TDI CRACKS DOWN:

The Texas Depart-ment of Insurance imposed stiff sanctions on a Florida man found to be recruiting and training Texas agents to sell unauthorized health insurance plans. Insurance Commis-sioner José Montemayor signed an order against Herbert Wayne White of Fruitland, Fla., revoking his Texas insurance license and ordering White to pay a $235,000 penalty. White, who operated H. Wayne White & Associates, sold insurance for a company called National Health Plans Plus Inc. Both White and National Health Plans Plus, neither of which is licensed to operate in Texas, were ordered to cease and desist their unauthorized insurance business operations. The fraudulent health insurance plans, marketed under the names TRG and American Benefit Plans (ABP), did not pay benefits to the people who bought the policies. Policyholders with TRG and ABP were left with completely unpaid health care claims. A Travis County court appointed Montemayor as receiver of American Benefit Plans, a Texas company. Its policyholders will receive a percentage of the amounts owed on their claims. Among the victims of the unauthorized insurance scheme were two local Texas school districts. TDI said the $235,000 penalty can be reduced by the amount paid in restitution to policyholders, up to $220,000. Montemayor called the unauthorized health plans ” insidious.”