Editorial: Deceptive advertising

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004 | 9:21 a.m.

State insurance commissioners are concerned about the prospect of seniors receiving misleading information from private insurers that currently provide them with a prescription drug benefit. But this group of state regulators, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, isn't upset with the private insurers -- they're unhappy with the federal government.

A proposed federal regulation, you see, would require private insurers to tell these policyholders in writing that the federal government's new prescription drug plan offers "greater value" than their own policies. Millions of seniors have been buying these supplemental policies from private insurers for years. That's because, until 2003, Congress hadn't passed a plan offering a prescription drug benefit as part of Medicare coverage. It's possible, however, that some seniors could do better if they maintain these supplemental policies they receive from private insurers instead of switching to the government's plan. The federal government, however, wants seniors to opt out of these supplemental policies and get into privately run plans that it will select.

The New York Times reported Sunday that the insurance regulators believe that a private insurer would be investigated for violating consumer protection laws if it were to make the kind of misleading marketing claims the federal government is proposing. The state regulators' concerns -- outlined in a letter to the federal agency that oversees the Medicare program -- certainly can't be dismissed as a partisan shot at the Republican-drafted drug plan: The missive was authored by a Republican, Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger.

President Bush earlier ran into credibility problems when the public belatedly learned that his White House had squelched information -- prior to Congress' vote on the prescription drug benefit -- that the cost would be much greater than what the administration had previously promised. Furthermore, the benefit itself will be paltry compared to the original claims made by the bill's sponsors. If the administration wants to restore some trust to its prescription drug program, it would do wonders by actually leveling with the American people instead of trying to sell the program as delivering much more than is possible.