In his weekly news email, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced a webpage aimed at the state’s small businesses that answers many questions about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) scheduled to roll out Oct. 1 with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2014.
Atwater also offered a warning: “As we near the launch of the Affordable Care Act on October 1, it is important for consumers to be aware of the potential for scams.”
Atwater says his department has already received reports of callers posing as a government agency. They say the person called has “been selected as one of the first Americans to receive the new health insurance cards as part of the Affordable Care Act” and ask for personal information.
“The Federal Trade Commission reports nearly 83,000 complaints of ‘imposter’ scams occurred in 2012 alone,” Atwater says. “Additional reports state that some scammers have gone as far as creating entire false enrollment websites and setting up bogus toll-free numbers.”
Under ACA rules, Americans can’t compare plans or sign up before Oct. 1. If a caller offers different information, he’s probably running a scam.
Small business impact
Atwater says a new webpage published by the Florida’s Division of Consumer Services offers information for consumers and small businesses confused by the upcoming healthcare changes.
In addition to a Q&A section the website has a signup link for webinars slated to help the state’s small business owners understand the requirements and benefits of healthcare coverage.
The webpage is on the myfloridacfo.com website.
The webpage also offers email addresses, phone numbers and links to other healthcare websites.
© 2013 Florida Realtors®
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