More and more people are concerned with receiving health insurance. The costs of health coverage are going up and up, as are the costs of prescription drugs. Even a simple hospital visit can cost the uninsured a lot of money, and hospital visit involving a serious accident can be disastrous financially.
People think, “But I just can’t afford to pay another monthly bill.” This may seem like good reasoning, but it isn’t. Another monthly bill may seem like a lot, but it’ll seem like a lot less when you find yourself needing to go to the doctor or to the hospital. But this concern about finances leads to another point.
Medical discount plans, usually offered in the form of cards, are growing in popularity and commonness. You see them on the internet, on TV, you see them in the newspapers and on flyers. Lots of people are buying. There are some things you should know about medical discount plans, however.
1. Don’t be fooled into believing that a medical discount plan is a replacement for your health insurance plan. There’s a good reason for your medical discount plan being a lot cheaper than your health insurance. In the case of a doctor or hospital visit, you pay most of the cost. You pay the bulk of the cost. Unlike health insurance, medical discount plans merely offer you a little discount on your hospital visit or medication. They don’t offer to cover the whole thing. Yet many people believe that they do.
2. A medical discount plan is more like a coupon for getting a discount on a meal. You pay for the bulk of the meal, but you save a little money on desert or drinks. If you think of a emergency room as a big, expensive, horrible meal, think of health insurance as your date who’s going to foot the bill, and your medical discount plan as a tip for the waiter.
3. Scams having to do with medical discount plans are growing in number. Remember the old saying: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Medical discount plan providers will in some cases want to sound just like health insurance providers. Remember: they’re not. They’re only offering a small service, and sometimes for a relatively large fee. Don’t allow yourself to be fooled. Don’t allow yourself to be fooled into thinking that you no longer need your health insurance now that you’ve got a medical discount plan. You’d find out otherwise on your next hospital visit, much to your sorrow.
4. Be sure, then, to do plenty of research when it comes to medical discount plans. Know exactly what you’re getting into. The internet is a great tool for doing this. The internet is filled with objective experts who only have your good in mind. They’ll be able to explain to you the differences between actual health insurance and medical discount plans. They’ll also be able to explain to you the benefits of medical discount plans. Don’t be scared from this description that every medical discount plan is out to steal your money. Some are legitimate, and offer legitimate, if small in scope, services. When in doubt, ask. When in doubt, don’t buy. Your health insurance is one of the most important aspects of your life; don’t give it up for a cheap imitation.
5. When you do go with a medical discount plan, make sure you read the fine print. Remember, if something reads “You can save up to 40% on this or that,” the statement basically means nothing. It probably means, in fact, that in 99 out of a 100 cases you’ll be saving less than 1% or some other ridiculously low number.