Federal Trade Commission v. Partners in Health Care Ass'n

189 F. Supp. 3d 1356, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71027, 2016 WL 3093125
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedMay 31, 2016
DocketCivil Action No. 14-23109-Civ-Scola
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 189 F. Supp. 3d 1356 (Federal Trade Commission v. Partners in Health Care Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Federal Trade Commission v. Partners in Health Care Ass'n, 189 F. Supp. 3d 1356, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71027, 2016 WL 3093125 (S.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

Order on the FTC’s Motion for Summary Judgment

Robert N. Scola, Jr., United States District Judge

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) sued Partners In Health Care Association, Inc. (“PIHC”), Gary L. Kieper, and others (collectively, “the Defendants”) for deceptive trade practices, in violation of Sections 13(b) and 19 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 53(b) and 57b, and the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (the “TSR”), 15 U.S.C. § 6101 et seq. The FTC has moved for summary judgment against Kieper, who is pro se. (ECF No. 163.) For the following reasons, the Court grants the FTC’s motion.

1. Background

This case involves the telemarketing and sale of . medical discount plans by the Defendants and others from early 2010 until this Court entered a temporary restraining order in August 2014.

A. The Defendants’ Business Practices

PIHC is a for-profit Wisconsin corporation which was founded in 2005. (PIHC Articles of Incorporation, PX 41 at 18.)1 [1360]*1360Kieper is PIHC’s president and sole officer and controls the company’s day-to-day activities. PIHC has no employees; instead, Kieper’s other company, Tri Resource Group Ltd. (“TRG”), provides PIHC’s man-power and support. (See Kieper Dep., PX 25 at 4; Request for Admissions, PX 25 at 32-33.) As with PIHC, Kieper is TRD’s president and sole officer and controls the company’s day-to-day activities. (PX 25 at 32-33.) PIHC and TRD share an office and principal place of business in Wisconsin. (See id; Aiken Dec., PX 48 at 2 n.2.).

In early 2010, PIHC began selling medical discount cards (“Discount Card”). (FTC’s Statement of Undisputed Facts, ECF No. 163-1 at 2.) This program was not health insurance; rather, members would receive discounts from physicians and pharmacies who accepted the card.

In order to reach consumers, PIHC entered into agreements with several third-party marketers, including Defendant United Solutions Group Inc. d/b/a Debt Relief Experts, Inc. (Id.) Another of the marketers was GMV Marketing, LLC (“GMC”), of which Kieper was part owner. (See id. at 8.) The marketing agreements stated that “no sales, marketing, or other promotional materials as they directly relate to the Program may be distributed without PIHC’s approval _” (See, e.g., United Solutions Agreement, PX 47 at 1.) Therefore, the marketers had to go to PIHC to receive approval for marketing scripts. (See Answer, ECF No. 43 at ¶ 18; see also New Script Email, PX 25 at 53-58; Regennitter Dep., PX 26 at 14.) In exchange, PIHC handled “all billing, credit card processing, and other payment matters,” as well as providing consumers with customer support and all materials related to the Discount Card. (See PX 47 at 2-3.) PIHC also opened merchant accounts for marketers. (Husk Dep., PX 28 at 5.)

The marketers advertised the Discount Card through telemarketing, Spanish-language radio ads, and television ads. (See Avelar Dec., PX 1 at 1 (found product through a radio ad); Boertman Dec., PX 2 at 1 (automated telemarketing call); Cata-nia Dec., PX 3 at 1 (television ad).) Some consumers, after entering their information into websites that offered health insurance quotes, were called directly by a PIHC marketer “in response to [their] inquiry for health insurance.” (Keel Dec., PX 7 at 1; see also Krahan Dec., PX 8 at 1.)

Many of the ads used by the marketers referenced health insurance or “health plans.” For example, one of the robocalls that was created to advertise the Discount Card stated,

Wait. Do not hang up on this message. This may be the most important call of your life. Our records indicate that you either have no health insurance or due to the new regulation changes you may not qualify. Do not fall victim to this country’s faulty health care system. You may qualify for health insurance even with pre-existing conditions during this open-access period. Press 1 now to speak to a live representative, or Press 9 to be removed from the list.

(Romero Dep., PX at 24 80.)2

[1361]*1361Furthermore, many marketers told consumers that the Discount Card was a “health insurance policy” or satisfied the insurance requirements of the Affordable Care Act. (See, e.cj., Colon Dec., PX 4 at 1 (informing consumer that the company sold “affordable health insurance,” including “coverage for 70% or 80% of services from physicians inside PIHC’s network”)). For example, when one consumer was concerned about the low price of the Discount Card and asked the marketer to confirm that it was insurance, the marketer replied that “the PIHC plan could not be called insurance right then, but that after Oba-macare became effective, the PIHC plan could actually be called ‘insurance.’ ” (PX 1 at 1-2; see also Perez Dec. PX 15 at 10 (describing how marketer explained that the “plan” would satisfy “Obámacare.”)). Other marketers described the Discount Card to consumers using terms like “premiums,” “co-páy,” “deductible,” “coverage,” and “pre-existing condition.” (See, e.g., PX 3 at 1; PX 4 at 2; PX 6 at 1; PX 7 at 1; PX 9 at 1-2; PX 10 at 1; PX 11 at 1; PX 12 at 1.)

One consumer declaration supplied by the FTC provides a good illustration of an average consumer interaction with PIHC and its marketers. In March 2014, .Regina Keel was looking for affordable health insurance and entered information into websites that offered health insurance information. (Keel Dec., PX 7 at 1.) A few days later, Keel received a call from “Charles,” who received Keel’s information from her online search. (Id.) Charles told Keel that he “could offer [her] health care coverage and a benefit care package at a reasonable rate.” (Id.) To verify, Keel had Charles confirm that he was offering health insurance. (Id.) Keel and Charles discussed her health and she informed him that she “had a lot of medical bills accumulating.” (Id.) Charles told Keel that the plan would cost $129 per month, plus a one-time enrollment fee of $99. (Id. at 2.) Keel again had Charles confirm that the plan was “real health insurance.” (Id.) Keel agreed to purchase the plan and was transferred to a different representative to verify her personal and payment information. (Id.)

A few weeks later, Keel received a package from PIHC in the mail, containing a booklet and two cards. (Id.) The cards said “Not Insurance” on the front and the booklet revealed that Keel had purchased a medical discount plan. (Id. at 2-3.) Keel called PIHC and spoke to customer service. Keel was informed that she was not eligible for a refund because she had not returned her materials within ten days of her purchase. (Id. at 3.) Keel explained that she received her materials after the ten-day cancellation window, but she was still refused a refund. (Id.) Because of her experience, Keel filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. (Id.)

Keel’s experience was nearly identical to two undercover calls placed by FTC investigators.

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189 F. Supp. 3d 1356, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71027, 2016 WL 3093125, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/federal-trade-commission-v-partners-in-health-care-assn-flsd-2016.