Ads for "Trumpcare," which doesn't exist, are everywhere
Illustration of a guy in a suit with a long Pinocchio nose holding a medical
insurance form

Do a quick search for health insurance, and you'll find plenty of ads for
"Trumpcare" plans that cost $59 or less per month. But there's a catch:
Trumpcare doesn't exist, and many of these advertised plans offer bare-bones
coverage.

Why it matters: For people who buy health insurance on their own instead of
receiving it through an employer, searching for a plan is already
challenging. And deceptive marketing only makes it harder, especially when
these plans will leave consumers on the hook for potentially ruinous medical
bills.

Reality check: The primary way the Trump administration has altered the
insurance market is by expanding niche products � including short-term plans,
association plans and health reimbursement arrangements.

After seeing Trumpcare ads in search engines, I submitted contact information
to get quotes about coverage options. Over the the next week, I was bombarded
with 70 phone calls and 12 texts from insurance brokers.

Every broker I spoke to admitted there is no such thing as Trumpcare, and
that it is a marketing ploy from the lead generator site.
When I asked how I could get the plan that was advertised for $59 or less
per month, brokers said the ads were in reference to short-term plans or
fixed indemnity plans that offer little to no coverage for serious illness or
injury.

What they're saying: "These websites that are selling 'Trumpcare' are
capitalizing on the fact that very few people know what's going on," said
Louise Norris, an independent insurance broker in Colorado.

One family who recently bought a short-term plan through Health Insurance
Innovations, a platform that has used fraudulent brokers, was on the hook for
more than $244,000 in medical bills even though they thought they were
protected, Bloomberg reported.