Washington state fines Aliera $1M
Atlanta firm denies regulators’ accusations that its health share plans are misleading
Washington state’s insurance regulator on Thursday levied $1.1 million in fines against an Atlanta company and its affiliate as allegations across the country continue to mount that the firm deceived thousands of customers into buying what authorities said turned out to be “scam” health plans.
In recent weeks, the Texas Attorney General’s Office and Texas Department of Insurance have also taken action against Aliera Cos., a multimillion-dollar firm that connects customers to an affiliated Christian health share ministry purportedly to pay for their future medical bills.
Last month, attorneys for Aliera agreed in Texas to temporarily limit its access to company assets until a district court civil case brought in June by Attorney General Ken Paxton concludes. The company also said it would not enroll any new Texas members for now.
In both Texas and Washington, insurance regulators have accused Aliera of illegally selling what consumers believed was insurance by using misleading language and sales pitches, as well as cashing in on religious beliefs. Only later, when faced with huge medical bills, did those customers discover their plans were mostly worthless.
In Georgia, consumer complaints against Aliera have been turned over to federal authorities for investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing.
The company has insisted it has done nothing wrong. Aliera has said that it makes clear to members they are not buying traditional insurance but rather “alternative” plans through a nonprofit Christian health share ministry that is exempt from most state rules and regulations — including the obligation to pay medical claims.
As insurance premiums continue to rise, the number — and appeal — of such health share ministries has grown, in part because
of their typically much lower monthly costs, health economists say. Under such plans, customers, usually aligned by faith, contribute monthly to an administered fund to pay for their health care costs.
In Washington, after fielding numerous complaints, authorities in May ordered Aliera to stop doing business in the state. This week, the state’s insurance regulators imposed a $1 million fine against the forprofit parent company, Aliera, and a $100,000 fine against its affiliated health share ministry, Trinity Healthshare.
“I’m taking action today to send a message to all scam artists: If you harm our consumers, you will pay heavily,” said Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler in a statement announcing the penalties on Thursday. He said Aliera sold more than 3,000 plans and collected $8 million from customers in his state last year.
Aliera said in a statement that it would “vigorously defend the right of these members to exercise their religious convictions in making their health care choices,” and “utilize all available opportunities to address these false claims made by the Commissioner’s office.”
“Health care sharing ministries provide members with a more flexible method for securing highquality health care at an affordable price, something that is more important than ever to Washington residents who face consistently increasing costs for traditional health insurance,” Aliera said. “Notwithstanding the commissioner’s long history of hostility towards health care sharing ministries and his latest hyperbolic claims, we remain committed to serving healthcare sharing members in Washington and elsewhere, working with regulators to provide the health care sharing solutions these members need.”
Aliera has said it has 100,000 customers nationwide, with 17,000 in Texas, and earned a total of $215 million in revenue nationwide in 2018.
Late last month, Texas authorities and Aliera lawyers met to potentially determine financial compensation to any harmed Texans who bought plans, according to legal filings. No agreement has been reached, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Insurance said on Thursday.
Jill Baine, a cancer patient in The Woodlands, said Friday that she was interviewed at length last week by an investigator working with the Texas Department of Insurance.
Baine, who bought her plan from Aliera last year thinking she was paying for health care coverage, was later diagnosed with breast cancer. While the company ultimately paid for most of her two surgeries to remove the cancer, it refused to pay any of a $195,000 claim for a monthlong course of radiation treatment.
The history of accusations against Aliera and the criminal past of one of its founders was detailed in a July 7 investigation by the Houston Chronicle.