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On Tuesday, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services issued a fraud alert related to the passage of the health insurance reform bill. Since President Barack Obama signed off on the bill last month, scam artists have increasingly tried to capitalize on public confusion over the changes in order to sign people up for sham insurance policies. Sebelius promised last week to urge state and federal officials to investigate the claims of fraud most popularly peddled through door-to-door salesmen and 1-800 advertisements. While the Health and Human Services Secretary devoted time to issuing an alert and announcing reform benefits for seniors and low-income people, Consumer Watchdog sent a letter addressed to Sebelius urging the closure of key loopholes in the health insurance reform law. The letter was sent last Thursday to the attention of President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In it, Consumer Watchdog argued that insurers and drug companies would exploit ten key loopholes and seek to undermine consumer protection regulations in order to “charge more for less health care.” Among the chief problem areas outlined by the organization in the health law include a lack of accountability for providers who deny care, deficiencies in insurer rate regulations, and a ‘race to the bottom’ provision that weakens existing benefits.

GUEST: Jerry Flanagan, Healthcare Policy Director, Consumer Watchdog

Find out more at www.consumerwatchdog.org.