A Tennessee company accused of illegally selling health coverage in several states is now accused of the same actions in Missouri.

The Missouri Department of Insurance has ordered representatives from American Trade Association to appear at a hearing Feb. 17 to answer the charges or face cease and desist orders, a $25,000 fine or other penalties, according to regulators.

In an 18-page statement of charges, state regulators accuse Springfield, Tenn.-based ATA, its 13 affiliate companies and 12 employees, of sending “junk faxes” to individuals offering low-cost quality health insurance. Missouri officials said they have received complaints from nearly 150 consumers who said they paid the companies for plans advertised as insurance, using phrases including “PPO,” “Group Health Plan” and “dependent coverage.”

John M. Huff

John M. Huff, director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration, said in a statement that state law provides “severe punishment” for any company selling unauthorized health plans in the state.

“Many Missourians found out the hard way that these plans are not the comprehensive insurance they signed up for,” he said. “Instead, some of them are left with massive unpaid medical bills.”

Huff cited one consumer who allegedly received a medical bill of more than $60,000 after treatment and another who allegedly paid nearly $2,000 for membership in the plan then discovered it did not cover flu shots.

Missouri law distinguishes between health insurance and discount medical plans. Insurers require licensing, while discount medical plan providers must register.

Huff’s office said ATA and its companies were neither licensed nor registered.

Missouri’s action follows similar steps by regulators in Oklahoma and Washington state taken last month, who have made the same allegations against the company.

In an e-mail to IFAwebnews.com regarding those cases, Richard Bachman, a vice president at ATA who is also named in the Missouri order, said the company is working with an off-shore captive insurer to pay claims in a timely manner and according to contracts by the administrator.

Bachman could not be immediately reached by IFAwebnews.com for comment on the Missouri allegations.