Under a recently proposed federal rule, agents attempting to sell private health insurance plans to elderly and disabled consumers would be barred from cold-calling, making door-to-door solicitations, and pitching their product lines outside of hospital waiting rooms or pharmacies.
The rule is designed to make it harder for agents to pressure Medicare beneficiaries into signing up for insurance products they don't need or want. It essentially restricts face-to-face solicitations to those initiated by the customer.
A new Medicare drug benefit began Jan. 1, 2006. Since then, participants and state insurance commissioners have complained that some agents use false information to enroll people into certain plans, particularly those offering comprehensive health insurance.
During congressional hearings, lawmakers urged the Bush administration to curb abusive marketing practices. The rule is unlikely to stop lawmakers' efforts to give states more authority to hold insurers accountable.
About 27 million people get coverage for their prescription drug needs either through a private insurance plan that offers only the drug benefit or through a Medicare Advantage plan that offers comprehensive health benefits. In some cases, people were enrolled in plans even after they made it clear they didn't want the product.
