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July 22, 2003

Healthnet, Inc. Stephen L. Saeks

2500 West Wiggins Road 872 Winchester

Unit 1045 Northbrook, Illinois 60062

Hoffman Estates, Illinois 60195

Attn: Stephen L. Saeks, President

Budd Kritch, Manager

RE: EB-03-TC-062

Dear Correspondents:

This is an official **CITATION** issued pursuant to section 503(b)(5) of
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), for violations of
the Act and the Federal Communications Commission's rules that govern
telephone solicitation.[^1]

It has come to our attention that your company has delivered one or more
prerecorded unsolicited advertisements to residential telephone lines
(see attachment). The Act and the Commission's rules prohibit
transmission of unsolicited advertisements through prerecorded messages
to residential telephone lines except under the very limited
circumstances described in

the rules.[^2] The term "unsolicited advertisement" is defined in the
Communications Act and the Commission's rules as "any material
advertising the commercial availability or quality of any property,
goods, or services which is transmitted to any person without that
person's prior express invitation or permission."[^3] The attached
information provided to the Commission indicates that your company
delivered such unsolicited advertisements, through prerecorded messages,
to one or more residential telephone subscribers who do not have an
established business relationship with your company and had not
expressly invited or authorized the call(s). Those actions violate
section 64.1200(a)(2) of the Commission's rules.

Separately, it appears that your company may have violated other
Commission rules governing prerecorded messages and telephone
solicitation. Under section 64.1200(e)(2)(iv), any telephone
solicitation -- whether live or prerecorded -- must provide the called
party with the name of the individual caller, the name of the person or
entity on whose behalf the call is being made, and an address or
telephone number (which may not be for an autodialer or prerecorded
message player) at which the person or entity may be contacted.[^4]
According to the attached information received by the Commission, it
appears that your telephone solicitation did not contain all the
required information.

**[Please be advised that subsequent violations of the Communications
Act or of the Commission's rules of the type described herein may result
in the imposition of monetary forfeitures not to exceed \$11,000 for
each such violation or each day of a continuing
violation.]{.underline}** [^5]

**Pursuant to section 503(b)(5) of the Communications Act, you may
request a personal interview at the Commission's Field Office nearest to
your place of business. The nearest office appears to be the Chicago
Office at 1550 Northwest Highway, Room 306, Park Ridge, Illinois
60068-1460, which you can contact by telephone at (847) 813-4660. You
must schedule this interview to take place within 21 days of the date of
this citation. Alternatively, you may submit a written statement to the
following address within 21 days of the date of this citation:**

Kurt A. Schroeder

Deputy Chief

> Telecommunications Consumers Division

Enforcement Bureau

Federal Communications Commission

445-12^th^ Street, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20554

If you choose to submit a written statement, your written statement
should specify what actions have been taken to correct the violation(s)
outlined above. Please reference EB-03-TC-062 when corresponding with
the Commission.

If you request a meeting, reasonable accommodations for people with
disabilities are available upon request. Include a description of the
accommodation you will need including as much detail as you can. Also
include a way we can contact you if we need more information. Please
allow at least 5 days advance notice; last minute requests will be
accepted, but may be impossible to fill. Send an e-mail to
<fcc504@fcc.gov> or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau:

For sign language interpreters, CART, and other reasonable
accommodations:

202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty);

For accessible format materials (braille, large print, electronic files,
and audio

format): 202-418-0531 (voice), 202-418-7365 (tty).

Under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(e)(3), we are informing
you that the Commission's staff will use all relevant material
information before it to determine what, if any, enforcement action is
required to ensure your compliance with the Act and the Commission's
rules. This will include any information that you disclose in your
interview or written statement. [Please be advised that if you choose
not to respond to this citation and a forfeiture is issued, your
unresponsiveness will be considered in our assessment of a forfeiture
amount]{.underline}.

You should also be aware that the knowing and willful making of any
false statement, or the concealment of any material fact, in reply to
this citation is punishable by fine or imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. §
1001.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation.

Sincerely,

Kurt A. Schroeder

> Deputy Chief
>
> Telecommunications Consumers Division

Enforcement Bureau

Federal Communications Commission

Enclosures

[^1]: 47 U.S.C § 227; 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200.

[^2]: The Commission's rules make it unlawful to "initiate any telephone
    call using an artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver a message
    without the prior express consent of the called party unless the
    call is initiated for emergency purposes or ... is not made for a
    commercial purpose, is made for a commercial purpose but does not
    include the transmission of any unsolicited advertisement, \[is
    made\] to any person with whom the caller has an established
    business relationship at the time the call is made, or \[is made by
    or on behalf of\] a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. 47 C.F.R. §
    64.1200(a)(2), (c); *see also* 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(B) (prohibiting
    all prerecorded calls to residential lines "unless the call is
    initiated for emergency purposes or is exempted by rule or order by
    the Commission....").

[^3]: 47 U.S.C. 227(a)(4); 47 C.F.R. 64.1200(f)(5).

[^4]: 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(e)(2)(iv). In addition, the Act and the
    Commission's rules impose separate identification requirements for
    prerecorded messages. Under section 227(d)(3)(A) of the Act, all
    prerecorded messages "shall, *at the beginning* of the message,
    state clearly the identity of the business, individual, or other
    entity initiating the call, and ... shall, during or after the
    message, state clearly the telephone number or address of such
    business, other entity, or individual." 47 U.S.C. § 227(d)(3)(A)
    (emphasis added); *see also* 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d)(e)(2)(iv)
    (imposing identification requirements for prerecorded messages
    delivered by automatic telephone dialing systems).

[^5]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(3).