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As open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans continues through Jan. 15, you’re likely seeing fewer social media ads promising monthly cash cards worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that you can use for groceries, medical bills, rent and other expenses. But don’t worry. You haven’t missed out on any windfalls. Clicking on one of those ads would not have provided you with a cash card — at least not worth hundreds or thousands. But you might have found yourself switched to a health insurance plan you did not authorize, unable to afford treatment for an unforeseen medical emergency, and owing thousands of dollars to the IRS, according to an ongoing lawsuit against companies and individuals who plaintiffs say masterminded the ads and alleged scams committed against millions of people who responded to them. The absence of those once-ubiquitous ads are likely a result of the federal government suspending access to the ACA marketplace for two companies that market health insurance out of South Florida offices, amid accusations they used “fraudulent” ads to lure customers and then switched their insurance plans and agents without their knowledge. In its suspension letter, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cited “credible allegations of misconduct” in the agency’s decision to suspend the abilities of two companies — TrueCoverage (doing business as Inshura) and BenefitAlign — to transact information with the marketplace. CMS licenses and monitors agencies that use their own websites and information technology platforms to enroll health insurance customers in ACA plans offered in the federal marketplace. The alleged scheme affected millions of consumers, according to a lawsuit winding its way through U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale that seeks class-action status. An amended version of the suit, filed in August, increased the number of defendants from six to 12: — TrueCoverage LLC, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based health insurance agency with large offices in Miami, Miramar and Deerfield Beach. TrueCoverage is a sub-tenant of the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a building leased by the newspaper in Deerfield Beach. — Enhance Health LLC, a Sunrise-based health insurance agency that the lawsuit says was founded by Matthew Herman, also named as a defendant, with a $150 million investment from hedge fund Bain Capital’s insurance division. Bain Capital Insurance Fund LP is also a defendant. — Speridian Technologies LLC, accused in the lawsuit of establishing two direct enrollment platforms that provided TrueCoverage and other agencies access to the ACA marketplace. — Benefitalign LLC, identified in the suit as one of the direct enrollment platforms created by Speridian. Like Speridian and TrueCoverage, the company is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. — Number One Prospecting LLC, doing business as Minerva Marketing, based in Fort Lauderdale, and its founder, Brandon Bowsky, accused of developing the social media ads that drove customers — or “leads” — to the health insurance agencies. — Digital Media Solutions LLC, doing business as Protect Health, a Miami-based agency that the suit says bought Minerva’s “fraudulent” ads. In September, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in United States Bankruptcy Court in Texas, which automatically suspended claims filed against the company. — Net Health Affiliates Inc., an Aventura-based agency the lawsuit says was associated with Enhance Health and like it, bought leads from Minerva. — Garish Panicker, identified in the lawsuit as half-owner of Speridian Global Holdings and day-to-day controller of companies under its umbrella, including TrueCoverage, Benefitalign and Speridian Technologies. — Matthew Goldfuss, accused by the suit of overseeing and directing TrueCoverage’s ACA enrollment efforts. All of the defendants have filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit. The motions deny the allegations and argue that the plaintiffs failed to properly state their claims and lack the standing to file the complaints. The Sun Sentinel sent requests for comment and lists of questions about the cases to four separate law firms representing separate groups of defendants. Three of the law firms — one representing Brandon Bowsky and Number One Prospecting LLC d/b/a Minerva Marketing, and two others representing Net Health Affiliates Inc. and Bain Capital Insurance Fund — did not respond to the requests. A representative of Enhance Health LLC and Matthew Herman, Olga M. Vieira of the Miami-based firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, responded with a short message saying she was glad the newspaper knew a motion to dismiss the charges had been filed by the defendants. She also said that, “Enhance has denied all the allegations as reported previously in the media.” Catherine Riedel, a communications specialist representing TrueCoverage LLC, Benefitalign LLC, Speridian Technologies LLC, Girish Panicker and Matthew Goldfuss, issued the following statement: “TrueCoverage takes these allegations very seriously and is responding appropriately. While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we strongly believe that the allegations are baseless and without merit. “Compliance is our business. The TrueCoverage team records and reviews every call with a customer, including during Open Enrollment when roughly 500 agents handle nearly 30,000 calls a day. No customer is enrolled into any policy without a formal verbal consent given by the customer. If any customer calls in as a result of misleading content presented by third-party marketing vendors, agents are trained to correct such misinformation and action is taken against such third-party vendors.” Through Riedel, the defendants declined to answer follow-up questions, including whether the company remains in business, whether it continues to enroll Affordable Care Act clients, and whether it is still operating its New Mexico call center using another