PORTLAND, Ore. — A website billing itself as the "Trump Medicare Plan" was sent out in an email to some people in Portland and across the country just weeks before the open enrollment deadline in early December.
We wanted to Verify: Is the website affiliated with the president or the government?
Trump-Medicare-Plans.com bills itself as as a third-party market place to shop for Medicare, by comparing rates and providers.
You're required to submit your address, phone number, email, health conditions, and your income. The site then simply redirects users to a slew of insurance sites and other third-party websites.
According to the privacy policy listed on Trump-Medicare-Plans.com, the private information you enter may be distributed to other third party providers, who may call you, email you or send you mail.
In fact, MediaAlpha, which owns Trump-Medicare-Plans.com and is also known as QuoteLab LLC, says even if you have submitted your phone number to the National Do Not Call list, you could still be contacted by service providers.
A spokesperson with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services says Trump-Medicare-Plans.com is not managed or contracted through the government.
A lawyer from MediaAlpha spoke with KGW News Friday and said they used "Trump" in the site's name because it was "available and it's catchy." He said the banner on the homepage makes it clear the site is not affiliated with the government.
He added, "Our site advertises for carriers who have Medicare plans."
MediaAlpha provided KGW with the following statement:
MediaAlpha owns and operates various websites that offer consumers the opportunity to connect with providers of insurance, healthcare, travel and other consumer services. When users visit our websites and enter their contact information, we present them the opportunity to choose one or more advertisers to be connected with, who would then provide a detailed offer for the service or policy. MediaAlpha does not underwrite policies or provide plans directly to consumers.
As we also discussed, we do not discourage consumers from visiting government sites or try to pass ourselves off as the government site. The homepage clearly states that “Trump-Medicare-Plans.com is not a government website and is privately owned.” The site enables consumers to comparison shop and review alternative providers that may not be available from government-operated sites. We believe consumers are best served by having more information from credible sources.
If you're concerned about the information you may have submitted on the site, you can email them directly at dpo@mediaalpha.com to see what personal information they have obtained and given to third parties for "direct marketing purposes."
We can Verify Trump-Medicare-Plans.com is not affiliated with the president or the government. The government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid recommend you go straight to Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE to make changes to your plan.