Health Discount Cards: The Long, The Short And The Discount
You may have probably heard about health discount cards through its other name: medical savings card. And in case you didn’t know, health discount cards are becoming more and more popular. They have become the alternative to traditional healthcare plans. If it is any proof, out in the market you will find many of them health discount card programs.
The long and the short of health discount is that they are not insurance plans. You do not pay any premiums, you only pay discount card fees on a monthly or annual basis. In exchange, you get discounts on medical services. Of course, you only get discounts from medical professionals who are on the network of the discount program. The best health discount programs should give you discounts of up to 60% on doctor’s visits, prescription drugs, vision care and dental care.
People opt for discount cards because there is no red tape involved in using them – there are no waiting periods and no deductibles. Pre-existing conditions are covered by the discount. Also, the fees of discount cards are invariably lower than the premiums of traditional health insurance plans.
Keep in mind, however, that there are some things that discount health card programs are not. Chief among them is that they are NOT health insurance programs. State insurance departments do not regulate them. What this means is that if you don’t choose carefully, you might just end up with a discount card that does not meet your needs or, at worst, end up defrauded. Fact is, every year American consumers lose $50 billion from unscrupulous discount health card programs, largely through misrepresentation and altered billing of medical services.
Aside from the fraud risks, keep in mind that discount health cards do not pay claims. It works pretty much like a discount card at a shopping mall (or a discount card at a motel, if you prefer). You get a discounted bill, which is something you need to pay upon check out with cash from your own pocket, unless if you want to be barred for medical shoplifting.
There are many of them discount health programs being pitched today by aggressive sales agents. Take note that there are two things insurance sales agents are not above doing: (a) hard selling the most expensive healthcare-related products to their health insurance leads, and (b) creating fluff around a product.
The more unscrupulous sales ones would like to pass off their health discount card products as insurance products. You will know it when they pitch “co-payments” and “premiums” in their sales spiel, yet you end up with paying medical bills from your own pocket. As a consumer, you have the right NOT to be pressured into making a buying decision. Trust you instinct when it tells you to drill the sales agent into disclosing the nature of the product that is being sold.
Choosing a health discount card can be easy. Just like a health insurance policy, you should always how many doctors are “in the network”. A good health discount card company does not scrimp on your access to health care professionals. More important, however, a good health discount card company is also a reputable one, and you will not hear any fraud complaints from its members.