Discount Medical Plans Under Fire

Discount medical plans popped up everywhere over the last decade. What started off as a good idea has once again been victimized by greed and false pretenses. Once long ago, someone realized not everyone could afford the medical benefits they needed and developed a program that would assist in providing their customers with an option to save money on their health care. These discounts are not insurance and never were. Someone approached a medical provider acting as a middleman between the consumer and the medical provider. Like insurance, the customers are provided an identification card that they hand to the medical provider. At that point, the provider would automatically enforce their discount. The discount is generally between forty and sixty percent of the customers total bill. The provider has also agreed not to charge more than a certain amount for their service to the card holder.

It looks fantastic on paper. No health questions, no co-pays, nor are there deductibles. The only thing the customer has to worry about paying for their card is their monthly premium, which is pretty low. Now, comes the dark little secret, because these are not insurance many providers will not accept them. That means the customer has a very limited choice of providers, which still is not all that bad.

That was fantastic, at first. Times have changed since the inception of these discount plans. Most of these companies mass hire representatives to market their products and do not require the representatives to have an insurance license. This means anyone can market the product for a fee to the company. These companies realize the true potential of mass hiring representatives, which is the "warm market" appeal. They realized the representatives would approach friends and family first, since families are friends are more likely to help the representative succeed in their business. Once their "warm market" was exhausted, the representatives discovered the difficulties with marketing their products.

When representatives found their backs to the walls, they began marketing their products relying on questionable "ethical" practices. For example, the representatives knew this wasn't insurance but they would refer to their product as insurance. Another example, the representatives knew there were not any providers, that would accept their product, within a fifty mile radius yet they assure their clients their product was acceptable nearby.

These misdeeds have not gone unnoticed. As of now, the government is looking to prohibit the marketing of medical discount plans. No matter what type of discount plan it is-prescription, dental, or medical, the plans will no longer be marketable. As far as a time line, it is rumored to happen within the next month to two years.

Of course, there are other reasons associated with these looming changes. First, the government is looking to make health insurance mandatory for everyone. So there will be plans available that are much more affordable to individuals seeking health insurance. One company has already begun a program with this change in mind. They offer a product called coverage on demand. For example, maybe you end up spending $50 a week for $300,000 in coverage. You end up paying $300 to the hospital, but that provides up to $300,000 in coverage when you need it. Another option is purchasing a high deductible plan, which makes their clients premiums very affordable. Of course, many companies offer high deductible HSA plans. However, you can purchase a high deductible plan and a supplemental policy to offset the high deductible.

So, if you do happen to own a discount policy, this is definitely something to pay attention to. Contact a local insurance agent to find out more. They are more than happy to help you with your needs and are likely to find the most appropriate product for you.