The Colorado Division of Insurance is warning consumers about high-pressure sales tactics for health insurance that capitalize on people’s fears about COVID-19 but do not provide comprehensive coverage.

“We’ve seen this story before in times of uncertainty: unscrupulous salespeople using high-pressure tactics to sell potentially inadequate health plans to unsuspecting consumers,” said insurance Commissioner Michael Conway. “Now they’re preying on consumers’ COVID fears and the desperation of the newly-unemployed who have lost their insurance coverage.”

The Federal Trade Commission, which has been tracking and responding to coronavirus-related deceptive practices, noted that robocalls pitching minimal health insurance coverage are ongoing amid the pandemic. “Due to the national health crisis pandemic, we are now offering a special enrollment in your area,” began one innocuous-sounding robocall collected by the agency.

In Colorado, the state’s health insurance exchange did actually open a special enrollment period from March 20 through April 30. However, the FTC has repeatedly warned consumers about companies that sell health insurance plans that leave customers paying for most of their medical bills.

The Insurance Division echoed that advisory, saying that “many of these agents are trying to sell health insurance products that have limited benefits and do not provide comprehensive coverage, and are likely to leave people stuck with huge medical bills, especially if they encounter a serious illness like COVID-19.”

The division recommends that people be wary of submitting personal information that can later be used for marketing purposes, avoid responding to calls or text messages from unknown numbers, and be skeptical about policies described as “TrumpCare” – which is not a real plan designation.