Discount Health Plans -- Are They Right For You?

With more than 45 million Americans without health insurance, discount health plans are quickly becoming one of the fastest growing alternatives to health insurance among educated consumers.

The reason? They're affordable, convenience and they can save you a great deal of money on health care expenses.

Now an answer to the question...

Just What Is A Discount Plan?
Sometimes referred to as a "smart alternative" to health insurance, discount health plans work by memberships. You apply for membership with a company offering the plan and agree to pay a monthly fee. In return, the company issues you a discount card, which you present to your provider (physician)at the time services are performed.

What's In It For Me?
When a provider joins the plan, he agrees to accept the card and to give you a discount each time you visit.

So what's the catch?

There is no catch, you sign up with an unscrupulous company. But here's something you need to remember. Since discount health plans are not insurance, you are responsible for paying for all services. But if you currently don't have health insurance, you'd have to pay anyway. So why not benefit from the discount you'd get by being a member?

You might ask why a doctor would be willing to offer you a cut when he charges other clients regular price? In searching several discount health plans, I found that in most cases it's simply a matter of economics. Your doctor benefits greatly from the increased business the company sends his way when he joins the company's provider list. And more traffic means more sales--and more profits for him.

The Affordability Factor
So how affordable are discount plans and just how much should you pay for one? Here's my rule of thumb: Don't sign up for a plan that costs more than a cup of coffee a day for your entire household. Period. If you need help finding such a plan, you can contact me for more information.

Convenience
What do I mean by convenience? Once you sign up for a discount plan, you shouldn't have to wait a day, or even an hour for the plan to take effect. If you're in pain you should be able to see a physician immediately. And you shouldn't have to fill out any paperwork or answer health question. Every visit should be as simple as presenting your discount card.

And here's another one for convenience.

The plan you choose should not require pre-authorization for treatment, and should include all specialists, where available.

How Much of a Discount Can You Expect?
Discount vary from plan to plan. But with a good plan you should expect to save 20% to 50%, depending on the plan and your physician.

You Should Also Expect This...
Your plan should include ancillary services, such as physical therapy, hearing services and lab procedures. A good plan will also include a hospital advocacy feature.

That means that if you're hospitalized and the cost is more than a pre-determined amount, the company will assign an "advocate" who will negotiate with the hospital to get the best possible rate for you depending on your ability to pay. Contact me for a plan that offers this feature.

Some plans also offer a 24-hour nurse line, where you can call a nurse any time for medical advice that may or may not require a visit to the doctor. This could save you hours of waiting at the doctor's office or an expensive trip to the emergency room.

But Look Out for Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
Again, you should practice caution when choosing a plan. You want to deal only with a reputable company. I believe most companies offer legitimate services and valuable savings, but there are a lot of misleading advertising and scam artists out there who are selling grossly inflated promises instead of real discounts.

Click here to read about some of the tactics you should beware of and how to avoid being scammed.

I have researched more than 30 discount health plans and found one company that offers a plan that satisfies my perception of what discount health plans should include.

The plan I settled on includes medical, dental, vision, pharmacy and chiropractic for about $39 a month per household. It's a reputable company with a great track record (I checked out their rating with the Better Business Bureau). They've been in business about 15 years.

For more information about this plan click here.