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Brat summer is far from over. Fresh off the 'Sweat' Tour with Troye Sivan, Charli xcx announced she will embark on a solo headlining tour in 2025 celebrating her latest album. In April 2025, the British singer will head to arenas across the U.S. for five shows on the 'Brat' Tour. She'll return to Austin, Minneapolis, Chicago and Brooklyn after headlining Coachella 2025 . Brat became Charli xcx's most critically acclaimed album after its release in June, prompting viral dances and remix versions, featuring Lorde, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, The 1975 and more as they worked it out on the remix. The sixth album by the pop star, the record became a cultural reset in 2024. Brat summer will never be over, especially as 2025 gets underway. If you want to hear all the cub classics live and in person, there's only one (or five) places to be in 2025. Here's how to get tickets to the Charli xcx 2025 'Brat' arena tour. BUY NOW : Get tickets to Charli xcx's 2025 arena tour on StubHub Charli xcx 'Brat' Tour 2025 tickets Tickets : StubHub Tickets for the Charli xcx 2025 'Brat' Tour are available now on StubHub . Demand is high to see Charli xcx on a dedicated Brat tour, and with limited shows, prices aren't cheap. However, they start at just $100 in Austin and Chicago . Minneapolis is even cheaper at a get-in cost of $85. Unsurprisingly, Brooklyn's two concerts start at $130. Floor seats at Barclays start at $360 both nights of the show. Click the link below to view exact prices as well as seat maps of every venue on the 'Brat' Tour. BUY NOW : Best prices, seats to see Charli xcx on the 2025 'Brat' Tour Charli xcx 'Brat' Tour 2025 schedule Currently, Charli xcx has just five tour dates scheduled on the 'Brat' 2025 tour, starting in Austin, then heading to Minneapolis, Chicago and Brooklyn for two shows. However, the singer will also bring Brat to Coachella both weekends in April. Below is a look at the 'Brat' arena tour with a current schedule of cities and dates along the American roadshow. Date City Venue Tickets April 22 Austin, TX Moody Center Buy now April 26 Minneapolis, MN Target Center Buy now April 28 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena Buy now April 30 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center Buy now May 1 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center Buy now If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Learn more >

Race Oncology submits human ethics for RC220 Phase 1 solid tumour trialRiver Plate’s Monumental stadium is on track to host one of the 2030 World Cup’s Centenary Celebration Matches. FIFA, the world football governing body, published its analysis of the bids for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups on Friday and concluded that, while the stadium needs some work to host the game, it “appears to meet the majority of requirements.” The iconic stadium, the largest in Argentina by capacity, recently hosted the 2024 Copa Libertadores final, and it’s the runaway candidate to host Argentina’s Centenary Celebration Match. The games, set to take place in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, are a centenary celebration of the first World Cup in history, held in Uruguay in 1930. FIFA highlighted that the Monumental is“currently undergoing works to further modernize the stadium infrastructure and installations.” According to its report, the hybrid reinforcement, vacuum, and ventilation system installed on the natural grass pitch has made the playing surface “state-of-the-art.” But it’s not all good news. FIFA noted that River’s main stand is in the east, with only 12,000 seats in the stadium enjoying roof coverage. Thus, they require further study of “the impact of the sun position and inclement weather on the media and VIP tribunes.” The analysis also notes that “some spaces, such as the broadcast compound and hospitality villages, currently fall short of the requirements.” The federation insists it can cooperate with the club to ensure appropriate developments. “The refurbished stadium will provide an upgraded home for Club Atlético River Plate,” stated FIFA, ensuring “no legacy issues.” You may also be interested in: Botafogo wins first Libertadores in Argentina to crown South American football seasonDENVER (AP) — So you're the most valuable player of that annual Thanksgiving Day backyard flag football game. Or played tackle football on any level. Or ran track. Or dabbled in basketball. Or toyed with any sport, really. Well, this may be just for you: USA Football is holding talent identification camps all over the country to find that next flag football star. It's “America’s Got Talent” meets “American Idol,” with the stage being the field and the grand prize a chance to compete for a spot on a national team. Because it’s never too early to start planning for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, where flag football will make its Summer Games debut. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

NonePolice forces across Canada release updated list of most wanted fugitivesIndia and China, the world’s two most populous nations, are central to . Together, they represent over a third of the global population and contribute significantly to global emissions. As major economies and leaders in the developing world, their actions will play a decisive role in achieving – or hindering – global climate goals. The recent 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Azerbaijan underscored this reality, marking a significant step forward in the global climate agenda. With key agreements reached to accelerate climate action, the summit, dubbed the “climate finance COP,” saw countries unite to establish a more ambitious , aiming to accelerate action on emissions and adaptation. A key outcome was the establishment of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which will replace the expiring US$100 billion target and commit to mobilizing US$300 billion annually for developing countries by 2035.. However, the NCQG falls short of the developing countries had advocated for — and even that figure may be insufficient to fully address their climate financing needs. Key questions remain: Who will shoulder the costs? Will the funding be in the form of grants, concessional loans, or private sector loans? And, crucially, how will these resources be allocated and distributed? These uncertainties must be addressed for the NCQG to be truly effective. The