While selling a health policy to a Medicare beneficiary in Macon, Georgia, a producer states that the coverage is 'part of the Medicare program' and carries the government's endorsement. In Georgia, misrepresenting an affiliation with Medicare is:

Why C is correct

Under O.C.G.A. § 33-6-4(b)(12)(A), an insurer or producer may not misrepresent an affiliation with Medicare or another federal government program in connection with the sale of insurance. Telling a beneficiary that a private policy is part of Medicare, or that the government endorses it, is precisely the prohibited conduct and exposes the producer to unfair-trade-practice enforcement, including cease and desist action under O.C.G.A. § 33-6-9.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) Whether the policy supplements Medicare is irrelevant; falsely claiming affiliation with Medicare is prohibited regardless of the product's relationship to the program.
• B) A signed acknowledgment cannot cure the misrepresentation; the prohibition applies to the making of the false affiliation claim itself.
• D) An unfair trade practice does not depend on a beneficiary complaint; the Insurance Commissioner may act on any evidence of the misrepresentation.

Memory hook

No policy is ever 'part of Medicare' - that pitch is a practice violation.