I Received A Notice From Healthcare.gov In The Mail Saying I Was Automatically Enrolled Into An Insurance Plan… All Without My Consent. [nc, Usa]

To preface this, I’m in the U.S. Air Force and stationed overseas, and I already get healthcare and a bunch of other stuff 100% free. I’m tagging North Carolina since that is my home-of-record state.

Today I received a notice in my mailbox saying I was enrolled automatically into a healthcare policy with Aetna. This is completely out of left field for me, because I’ve been enlisted in the military since mid-2024 and have never filled out any healthcare applications.

I went to healthcare.gov and logged in with my credentials that I’ve already had for several years (used to look up quotes in the past, but never signed up for anything), and discovered that, effective 1 Jan 2025, I was enrolled in a plan that was over $400/month!

I called Aetna directly and they transferred me to the healthcare.gov customer service line. I explain the situation to the rep and provide the application ID that was on the printed notice I received. She looks into the application and says it was a “healthcare broker” that submitted the application, and even gave me the name of the agent from that brokerage who submitted it. She told me that this brokerage apparently also enrolled me for coverage in late 2023 (for the 2024 calendar year), before I enlisted. This part sounded odd to me, because I never received any bills for health insurance anywhere, and my credit has always been frozen, as I was uninsured prior to joining the military. (Or so I thought…?)

Naturally I have never heard of this brokerage or agent, so she assures me she’s going to put in a ticket for potential fraud. She claimed she couldn’t provide a case number or anything, but told me to call back next week to get one.

Has this ever happened to someone else? What happens if I get a bill in the mail? Should I hold onto this notice as potential evidence?

I’m not sure where to begin. This sounds like fraud to me.