Director of Insurance Michael Wise testified in front of a House subcommittee on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, that cases where people’s health insurance changed made up 22% of all fraud complaints last year. (Screenshot of SCETV legislative livestream)
Insurance middlemen who switched South Carolinians’ health care plans without telling them accounted for 22% of fraud cases reported to the state Department of Insurance last year, the agency director told legislators Tuesday.
Of the 5,000 complaints of fraud reported throughout 2024, 1,100 came from people who signed up for insurance through the online marketplace Healthcare.gov — created by the Affordable Health Care Act also known as Obamacare — and said their health care plan was changed without permission. That’s illegal, but the scam is relatively easy. All it takes is for a licensed broker to have the insured’s name, date of birth and home state, said Michael Wise, director of the state Department of Insurance since 2023…