Indiana healthcare advertising rules the checker applies

Rules for Indiana

1. CG-INS-001 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Indiana lets a licensing board sanction a practitioner who advertised services in a false or misleading manner. Guaranteed-result and miracle-cure wording is the usual form. The ground applies to licensed practitioners, so this is a warning.

   Source: IC 25-1-9-4(a)(1)(C) ("advertised services in a false or misleading manner")

   Safer wording: Say what the treatment is and who it is for, give any outcome figure with its source and date, and say results vary by patient.

   IC 25-1-9-4 · Needs counsel review

2. CG-INS-002 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Indiana requires an advertisement that includes a practitioner's name to prominently state the profession or license the practitioner holds. A bare Dr. title does not say which profession or license, so copy that names a doctor with no profession or license stated is flagged. The rule covers practitioners licensed under IC 25.

   Source: IC 25-1-10.3-7(a) ("must prominently state the profession or license held by the practitioner")

   Safer wording: Add the profession or license next to the name, for example Dr. Lee, MD, or Anna Lee, nurse practitioner, in a font size and style that is readily apparent.

   IC 25-1-10.3-7 · Needs counsel review

3. CG-INS-003 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Indiana says an advertisement must not include any deceptive or misleading information, and a practitioner who runs one is subject to disciplinary sanctions. Best-in-state and better-than-others claims are misleading unless they can be backed with proof. Substantiation can fix it, so this is a warning.

   Source: IC 25-1-10.3-7(c) ("An advertisement must not include any deceptive or misleading information")

   Safer wording: Drop the superiority claim, or keep proof on file and name the basis, for example a named ranking and its year.

   IC 25-1-10.3-7 · Needs counsel review

4. CG-INS-004 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Indiana treats it as a deceptive act for a supplier to represent that a specific price advantage exists when it does not and the supplier knows or should know it does not. Was-now pricing and percent-off-regular-price claims assert a price advantage, so the reference price has to be a real one.

   Source: IC 24-5-0.5-3(b)(6) ("That a specific price advantage exists as to such subject of a consumer transaction")

   Safer wording: Use a was price only if you actually charged it for a reasonable period, and say how long the sale lasts. Keep records of the earlier price.

   IC 24-5-0.5-3 · Needs counsel review

5. CG-INS-005 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Indiana treats it as a deceptive act to represent that the subject of a consumer transaction has sponsorship or approval it does not have, or that the supplier has a sponsorship, approval or affiliation it does not have. Government-approved and endorsed-by claims are the usual form. The claim is only deceptive if untrue and the supplier knows or should know it, so this is a warning.

   Source: IC 24-5-0.5-3(b)(7) ("That the supplier has a sponsorship, approval, or affiliation in such consumer transaction the supplier does not have")

   Safer wording: Name an approval or endorsement only if you hold it, and name the body and the date. FDA approval and Medicare coverage claims also have their own rules.

   IC 24-5-0.5-3 · Needs counsel review

6. CG-INS-006 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Indiana treats it as a deceptive act to represent that a consumer will receive a rebate, discount or other benefit as an inducement to buy in return for giving the supplier names of prospective consumers or otherwise helping the supplier make other sales, if earning the benefit depends on something that happens after the purchase. Refer-a-friend credit offers that pay out later are the usual form.

   Source: IC 24-5-0.5-3(b)(9) ("is contingent upon the occurrence of an event subsequent to the time")

   Safer wording: Give any benefit at the time of the purchase, or do not tie it to later referrals. Have counsel review refer-a-friend offers.

   IC 24-5-0.5-3 · Needs counsel review

7. CG-INS-007 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Indiana makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a person who furnishes items or services paid for under Medicaid to solicit, offer or receive a kickback or bribe, or a rebate of a fee for referring the individual to another person.

   Source: IC 12-15-24-2 ("kickback or bribe in connection with the furnishing of the items or services or the making or receipt of the payment")

   Safer wording: Remove any payment, bonus or reward tied to Medicaid patient referrals. Counsel must review any referral or marketing arrangement.

   IC 12-15-24 · Needs counsel review

8. CG-INS-008 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   The Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act, effective 2026-01-01, bars a controller from processing sensitive data, which includes health diagnosis data, without the consumer's consent. Ad copy or a notice that says health data is sold or shared for advertising with no consent step invites that problem.

   Source: IC 24-15-4-1(5) ("A controller shall not process sensitive data concerning a consumer without obtaining the consumer's consent")

   Safer wording: Ask for opt-in consent before using health data for ads or sharing it, and say plainly what you collect and why. Drop copy that treats health data as free to share.

   IC 24-15-4-1 · Needs counsel review