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Two US lawmakers on Tuesday questioned Health Net Inc's marketing of its Medicare Advantage insurance plans and asked for a federal investigation.

Two US lawmakers on Tuesday questioned Health Net Inc's marketing of its Medicare Advantage insurance plans and asked for a federal investigation.

Reps. John Dingell and Bart Stupak, both Michigan Democrats, said they were probing a report by the nonprofit National Senior Citizens Law Center. That report found Health Net sales agents "attempted to induce beneficiaries to enroll in (Medicare Advantage) plans by providing false and misleading information," the lawmakers said in a statement.

They sent a letter asking the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general to investigate "whether Health Net or its agents have engaged in Medicare fraud."

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general should investigate "whether Health Net or its agents have engaged in Medicare fraud," Dingell, chair of the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote along with Stupak, head of the committee's oversight and investigations panel.

In a separate letter to Health Net, the lawmakers "request that Health Net immediately notify all insurance brokerages and agents selling its Medicare private plans to cease outbound sales calls and unsolicited sales contacts, identify any agents that have violated these prohibitions and refer such agents to the appropriate State Insurance Department and the HHS (inspector general)."

Health Net said in a statement that it shares the lawmakers concerns and is working to resolve the matter.

"We immediately began an exhaustive review of these issues the day we received the letter on October 2, 2008. We believe we are already far along in implementing the recommendations cited in the congressmen's press release," the statement said.

Medicare is the federal health insurance plan for the elderly and disabled. Patients have the option to enroll in Medicare Advantage plans from private companies, which generally offer more benefits than traditional Medicare.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine, editing by Richard Chang and Carol Bishopric)