Regulators warn about fake health insurance

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The National Association of Insurance Commissioners said on Tuesday it is launching a campaign to warn businesses and employees about frauds offering fake health insurance.

Phony carriers hawking fraudulent coverage have cost employers and workers more than a quarter of a billion dollars, said Alessandro Iuppa, NAIC President and Superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Insurance.

"A single claim for a premature child could be over half a million dollars," said Iuppa. "A worker may think he had insurance for this and find out he hasn't.

A 2004 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found more than 15,000 businesses and 200,000 employees were victimized in a period from 2000 through 2002, and at least $252 million in claims went unpaid.

Iuppa said it was hard to track these health insurance frauds because his organization is set up to monitor licensed providers, and fake carriers usually are unlicensed.

NAIC is launching a radio and television campaign urging employers and workers to call their state insurance regulator to confirm the company and broker selling the policy are licensed.

NAIC is meeting in New York this week.