|
Digital News Report – Digital News Report – Americans want to be covered by health insurance, but which one is best? Are there any we should watch-out for? Experts warn that some plans don’t cover enough and others aren’t accepted by enough doctors.
Now that health care is stalled in Congress, there is a surge in health insurance offers both online and on the television. But be careful. There are two types of plans watchdogs are worried about, according to Elizabeth Leamy with the ABC network.
The first plan that concerns experts is the “Health Discount Cards” that claim they can save you money on services, and the second plan has limited benefit plans. Even when you have a serious problem, you may still be stuck with enormous bills, Leamy explains.
One story involved a man who had a heart attack. When his wife pulled out their brand-new insurance card the hospital told her that it wasn’t an insurance plan but was a discount card.
Sellers of health discount cards were the first companies the FTC went after for Do Not Call Violations back in 2006. In that case, the seller of the plan and the telemarketing company were both fined $300,000 and $50,000, respectively. The FTC says these companies typically target and scam Hispanic Americans. The government continues to weed out fraud among these companies.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) also has a warning. “Small businesses should beware of “discount cards” that are marketed as if they were health insurance plans,” the agency said in a statement.
The “Limited Benefit Plan” also confuses consumers. These plans offer very little coverage for basic problems. One advertisement claims customers get “real health insurance”, but the fine print says the plan is NOT major medical insurance and not meant to replace “catastrophic coverage”.
The plan in the program was offered by American Medical and Life Insurance (AMLI). The state of New York called these ads misleading and fined AMLI $700,000. The company had to pull their ads off the air.
The AMLI plan only paid $1,000 a day towards hospital costs. Hospital stays usually cost more than $5,000 a day. The plan also offered only $100 towards high-tech tests when test can cost upwards of $4,000.
The BBB says Fraudulent Health Insurance is a growing problem. “The costs associated with health insurance plans have soared over the past several years and so have the number of consumers bilked by insurance scams.”
The bottom line is: Consumers need to read the fine print and make sure they purchase the right plan. Beware of limited plans and plans with only a small group of participating doctors.
By: Tina Brown
Business Writer