new agreement holds significant implications for both India and China. As central players in this climate finance commitment, their contributions, alongside global support, will be crucial in determining whether the world can meet its climate objectives. As a major emerging economy, India faces the challenge of with economic development and poverty alleviation. Recent discussions at COP29 underscored India’s need for to transition to a low-carbon economy. New Delhi has long argued that developed nations, responsible for the bulk of historical emissions and with higher levels of economic development, should shoulder a larger share of the financial burden. While India has made progress in renewable energy — setting an ambitious target of of non-fossil fuel-based energy by 2030—it still faces significant obstacles in scaling these efforts without substantial financial and technological support. The NCQG’s commitment to annually for developing countries offers hope. But India’s call for more substantial climate finance remains unmet. India’s approach to climate action is inherently linked to its development priorities. Despite this, India in the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), with a relatively low per capita emission of 2.9 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), well below the global average of 6.6 tCO2e. This ranking reflects India’s proactive climate policies, demonstrating that sustainable growth is achievable even for developing countries. However, India has repeatedly emphasised that climate finance should not come with strings attached, such as or policy restrictions that could hamper its economic growth. For New Delhi, the key challenge will be to balance its development needs with climate commitments, ensuring that financial assistance is both equitable and transparent. China, for its part, has also faced scrutiny. At COP29, China came under intense scrutiny for its insufficient contributions to climate finance. As the world’s largest emitter, its financial commitment to global climate action is increasingly seen as a critical test of its leadership on the world stage. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, climate finance responsibility falls on developed nations due to their historical emissions. However, negotiators have increasingly urged China to take on a larger financial role. While China maintains its stance as a developing country and resists mandatory contributions, its voluntary pledges have raised questions about its commitment — setting the stage for continued debate on China’s financial responsibility in global climate action. Critics argue that China’s rising global influence, its strong industrial capacity and its status as the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter necessitate in addressing climate change. As global pressure for climate action intensifies, China’s role in climate finance will face heightened scrutiny – especially if Beijing aims to assert greater influence in shaping international climate diplomacy. Since 2016, China has committed in climate finance to developing nations, according to Chinese officials. Annual contributions are estimated at – roughly 5% of what developed countries contribute. While significant, it still falls short of the US$100 billion annual target for developed nations, a responsibility China has yet to meet. Although China has emerged as a key player in climate finance, it operates outside the traditional United Nations framework and on its own terms. Notably, a significant portion of its financial contributions is in the form of , raising concerns about the long-term sustainability and potential debt burdens of recipient nations. As China’s geopolitical and economic power expands, its climate finance strategy will face increasing pressure, especially as calls for greater transparency and more robust commitments intensify. COP29 set a crucial milestone with the NCQG. For India and China, the conference underscored their pivotal roles in funding global climate action. Both countries must now lead by example. After all, their actions will shape the future of climate diplomacy and global sustainability.

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Goa police arrested a 32-year-old man for alleged involvement in prostitution activities. This is the fourth arrest in connection with an escort service website operating in the state. PANAJI: The Crime Branch of Goa police on Sunday arrested a 32-year-old Odisha native, Subhas Pradhan, for allegedly being involved in prostitution activities in Goa. He was working in a hotel and was acting as an agent in prostitution activities. This is the fourth arrest in connection with the operation of an alleged escort service website . SP Crime Branch Rahul Gupta said that Pradhan was arrested under Section 67 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, Section 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, and Sections 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. IPL 2025 mega auction IPL Auction 2025 Live: Bidding wars about to commence in Jeddah IPL Auction 2025: Who got whom IPL 2025 Auction: What is RTM card and how does Right to Match work? Goa police arrested two others on November 10 from Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh. These individuals were identified as Syed Usman, 54, from Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, and Mohammad Mohebbulla, 30, from Gurgaon. The third accused, namely Yogesh Kumar, 42, a native of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested from Delhi. The accused were operating an escort website and running a prostitution racket through an organised chain of agents. They provided a contact number on the website, which was used by customers. Upon confirmation from customers, the accused coordinated with others in the chain to finalise transactions. Investigations revealed that the accused facilitated these services by fixing deals, with customers making payments via cash, Google Pay, or the Paytm mobile application. The accused earned commissions for their involvement. The investigation is ongoing to identify additional individuals involved in the case, Gupta said.NoneMichigan's defense of national title fell short, aims to cap lost season with win against Ohio State

