Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports
May 2002
"Card programs often work like this: The company negotiates discounts and buys provider lists from preferred provider organizations (PPOs); the company generally does not contract with service providers. Some cardholders have reported that doctors, hospitals and pharmacies said they didn't know about the discount programs and wouldn't honor the cards."
Comment: The advertising for these programs is designed to make them appear to be very low cost insurance plans, but of course they are not. The ads are deceptive enough such that many will purchase these cards in the belief that they are a low cost substitute for insurance.
Examples: <http://www.aquent.com/financial/medical_savings_card.html>http://www.aquent.com/financial/medical_savings_card.html
<http://www.careentree.com/>http://www.careentree.com/
<http://www.insurancequotes4u.com/discount-medical.html>http://www.insurancequotes4u.com/discount-medical.html
<http://www.addhealth.com/index.html>http://www.addhealth.com/index.html
<http://www.firstchoiceinvestors.com/health.html>http://www.firstchoiceinvestors.com/health.html
<http://www.ameriplanusa.com/about.asp>http://www.ameriplanusa.com/about.asp
And the response of the AOL legal department: <http://legal.web.aol.com/decisions/dljunk/national.html>http://legal.web.aol.com/decisions/dljunk/national.html
And even Tommy Thompson and Tom Scully are being sued as potential perpetrators of this type of deception: <http://www.heartland.org/health/aug01/pharmacy.htm>http://www.heartland.org/health/aug01/pharmacy.htm
The Kentucky Department of Insurance has issued an informative consumer alert on health discount plans: <http://www.doi.state.ky.us/Kentucky/Documents/consumer/consalertv3.pdf>http://www.doi.state.ky.us/Kentucky/Documents/consumer/consalertv3.pdf
This worthless industry will be discarded on the same trash heap as the private health plans once we establish a single payer system. What are we waiting for?
Beth Capell, Ph.D., on behalf of Health Access California, responds on health discount cards:
Major legislation is pending in this area in California. Both Consumers Union and Health Access California are involved.
The point you make is the one Health Access California has always made in opposing the creation of such plans: that some employers and workers will be confused and regard these dubious discounts as a substitute for health insurance.
And the discounts are dubious: since no one knows what the price of anything is in health care, how can a "real" discount be determined? No one has found an answer to this conundrum.
However, since seniors rely so heavily on these discount programs as a substitute for Medicare prescription drug coverage, they are unlikely to be banned outright.
Comment: One more reason to enact Medicare prescription drug coverage, or, better yet, a comprehensive, universal single payer system.