Humana pays $500,000 Fine in Okla. for Unlicensed Sales

Humana Insurance Co. has paid a $500,000 fine for using unlicensed agents to sell Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans to Oklahoma seniors, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland said.

She said Humana, which is based in Louisville, Ky., did not contest the allegations and agreed to the fine.

“Oklahoma seniors have the right to expect an insurance company and its agents to follow the law,” Holland said.

Humana spokesman Jeff Blunt said the 68 agents in question were licensed, but not in Oklahoma.

“What happened here was a border issue,” Blunt said. “Oklahoma residents living near the border traveled across state lines or called an agent in another state and enrolled in a plan through those agents.”

Blunt said the company takes seriously its responsibility to follow state insurance laws and has cooperated with Holland’s office during the investigation.

Holland has twice testified before Congress urging a greater role for state regulators over the marketing of Medicare plans.

In her testimony, she documented consumer complaints in Oklahoma, including misleading practices in the sale of Medicare plans.

Holland testified that the oversight of Medicare Advantage plans by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is inadequate.

“Seniors are one of the largest and fastest-growing segments of the population and also one of the most vulnerable,” she said. She said she would do everything she can to curb the abuse of seniors, whether intentional or unintentional, in the sale of insurance.

Some major providers of Medicare Advantage plans have voluntarily stopped marketing the plans until problems are resolved, she said.

Topics Agencies Oklahoma