(The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has been appointed to lead a subcommittee dedicated to working with President-elect Donald Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency. Known as a Republican firebrand and close ally of Trump, Greene has already set her sights on rooting out “every penny of waste and abuse.” “We’ll be looking at everything from government-funded media programs like NPR that spread nothing but Democrat propaganda, we’ll be going into grant programs that fund things like sex apps in Malaysia, toilets in Africa,” she said on a media appearance Sunday morning. The subcommittee will be under the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, which is chaired by U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. “We want to make the government more efficient,” Comer said on a media appearance . “We want to work for the taxpayers, not the bureaucrats. We hate the deep state, we’ve dealt with the deep state, we’ve fought the deep state.” He added that Republicans are excited to implement the recommendations of DOGE, which, as an advisory committee, will have to work with Trump and Congress to change policies. “What Trump has ... are willing partners to make government more efficient,” Comer said of Congress. Elon Musk, CEO of X and Tesla Motors, and Vivek Ramaswamy are currently heading up DOGE. “Looking forward to working together with Congress,” Ramaswamy said on social media of Greene’s appointment . “Proper oversight of agencies and public transparency are critical.” DOGE has made it a key part of its plan to address the national debt of $36 trillion. That is $273,000 owed per taxpayer. “This trend must be reversed, and we must balance the budget,” DOGE posted . For her part, Greene has promised to “drain the swamp,” stating that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to holding government agencies like the Pentagon accountable. “Our government should steward every single cent of your hard-earned money,” Greene said. “The DOGE subcommittee will expose the waste and bring truth and transparency to the American people.” Bureaucrats and independent contractors will also be on the chopping block, in what Greene called a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make real transformational change to government to benefit the American people.” “In the private sector, if you’re not doing a good job, you get fired,” she said on social media . “But for some reason, in government, bad employees – whether they’re failing to do the job they were hired to do or working in roles that are no longer needed – never get fired. This is incredibly unfair to the hard-working taxpayers of our country, and it’s about to change.” Recently, an audit of the IRS found that its employees and contractors owe millions in taxes, all while the agency warned thousands of taxpayers that they could face jail time. “The same unelected IRS government employees and contractors, who owe $50 million in unpaid taxes, would throw Americans in jail for not paying their taxes,” Greene said of the audit . “Time to hold them all accountable.” Greene also addressed Democrats' accusations that the subcommittee will go after programs like Social Security. “No, Senator Warren, we are not going to take away a senior’s Social Security. That’s a lie,” Greene responded on social media . “We are going to investigate all areas of the federal government like CFPB, an ‘independent’ agency inside the federal government. Beholden to no one. Ran by unelected bureaucrats.”

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Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in International Game Technology PLC ( NYSE:IGT – Free Report ) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 56,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,000. Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IGT. Solel Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of International Game Technology in the second quarter worth $43,478,000. Long Pond Capital LP bought a new stake in International Game Technology during the second quarter valued at $32,053,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in International Game Technology by 17.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,743,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169,999 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in International Game Technology by 75.5% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,313,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,343,000 after acquiring an additional 995,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in International Game Technology during the second quarter valued at $8,850,000. Institutional investors own 44.33% of the company’s stock. International Game Technology Trading Up 1.3 % IGT opened at $19.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 2.31. International Game Technology PLC has a fifty-two week low of $18.56 and a fifty-two week high of $28.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.05 and a beta of 1.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.69 and its 200 day moving average is $20.88. International Game Technology Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. International Game Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.34%. Analysts Set New Price Targets IGT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of International Game Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of International Game Technology from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, International Game Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.67. View Our Latest Report on IGT About International Game Technology ( Free Report ) International Game Technology PLC operates and provides gaming technology products and services in the United States, Canada, Italy, The United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Global Lottery, Global Gaming, and PlayDigital. The company designs, sells, operates, and leases a suite of point-of-sale machines that reconciles lottery funds between the retailer and lottery authority; provides online lottery transaction processing systems; produces instant ticket games; and offers printing services, such as instant ticket marketing plans and graphic design, programming, packaging, shipping, and delivery services, as well as iLottery solutions and services. