The Risks of Getting a Medical Discount Plan

These days because of growing economic concerns people look for more affordable insurance plans so that they can get themselves at the very least insured. However, since most health insurance policies continue to become more expensive, many go for cheaper alternatives, such as medical discount plans.

Medical discount plans are membership plans in which you become eligible to certain discounts on different health care services. Among the benefits this plan cover are discounts on dental and vision care, as well as prescription drugs purchases. Medical discount plans have grown to be popular especially to individuals who cannot afford to get real health insurance, mainly because these are less expensive and promise to be highly useful.

Is it really worth having a medical discount plan?

Before answering the above question, it is first important to note that medical discount plans are not health insurance. Yes, they claim to provide significant discounts on health care expenses, but they do not cover as much as real health insurance serve. Among the services medical discount plans aim to be of great use are ambulance costs, physician and hospital bills, but they only cover a small fraction of the total bill.

While medical discount plans tend to be enticing to apply for, you are actually exposing yourself to greater financial risks once you get this kind of health care plan. First, as the name implies, these plans only provide discounts; your bill is not fully covered, only reduced to a certain percentage. Real health insurance plans are capable of covering up to 100% of your total hospital bill, depending on the policy you applied for. While health insurance plans tend to be more expensive at first, you can actually feel where your investment has gone by the time you use it.

When checking out medical discount plans, you may notice that they include a long list of partners and other participating establishments. The problem with this is that these partners can easily be outdated without prior notice. Hence, it is a must that you contact a participating health care provider first and see if they accept the medical discount card whenever you plan to use it.

One more problem about medical discount plans is that unlike health insurance policies, they are not under strict rules and regulations, therefore the can be offered by unethical promoters. A lot of medical discount plans have proven to be scams over the years, thus it is best to do a research on that medical discount plan provider first before applying for their packages.

Finally, there are medical discount plans that charge you a monthly fee to keep your subscription going. This kind of fee can amount to as much as the premiums charged in other health insurance plans. If you find the rates to be similar, then you may as well settle for real health insurance plans instead.

Even the government now discourages the use of medical discount plans due to their susceptibility to fraud and scams. The FTC as well as other state agencies has found out that while a lot of medical discount plans provide legitimate service, they still give you less than what you actually pay for.

So, while you aim to reduce the risks to your health by applying for health benefits, try to save your pocket from risks as well.