大楼。Gunnar Klack 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Federal Trade Commission headquarters in Washington. Photo by Gunnar Klack, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