affiliated technology platform. The suspension notification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services letter cites several factors, including the histories of noncompliance and previous suspensions. The letter noted suspicion that TrueCoverage and Benefitalign were storing consumers’ personally identifiable information in databases located in India and possibly other overseas locations in violation of the centers’ rules. The letter also notes allegations against the companies in the pending lawsuit that “they engaged in a variety of illegal practices, including violations of the (Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act), misuse of consumer (personal identifiable information) and insurance fraud.” The amended lawsuit filed in August names as plaintiffs five individuals who say their insurance plans were changed and two agencies who say they lost money when they were replaced as agents. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of 55 counts of wrongdoing, ranging from running ads offering thousands of dollars in cash that they knew would never be provided directly to consumers, switching millions of consumers into different insurance policies without their authorization, misstating their household incomes to make them eligible for $0 premium coverage, and “stealing” commissions by switching the agents listed in their accounts. TrueCoverage, Enhance Health, Protect Health, and some of their associates “engaged in hundreds of thousands of agent-of-record swaps to steal other agents’ commissions,” the suit states. “Using the Benefitalign and Inshura platforms, they created large spreadsheet lists of consumer names, dates of birth and zip codes.” They provided those spreadsheets to agents, it says, and instructed them to access platforms linked to the ACA marketplace and change the customers’ agents of record “without telling the client or providing informed consent.” “In doing so, they immediately captured the monthly commissions of agents ... who had originally worked with the consumers directly to sign them up,” the lawsuit asserts. TrueCoverage employees who complained about dealing with prospects who called looking for cash cards were routinely chided by supervisors who told them to be vague and keep making money, the suit says. When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began contacting the company in January about customer complaints, the suit says TrueCoverage enrollment supervisor Matthew Goldfuss sent an email instructing agents “do not respond.” The lawsuit states the “scheme” was made possible in 2021 when Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The act made it possible for Americans with household incomes between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level to pay zero in premiums and it enabled those consumers to enroll in ACA plans all year round, instead of during the three-month open enrollment period from November to January. Experienced health insurance brokers recognized the opportunity presented by the changes, the lawsuit says. More than 40 million Americans live within 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level, while only 15 million had ACA insurance at the time. The defendants developed or benefited from online ads, the lawsuit says, which falsely promised “hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars per month in cash benefits such as subsidy cards to pay for common expenses like rent, groceries, and gas.” Consumers who clicked on the ads were brought to a landing page that asked a few qualifying questions, and if their answers suggested that they might qualify for a low-cost or no-cost plan, they were provided a phone number to a health insurance agency. There was a major problem with the plan, according to the lawsuit. “Customers believe they are being routed to someone who will send them a free cash card, not enroll them in health insurance.” By law, the federal government sends subsidies for ACA plans to insurance companies, and not to individual consumers. Scripts were developed requiring agents not to mention a cash card, and if a customer mentions a cash card, “be vague” and tell the caller that only the insurance carrier can provide that information, the lawsuit alleges. In September, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the claims. In addition to denying the charges, they argued that the class plaintiffs lacked the standing to make the accusations and failed to demonstrate that they suffered harm. The motion also argued that the lawsuit’s accusations failed to meet requirements necessary to claim civil violations of the RICO Act. Miami-based attorney Jason Kellogg, representing the plaintiffs, said he doesn’t expect a ruling on the motion to dismiss the case for several months. The complaint also lists nearly 50 companies, not named as defendants, that it says fed business to TrueCoverage and Enhance Health. Known in the industry as “downlines,” most operate in office parks throughout South Florida, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit quotes former TrueCoverage employees complaining about having to work with customers lured by false cash promises in the online ads. A former employee who worked in the company’s Deerfield Beach office was quoted in the lawsuit as saying that senior TrueCoverage and Speridian executives “knew that consumers were calling in response to the false advertisements promising cash cards and they pressured agents to use them to enroll consumers into ACA plans.” A former human resources manager for TrueCoverage said sales agents frequently complained “that they did not feel comfortable having to mislead consumers,” the lawsuit said. Over two dozen agents “came to me with these complaints and showed me the false advertisements that consumers who called in were showing them,” the lawsuit quoted the former manager as saying. For much of the time the companies operated, the ACA marketplace enabled agents to easily access customer accounts using their names and Social Security numbers, change their insurance plans and switch their agents of record without their