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IGT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for International Game Technology PLC ( NYSE:IGT – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for International Game Technology Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for International Game Technology and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Qatar Charity (QC) was a humanitarian partner for Qatar Sports For All Federation (QSFA)’s Theeb Ultra Trail Marathon 2024, a desert race that took place in Zekreet on November 22 and 23. Through this partnership, QC enabled participants and attendees of the race to contribute to its ‘Alaqraboon’ initiative, which focuses on aiding debtors, widows and divorcees, among others, within Qatar. The initiative aims to foster solidarity and social responsibility by collaborating with various sectors in the country, including government and private institutions, companies and initiatives. In collaboration with Seashore Group and the race organisers, QC placed recycling bins around the racecourse to collect water bottles, reflecting its commitment to environmental sustainability in sports, aligning with the Qatar National Vision 2030. Ali Ibrahem AlGreeb, director of the Resource Development Department at QC, emphasised that this co-operation reflects the organisation’s commitment to promoting values of giving, solidarity and social responsibility. He noted that QC aims to involve both individuals and organisations in charitable and humanitarian work, creating a positive impact on the community. AlGreeb expressed his hope that this partnership will support and assist humanitarian cases under ‘Alaqraboon’ within Qatar. He also emphasised the importance of leveraging sports and community events to raise environmental awareness, in co-ordination with relevant organisations. The fifth edition of the Theeb Ultra Trail Marathon saw participation from running and cycling enthusiasts in the region, a statement added. Related Story Qatar Foundation edutainment show to host special event celebrating Qatar National Day Three days of world-class racing and entertainment

As open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans continues through Jan. 15, you’re likely seeing fewer social media ads promising monthly cash cards worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that you can use for groceries, medical bills, rent and other expenses. But don’t worry. You haven’t missed out on any windfalls. Clicking on one of those ads would not have provided you with a cash card — at least not worth hundreds or thousands. But you might have found yourself switched to a health insurance plan you did not authorize, unable to afford treatment for an unforeseen medical emergency, and owing thousands of dollars to the IRS, according to an ongoing lawsuit against companies and individuals who plaintiffs say masterminded the ads and alleged scams committed against millions of people who responded to them. The absence of those once-ubiquitous ads are likely a result of the federal government suspending access to the ACA marketplace for two companies that market health insurance out of South Florida offices, amid accusations they used “fraudulent” ads to lure customers and then switched their insurance plans and agents without their knowledge. In its suspension letter, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cited “credible allegations of misconduct” in the agency’s decision to suspend the abilities of two companies — TrueCoverage (doing business as Inshura) and BenefitAlign — to transact information with the marketplace. CMS licenses and monitors agencies that use their own websites and information technology platforms to enroll health insurance customers in ACA plans offered in the federal marketplace. The alleged scheme affected millions of consumers, according to a lawsuit winding its way through U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale that seeks class-action status. An amended version of the suit, filed in August, increased the number of defendants from six to 12: — TrueCoverage LLC, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based health insurance agency with large offices in Miami, Miramar and Deerfield Beach. TrueCoverage is a sub-tenant of the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a building leased by the newspaper in Deerfield Beach. — Enhance Health LLC, a Sunrise-based health insurance agency that the lawsuit says was founded by Matthew Herman, also named as a defendant, with a $150 million investment from hedge fund Bain Capital’s insurance division. Bain Capital Insurance Fund LP is also a defendant. — Speridian Technologies LLC, accused in the lawsuit of establishing two direct enrollment platforms that provided TrueCoverage and other agencies access to the ACA marketplace. — Benefitalign LLC, identified in the suit as one of the direct enrollment platforms created by Speridian. Like Speridian and TrueCoverage, the company is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. — Number One Prospecting LLC, doing business as Minerva Marketing, based in Fort Lauderdale, and its founder, Brandon Bowsky, accused of developing the social media ads that drove customers — or “leads” — to the health insurance agencies. — Digital Media Solutions LLC, doing business as Protect Health, a Miami-based agency that the suit says bought Minerva’s “fraudulent” ads. In September, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in United States Bankruptcy Court in Texas, which automatically suspended claims filed against the company. — Net Health Affiliates Inc., an Aventura-based agency the lawsuit says was associated with Enhance Health and like it, bought leads from Minerva. — Garish Panicker, identified in the lawsuit as half-owner of Speridian Global Holdings and day-to-day controller of companies under its umbrella, including TrueCoverage, Benefitalign and Speridian Technologies. — Matthew Goldfuss, accused by the suit of overseeing and directing TrueCoverage’s ACA enrollment efforts. All of the defendants have filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit. The motions deny the allegations and argue that the plaintiffs failed to properly state their claims and lack the standing to file the complaints. The Sun Sentinel sent requests for comment and lists of questions about the cases to four separate law firms representing separate groups of defendants. Three of the law firms — one representing Brandon Bowsky and Number One Prospecting LLC d/b/a Minerva Marketing, and two others representing Net Health Affiliates Inc. and Bain Capital Insurance Fund — did not respond to the requests. A representative of Enhance Health LLC and Matthew Herman, Olga M. Vieira of the Miami-based firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, responded with a short message saying she was glad the newspaper knew a motion to dismiss the charges had been filed by the defendants. She also said that, “Enhance has denied all the allegations as reported previously in the media.” Catherine Riedel, a communications specialist representing TrueCoverage LLC, Benefitalign LLC, Speridian Technologies LLC, Girish Panicker and Matthew Goldfuss, issued the following statement: “TrueCoverage takes these allegations very seriously and is responding appropriately. While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we strongly believe that the allegations are baseless and without merit. “Compliance is our business. The TrueCoverage team records and reviews every call with a customer, including during Open Enrollment when roughly 500 agents handle nearly 30,000 calls a day. No customer is enrolled into any policy without a formal verbal consent given by the customer. If any customer calls in as a result of misleading content presented by third-party marketing vendors, agents are trained to correct such misinformation and action is taken against such third-party vendors.” Through Riedel, the defendants declined to answer follow-up questions, including whether the company remains in business, whether it continues to enroll Affordable Care Act clients, and whether it is still operating its New Mexico call center using another affiliated technology platform. The suspension notification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services letter cites several factors, including the histories of noncompliance and previous suspensions. The letter noted suspicion that TrueCoverage and Benefitalign were storing consumers’ personally identifiable information in databases located in India and possibly other overseas locations in violation of the centers’ rules. The letter also notes allegations against the companies in the pending lawsuit that “they engaged in a variety of illegal practices, including violations of the (Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act), misuse of consumer (personal identifiable information) and insurance fraud.” The amended lawsuit filed in August names as plaintiffs five individuals who say their insurance plans were changed and two agencies who say they lost money when they were replaced as agents. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of 55 counts of wrongdoing, ranging from running ads offering thousands of dollars in cash that they knew would never be provided directly to consumers, switching millions of consumers into different insurance policies without their authorization, misstating their household incomes to make them eligible for $0 premium coverage, and “stealing” commissions by switching the agents listed in their accounts. TrueCoverage, Enhance Health, Protect Health, and some of their associates “engaged in hundreds of thousands of agent-of-record swaps to steal other agents’ commissions,” the suit states. “Using the Benefitalign and Inshura platforms, they created large spreadsheet lists of consumer names, dates of birth and zip codes.” They provided those spreadsheets to agents, it says, and instructed them to access platforms linked to the ACA marketplace and change the customers’ agents of record “without telling the client or providing informed consent.” “In doing so, they immediately captured the monthly commissions of agents ... who had originally worked with the consumers directly to sign them up,” the lawsuit asserts. TrueCoverage employees who complained about dealing with prospects who called looking for cash cards were routinely chided by supervisors who told them to be vague and keep making money, the suit says. When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began contacting the company in January about customer complaints, the suit says TrueCoverage enrollment supervisor Matthew Goldfuss sent an email instructing agents “do not respond.” The lawsuit states the “scheme” was made possible in 2021 when Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The act made it possible for Americans with household incomes between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level to pay zero in premiums and it enabled those consumers to enroll in ACA plans all year round, instead of during the three-month open enrollment period from November to January. Experienced health insurance brokers recognized the opportunity presented by the changes, the lawsuit says. More than 40 million Americans live within 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level, while only 15 million had ACA insurance at the time. The defendants developed or benefited from online ads, the lawsuit says, which falsely promised “hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars per month in cash benefits such as subsidy cards to pay for common expenses like rent, groceries, and gas.” Consumers who clicked on the ads were brought to a landing page that asked a few qualifying questions, and if their answers suggested that they might qualify for a low-cost or no-cost plan, they were provided a phone number to a health insurance agency. There was a major problem with the plan, according to the lawsuit. “Customers believe they are being routed to someone who will send them a free cash card, not enroll them in health insurance.” By law, the federal government sends subsidies for ACA plans to insurance companies, and not to individual consumers. Scripts were developed requiring agents not to mention a cash card, and if a customer mentions a cash card, “be vague” and tell the caller that only the insurance carrier can provide that information, the lawsuit alleges. In September, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the claims. In addition to denying the charges, they argued that the class plaintiffs lacked the standing to make the accusations and failed to demonstrate that they suffered harm. The motion also argued that the lawsuit’s accusations failed to meet requirements necessary to claim civil violations of the RICO Act. Miami-based attorney Jason Kellogg, representing the plaintiffs, said he doesn’t expect a ruling on the motion to dismiss the case for several months. The complaint also lists nearly 50 companies, not named as defendants, that it says fed business to TrueCoverage and Enhance Health. Known in the industry as “downlines,” most operate in office parks throughout South Florida, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit quotes former