2404: Open Enrollment, Open Season for Scammers

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Javier Leiva

True Crime, Society & Culture, Technology

4.7 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This is the story of Simple Health Plans, a $150 million health insurance scam that preyed on desperate Americans and left thousands buried in medical debt. We'll meet Dawn, who nearly fell victim to their scheme, and Steven Dorfman, the mastermind who spent over a million dollars on jewelry while his customers discovered their "insurance" was worthless. With Open Enrollment happening right now, scammers are out in full force. This episode will help you spot the red flags and protect yourself. PROTECT YOURSELF - ESSENTIAL RESOURCES Verify a Company is Legitimate: - NAIC.org - Find your state insurance commissioner - Google: Company name + "scam" or "complaint" Shop for Real ACA Health Insurance: - HealthCare.gov - Federal Marketplace - LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov - Get free help from navigators Report Fraud: - ReportFraud.FTC.gov - File FTC complaint - Contact your State Insurance Department RED FLAGS: ✗ Not listed with state insurance department ✗ Pressure to sign up immediately ✗ Won't provide documents before purchase ✗ Suspiciously low prices ✗ Can't ask questions during "verification" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	True Story Media.
0:07.6	From the number one bestselling author, Lisa Jewell.
0:12.1	The picture of the future I have painted for us is so exquisite that I almost wish it could be real.
0:19.3	He's the perfect man.
0:22.3	He says he loves you.
0:25.7	But if you looked back, you'd say to yourself,
0:27.7	don't let him in.
0:33.4	The new thriller from Lisa Jewel is out now in hardback and audiobook.
0:41.3	Read by Richard Armitage and Joanne Froggart. I no longer had insurance, and I had done that for like a year.
0:49.3	Insurance at the time, if you weren't employed, was extreme.
0:52.3	Obamacare was very expensive. It wasn't, it was not
0:56.3	affordable. It was available. That's it. And Don is not wrong. She was in her early 60s. She
1:04.5	quit her job to go self-employed. She needed the flexibility to take care of her aging mom.
1:11.1	But here's the thing.
1:12.3	When you're over 60, insurance companies can charge you way more than they would charge a 25-year-old.
1:18.8	And when you're buying insurance on your own instead of through an employer, well, you're paying full price.
1:25.5	No group discount, no employer chipping in.
1:29.1	Obamacare was insane. What I was on it, it was 800 a month with $5,000 deductible.
1:38.8	Okay? So basically all year I'm just paying cash out. I'm paying for my medication.
1:45.3	I'm paying for my doctors all out of pocket because they covered nothing.
1:49.7	$800 a month.
1:51.3	That's almost $10,000 a year just to say that she has health insurance.
	...

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