FTC gets $195M judgment and permanent telemarketing ban

On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission announced it had obtained a $195 million judgment against Simple Health Plans LLC and its CEO Steven J. Dorfman over charges they duped consumers into signing up for sham health care plans that did not deliver the coverage or benefits they promised and effectively left consumers uninsured and exposed to limitless medical expenses.

In granting the FTC’s motion for summary judgment, the Federal District Court in the Southern District of Florida also banned Simple Health, five related entities and Dorfman from telemarketing and from marketing, promoting, selling or offering any healthcare products.

In a complaint filed in 2018, the FTC said that Florida-based Simple Health misled people into thinking they were buying comprehensive health insurance that would cover preexisting medical conditions, prescription drugs, primary and specialty care treatment, inpatient and emergency hospital care, surgical procedures, and medical and laboratory testing. In reality, most consumers who enrolled reported paying as much as $500 per month for what was actually a medical discount program or extremely limited benefit program that did not deliver the promised benefits and often left consumers with thousands of dollars in uncovered medical bills, or worse yet, unable to get necessary healthcare.