TrueCoverage employees complaining about having to work with customers lured by false cash promises in the online ads. A former employee who worked in the company’s Deerfield Beach office was quoted in the lawsuit as saying that senior TrueCoverage and Speridian executives “knew that consumers were calling in response to the false advertisements promising cash cards and they pressured agents to use them to enroll consumers into ACA plans.” A former human resources manager for TrueCoverage said sales agents frequently complained “that they did not feel comfortable having to mislead consumers,” the lawsuit said. Over two dozen agents “came to me with these complaints and showed me the false advertisements that consumers who called in were showing them,” the lawsuit quoted the former manager as saying. For much of the time the companies operated, the ACA marketplace enabled agents to easily access customer accounts using their names and Social Security numbers, change their insurance plans and switch their agents of record without their knowledge or authorization, the lawsuit says. This resulted in customers’ original agents losing their commissions and many of the policyholders finding out they suddenly owed far more for health care services than their original plans had required, the suit states. It says that one of the co-plaintiffs’ health plans was changed at least 22 times without her consent. She first discovered that she had lost her original plan when she sought to renew a prescription for her heart condition and her doctor told her she did not have health insurance, the suit states. Another co-plaintiff’s policy was switched after her husband responded to one of the cash card advertisements, the lawsuit says. That couple’s insurance plan was switched multiple times after a TrueCoverage agent excluded the wife’s income from an application so the couple would qualify. Later, they received bills from the IRS for $4,300 to cover tax credits issued to pay for the plans. CMS barred TrueCoverage and BenefitAlign from accessing the ACA marketplace. It said it received more than 90,000 complaints about unauthorized plan switches and more than 183,500 complaints about unauthorized enrollments, but the agency did not attribute all of the complaints to activities by the two companies. In addition, CMS restricted all agents’ abilities to alter policyholders’ enrollment information, the lawsuit says. Now access is allowed only for agents that already represent policyholders or if the policyholder participates in a three-way call with an agent and a marketplace employee. Between June and October, the agency barred 850 agents and brokers from accessing the marketplace “for reasonable suspicion of fraudulent or abusive conduct related to unauthorized enrollments or unauthorized plan switches,” according to an October CMS news release . The changes resulted in a “dramatic and sustained drop” in unauthorized activity, including a nearly 70% decrease in plan changes associated with an agent or broker and a nearly 90% decrease in changes to agent or broker commission information, the release said. It added that while consumers were often unaware of such changes, the opportunity to make them provided “significant financial incentive for non-compliant agents and brokers.” But CMS’ restrictions might be having unintended consequences for law-abiding agents and brokers. A story published by Insurance News Net on Nov. 11 quoted the president of the Health Agents for America (HAFA) trade group as saying agents are being suspended by CMS after being flagged by a mysterious algorithm that no one can figure out. The story quotes HAFA president Ronnell Nolan as surmising, “maybe they wrote too many policies on the same day for people who have the same income or they’re writing too many policies on people of a certain occupation.” Nolan continued, “We have members who have thousands of ACA clients. They can’t update or renew their clients. So those consumers have lost access to their professional agent, which is simply unfair.” Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.

As open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans continues through Jan. 15, you’re likely seeing fewer social media ads promising monthly cash cards worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that you can use for groceries, medical bills, rent and other expenses. But don’t worry. You haven’t missed out on any windfalls. Clicking on one of those ads would not have provided you with a cash card — at least not worth hundreds or thousands. But you might have found yourself switched to a health insurance plan you did not authorize, unable to afford treatment for an unforeseen medical emergency, and owing thousands of dollars to the IRS, according to an ongoing lawsuit against companies and individuals who plaintiffs say masterminded the ads and alleged scams committed against millions of people who responded to them. The absence of those once-ubiquitous ads are likely a result of the federal government suspending access to the ACA marketplace for two companies that market health insurance out of South Florida offices, amid accusations they used “fraudulent” ads to lure customers and then switched their insurance plans and agents without their knowledge. In its suspension letter, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cited “credible allegations of misconduct” in the agency’s decision to suspend the abilities of two companies — TrueCoverage (doing business as Inshura) and BenefitAlign — to transact information with the marketplace. CMS licenses and monitors agencies that use their own websites and information technology platforms to enroll health insurance customers in ACA plans offered in the federal marketplace. Suit names long list of defendants The alleged scheme affected millions of consumers, according to a lawsuit winding its way through U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale that seeks class-action status. An amended version of the suit, filed in August, increased the number of defendants from six to 12: — TrueCoverage LLC, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based health insurance agency with large offices in Miami, Miramar and Deerfield Beach. TrueCoverage is a sub-tenant of the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a building leased by the newspaper in Deerfield Beach. — Enhance Health LLC, a Sunrise-based health insurance agency that the lawsuit says was founded by Matthew Herman, also