knowledge or authorization, the lawsuit says. This resulted in customers’ original agents losing their commissions and many of the policyholders finding out they suddenly owed far more for health care services than their original plans had required, the suit states. It says that one of the co-plaintiffs’ health plans was changed at least 22 times without her consent. She first discovered that she had lost her original plan when she sought to renew a prescription for her heart condition and her doctor told her she did not have health insurance, the suit states. Another co-plaintiff’s policy was switched after her husband responded to one of the cash card advertisements, the lawsuit says. That couple’s insurance plan was switched multiple times after a TrueCoverage agent excluded the wife’s income from an application so the couple would qualify. Later, they received bills from the IRS for $4,300 to cover tax credits issued to pay for the plans. CMS barred TrueCoverage and BenefitAlign from accessing the ACA marketplace. It said it received more than 90,000 complaints about unauthorized plan switches and more than 183,500 complaints about unauthorized enrollments, but the agency did not attribute all of the complaints to activities by the two companies. In addition, CMS restricted all agents’ abilities to alter policyholders’ enrollment information, the lawsuit says. Now access is allowed only for agents that already represent policyholders or if the policyholder participates in a three-way call with an agent and a marketplace employee. Between June and October, the agency barred 850 agents and brokers from accessing the marketplace “for reasonable suspicion of fraudulent or abusive conduct related to unauthorized enrollments or unauthorized plan switches,” according to an October CMS news release . The changes resulted in a “dramatic and sustained drop” in unauthorized activity, including a nearly 70% decrease in plan changes associated with an agent or broker and a nearly 90% decrease in changes to agent or broker commission information, the release said. It added that while consumers were often unaware of such changes, the opportunity to make them provided “significant financial incentive for non-compliant agents and brokers.” But CMS’ restrictions might be having unintended consequences for law-abiding agents and brokers. A story published by Insurance News Net on Nov. 11 quoted the president of the Health Agents for America (HAFA) trade group as saying agents are being suspended by CMS after being flagged by a mysterious algorithm that no one can figure out. The story quotes HAFA president Ronnell Nolan as surmising, “maybe they wrote too many policies on the same day for people who have the same income or they’re writing too many policies on people of a certain occupation.” Nolan continued, “We have members who have thousands of ACA clients. They can’t update or renew their clients. So those consumers have lost access to their professional agent, which is simply unfair.” Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.fortune ox 7788 。

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SET poised to witness volatile first half in 2025Netflix Stock Rises As Executive Touts 'Big Year' Ahead

Fetterman joins Truth Social and says a pardon is 'appropriate' for Trump's hush money caseA new year will be upon us in less than a month, and investors are thinking about how they want to invest during 2025. Trends can change quickly, which is why the most important factor in making a decision about any investment should always be its underlying fundamentals. If you're looking for excellent stocks that are also benefiting from strong tailwinds right now, Amazon ( AMZN 2.94% ) , SoFi Technologies ( SOFI 2.36% ) , and Carnival ( CCL 0.60% ) ( CUK 0.54% ) would be great picks. 1. Amazon: Driving AI innovation Amazon is leading innovation in artificial intelligence (AI). Ever since it unveiled its AI technology two years ago, it has remained at the forefront of the revolution, launching a large selection of services for Amazon Web Services (AWS) clients and even developing its own graphics processing units (GPUs) to compete with Nvidia 's. Business is booming. Not only is the AI business itself already producing billions of dollars in revenue, but the AWS platform is attracting new clients who want to use Amazon's AI services. CEO Andy Jassy has emphasized his view that this is just the beginning, noting that 90% of global IT spending still goes toward on-premises systems, while 10% goes to the cloud. He expects those proportions to flip over the long haul. Amazon is positioned to enjoy windfall gains as that shift happens. Amazon is using AI throughout its business, such as offering generative AI solutions like product descriptions based on prompts for third-party sellers and data analytics for advertising clients. These services are elevating the entire enterprise. It's not easy for a megacap company to achieve double-digit percentage revenue growth, but Amazon continues to demonstrate robust growth. It's also highly profitable. It has incredible long-term opportunities, but 2025 could be particularly strong as the AI trend drives it forward. 2. SoFi: The lending business is rebounding For SoFi, the driving trend will be falling interest rates. SoFi stock was down for most of this year because of pressure on its core lending business. But lower interest rates are helping the lending segment, and the rest of its business is already in fantastic shape. Several years ago, SoFi developed a strategy to increase engagement through cross-selling and upselling, and it acquired Golden Pacific Bancorp to get a banking charter. It now has three business segments: lending, financial services, and tech platform. The lending segment still accounts for more than half of total revenue and most of the company's profits, and its growth is accelerating again. Its revenue increased 14% in the third quarter, and contribution profit was up by 17%. Financial services is the standout segment and includes non-lending services like bank accounts and investments. Revenue from that unit increased 102% year over year in the quarter, while contribution profit improved from $3 million to $100 million. Tech platform is a white-label business-to-business platform; its revenue was up 14% in the quarter, with contribution profit up 2%. On a consolidated basis, SoFi has reported four straight quarters of positive net income, and management is guiding for that to continue into 2025. With strong engagement, hundreds of thousands of new customers, and now a reignited lending business, SoFi stock could be a standout performer in 2025. 