The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in August 2021 that sales representatives listed on the federal healthcare.gov website can sell other types of health coverage that may cost less but may not cover all pre-existing conditions as comprehensive plans are required to do under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). After doing 31 covert tests on selected sales representatives, the GAO found none engaged in potentially deceptive marketing practices. This result contrasts with a GAO report from August 2020, Private Health Coverage: Results of Covert Testing for Selected Offerings, in which undercover agents tested the sales practices of representatives selling health plans exempt from the ACA’s rules. In these tests, sales representatives engaged in potentially deceptive practices, the GAO said. Those practices were reported to the Federal Trade Commission.