named as a defendant, with a $150 million investment from hedge fund Bain Capital’s insurance division. Bain Capital Insurance Fund LP is also a defendant. — Speridian Technologies LLC, accused in the lawsuit of establishing two direct enrollment platforms that provided TrueCoverage and other agencies access to the ACA marketplace. — Benefitalign LLC, identified in the suit as one of the direct enrollment platforms created by Speridian. Like Speridian and TrueCoverage, the company is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. — Number One Prospecting LLC, doing business as Minerva Marketing, based in Fort Lauderdale, and its founder, Brandon Bowsky, accused of developing the social media ads that drove customers — or “leads” — to the health insurance agencies. — Digital Media Solutions LLC, doing business as Protect Health, a Miami-based agency that the suit says bought Minerva’s “fraudulent” ads. In September, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in United States Bankruptcy Court in Texas, which automatically suspended claims filed against the company. — Net Health Affiliates Inc., an Aventura-based agency the lawsuit says was associated with Enhance Health and like it, bought leads from Minerva. — Garish Panicker, identified in the lawsuit as half-owner of Speridian Global Holdings and day-to-day controller of companies under its umbrella, including TrueCoverage, Benefitalign and Speridian Technologies. — Matthew Goldfuss, accused by the suit of overseeing and directing TrueCoverage’s ACA enrollment efforts. All of the defendants have filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit. The motions deny the allegations and argue that the plaintiffs failed to properly state their claims and lack the standing to file the complaints. Defendants respond to requests for comment The Sun Sentinel sent requests for comment and lists of questions about the cases to four separate law firms representing separate groups of defendants. Three of the law firms — one representing Brandon Bowsky and Number One Prospecting LLC d/b/a Minerva Marketing, and two others representing Net Health Affiliates Inc. and Bain Capital Insurance Fund — did not respond to the requests. A representative of Enhance Health LLC and Matthew Herman, Olga M. Vieira of the Miami-based firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, responded with a short message saying she was glad the newspaper knew a motion to dismiss the charges had been filed by the defendants. She also said that, “Enhance has denied all the allegations as reported previously in the media.” Catherine Riedel, a communications specialist representing TrueCoverage LLC, Benefitalign LLC, Speridian Technologies LLC, Girish Panicker and Matthew Goldfuss, issued the following statement: “TrueCoverage takes these allegations very seriously and is responding appropriately. While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we strongly believe that the allegations are baseless and without merit. “Compliance is our business. The TrueCoverage team records and reviews every call with a customer, including during Open Enrollment when roughly 500 agents handle nearly 30,000 calls a day. No customer is enrolled into any policy without a formal verbal consent given by the customer. If any customer calls in as a result of misleading content presented by third-party marketing vendors, agents are trained to correct such misinformation and action is taken against such third-party vendors.” Through Riedel, the defendants declined to answer follow-up questions, including whether the company remains in business, whether it continues to enroll Affordable Care Act clients, and whether it is still operating its New Mexico call center using another affiliated technology platform. Lawsuit: COVID relief package made ‘scheme’ possible The suspension notification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services letter cites several factors, including the histories of noncompliance and previous suspensions. The letter noted suspicion that TrueCoverage and Benefitalign were storing consumers’ personally identifiable information in databases located in India and possibly other overseas locations in violation of the centers’ rules. The letter also notes allegations against the companies in the pending lawsuit that “they engaged in a variety of illegal practices, including violations of the (Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act), misuse of consumer (personal identifiable information) and insurance fraud.” The amended lawsuit filed in August names as plaintiffs five individuals who say their insurance plans were changed and two agencies who say they lost money when they were replaced as agents. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of 55 counts of wrongdoing, ranging from running ads offering thousands of dollars in cash that they knew would never be provided directly to consumers, switching millions of consumers into different insurance policies without their authorization, misstating their household incomes to make them eligible for $0 premium coverage, and “stealing” commissions by switching the agents listed in their accounts. TrueCoverage, Enhance Health, Protect Health, and some of their associates “engaged in hundreds of thousands of agent-of-record swaps to steal other agents’ commissions,” the suit states. “Using the Benefitalign and Inshura platforms, they created large spreadsheet lists of consumer names, dates of birth and zip codes.” They provided those spreadsheets to agents, it says, and instructed them to access platforms linked to the ACA marketplace and change the customers’ agents of record “without telling the client or providing informed consent.” “In doing so, they immediately captured the monthly commissions of agents ... who had originally worked with the consumers directly to sign them up,” the lawsuit asserts. TrueCoverage employees who complained about dealing with prospects who called looking for cash cards were routinely chided by supervisors who told them to be vague and keep making money, the suit says. When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began contacting the company in January about customer complaints, the suit says TrueCoverage enrollment supervisor Matthew Goldfuss sent an email instructing agents “do not respond.” How it started The lawsuit states the “scheme” was made possible in 2021 when Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The act made it possible for Americans with