3. Carnival: Unprecedented demand Carnival's tailwind is lower inflation, although it's also benefiting from lower interest rates. Carnival has made a huge comeback after having to shut down its operations for more than a year during the pandemic, but it continues to see unprecedented demand that seems like more than a rebound. However, it's still recovering from that hiatus in two crucial ways. It hasn't yet had a full year of positive net income since 2019, and it has a huge amount of debt to pay off after taking out loans to stay in business while it was unable to generate revenue. Profitability is improving. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased 25% year over year to $2.8 billion in its fiscal 2024 third quarter, which ended Aug. 31. Management also raised its guidance. It now anticipates a 40% adjusted EBITDA increase for the fiscal year. Operating income increased by $554 million in the quarter to $2.2 billion, and the company reported $1.7 billion in net income. Wall Street is looking for earnings per share of $1.33 for 2024. As for the debt, Carnival still has nearly $30 billion, but it has been paying it down efficiently, and lower interest rates should make that process easier. With inflation largely back in check, people should have more money to spend on expensive cruise tickets, and Carnival is coming into 2025 in its best-ever booked position, with more than half of its inventory sold out for the year. It's already seeing these trends continue into 2026 bookings. As demand for cruises remains strong, Carnival is well-positioned to move toward a full recovery in 2025, and the stock should reflect that journey.Pep Guardiola admits he is questioning himself after Man City lose to JuventusLuxenberg Garbett Kelly & George P.C. Releases Article on Recognizing and Responding to Road Rage

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Xcel Energy Using AI Technology to Detect Wildfires in Texas Panhandle"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" To keep reading, please log in to your account, create a free account, or simply fill out the form below.

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Cookies Market to Exhibit a Remarkable CAGR of 6.19% by 2031, Size, Share, Trends, Key Drivers, Demand, Opportunity Analysis and Competitive Outlook

Some of John Fetterman’s former staffers are upset he’s open to voting for Mehmet Oz, who they spent their campaign attackingSo you're gathering with relatives whose politics are different. Here are some tips for the holidays

Gophers football players are preparing to play Wisconsin for Paul Bunyan’s Axe on Friday, but three key pieces peered beyond the blinders to shore up their commitment to Minnesota on Monday. Quarterback Max Brosmer and offensive lineman Quinn Carroll — two sixth-year seniors — said they will play in the Gophers’ to-be-determined bowl game, bucking a growing trend of players skipping postseason games to prepare for shots in the NFL. ADVERTISEMENT Brosmer, a transfer from FCS-level New Hampshire, said he will “definitely” suit up. “It’s another opportunity for us to play as a team,” said Brosmer, who threw for 2,426 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions in 11 games this season. “It’s a compilation of what you have worked on all season.” Carroll said he respects higher-level prospects who might opt out and protect their draft stock, but he wants to get back to a “standard” of players not skipping the games. “My goal ever since I came here was to be the leader, be the standard all the time, and I don’t want it to become a standard that we don’t play in the bowl game if we have NFL aspirations,” said Carroll, who has played three seasons at Minnesota after three years at Notre Dame. “Obviously it’s different for guys who are maybe touted a little bit higher or think it will be better off for them to start working on the next step, whether that is combine training or what have you. But that is one opportunity that I’m blessed with to play with the guys and I’m going to take full advantage of it.” Left tackle Aireontae Ersery is a prime candidate of a Gophers player who might want to safeguard a higher draft stock and limit injury exposure by sitting out the bowl game. The possible first- or second-round pick has not said what he might do. For example, former U center, John Michael Schmitz opted out of the Pinstripe Bowl in 2022; he was drafted in the second round by the New York Giants. Meanwhile, Gophers fifth-year defensive lineman Jalen Logan-Redding said he will return to Minnesota for 2025, instead of trying his luck in the NFL. “Coming back next year is definitely going to be the best for me and being able to maximize all my opportunities and exhaust eligibility,” Logan-Redding said. Logan-Redding said he talked with fellow D-lineman Deven Eastern, who has one more year remaining, about pairing up in 2025. ADVERTISEMENT “We talk a lot about it,” Logan-Redding said. “... We are excited for it, honestly. Not only continuing to build the D-line, but just continuing to build on the experience that we already have. We’ve seen the amount of destruction that we can create when we are focused. Me, Dev and, of course, (Anthony Smith). He would be pissed if I didn’t shout him out.” Smith, who has two more years of eligibility, has been one of the U’s best players in the last month. He has 23 total pressures and five sacks, including one sack in each of the last three weeks. ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here .Image of Trump, Putin on Economist cover is altered | Fact check