household incomes between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level to pay zero in premiums and it enabled those consumers to enroll in ACA plans all year round, instead of during the three-month open enrollment period from November to January. Experienced health insurance brokers recognized the opportunity presented by the changes, the lawsuit says. More than 40 million Americans live within 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level, while only 15 million had ACA insurance at the time. The defendants developed or benefited from online ads, the lawsuit says, which falsely promised “hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars per month in cash benefits such as subsidy cards to pay for common expenses like rent, groceries, and gas.” Consumers who clicked on the ads were brought to a landing page that asked a few qualifying questions, and if their answers suggested that they might qualify for a low-cost or no-cost plan, they were provided a phone number to a health insurance agency. There was a major problem with the plan, according to the lawsuit. “Customers believe they are being routed to someone who will send them a free cash card, not enroll them in health insurance.” By law, the federal government sends subsidies for ACA plans to insurance companies, and not to individual consumers. Scripts were developed requiring agents not to mention a cash card, and if a customer mentions a cash card, “be vague” and tell the caller that only the insurance carrier can provide that information, the lawsuit alleges. In September, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the claims. In addition to denying the charges, they argued that the class plaintiffs lacked the standing to make the accusations and failed to demonstrate that they suffered harm. The motion also argued that the lawsuit’s accusations failed to meet requirements necessary to claim civil violations of the RICO Act. Miami-based attorney Jason Kellogg, representing the plaintiffs, said he doesn’t expect a ruling on the motion to dismiss the case for several months. The complaint also lists nearly 50 companies, not named as defendants, that it says fed business to TrueCoverage and Enhance Health. Known in the industry as “downlines,” most operate in office parks throughout South Florida, the lawsuit says. Complaints from former employees and clients The lawsuit quotes former TrueCoverage employees complaining about having to work with customers lured by false cash promises in the online ads. A former employee who worked in the company’s Deerfield Beach office was quoted in the lawsuit as saying that senior TrueCoverage and Speridian executives “knew that consumers were calling in response to the false advertisements promising cash cards and they pressured agents to use them to enroll consumers into ACA plans.” A former human resources manager for TrueCoverage said sales agents frequently complained “that they did not feel comfortable having to mislead consumers,” the lawsuit said. Over two dozen agents “came to me with these complaints and showed me the false advertisements that consumers who called in were showing them,” the lawsuit quoted the former manager as saying. For much of the time the companies operated, the ACA marketplace enabled agents to easily access customer accounts using their names and Social Security numbers, change their insurance plans and switch their agents of record without their knowledge or authorization, the lawsuit says. This resulted in customers’ original agents losing their commissions and many of the policyholders finding out they suddenly owed far more for health care services than their original plans had required, the suit states. It says that one of the co-plaintiffs’ health plans was changed at least 22 times without her consent. She first discovered that she had lost her original plan when she sought to renew a prescription for her heart condition and her doctor told her she did not have health insurance, the suit states. Another co-plaintiff’s policy was switched after her husband responded to one of the cash card advertisements, the lawsuit says. That couple’s insurance plan was switched multiple times after a TrueCoverage agent excluded the wife’s income from an application so the couple would qualify. Later, they received bills from the IRS for $4,300 to cover tax credits issued to pay for the plans. CMS barred TrueCoverage and BenefitAlign from accessing the ACA marketplace. It said it received more than 90,000 complaints about unauthorized plan switches and more than 183,500 complaints about unauthorized enrollments, but the agency did not attribute all of the complaints to activities by the two companies. In addition, CMS restricted all agents’ abilities to alter policyholders’ enrollment information, the lawsuit says. Now access is allowed only for agents that already represent policyholders or if the policyholder participates in a three-way call with an agent and a marketplace employee. Between June and October, the agency barred 850 agents and brokers from accessing the marketplace “for reasonable suspicion of fraudulent or abusive conduct related to unauthorized enrollments or unauthorized plan switches,” according to an October CMS news release . The changes resulted in a “dramatic and sustained drop” in unauthorized activity, including a nearly 70% decrease in plan changes associated with an agent or broker and a nearly 90% decrease in changes to agent or broker commission information, the release said. It added that while consumers were often unaware of such changes, the opportunity to make them provided “significant financial incentive for non-compliant agents and brokers.” But CMS’ restrictions might be having unintended consequences for law-abiding agents and brokers. A story published by Insurance News Net on Nov. 11 quoted the president of the Health Agents for America (HAFA) trade group as saying agents are being suspended by CMS after being flagged by a mysterious algorithm that no one can figure out. The story quotes HAFA president Ronnell Nolan as surmising, “maybe they wrote too many policies on the same day for people who have the same income or they’re writing too many policies on people of a certain occupation.” Nolan continued, “We have members who have thousands of ACA clients. They can’t update or renew their clients. So those consumers have lost access to their professional agent, which is simply unfair.” Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.