Ohio Medical Discount Plans

The Good: They don’t cost much. The Bad: A lot of things. The Ugly: Even more things.  You may have seen these slogans on television or online:

“No deductibles or copays”

“Discounts up to 50%”

“All pre-existing conditions accepted”

Quite simply… An “Ohio Medical Discount Plan” is not insurance since the member is responsible for paying all medical bills. These plans simply offer lower prices on services that accept these discounts.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), some medical discount plans claim to offer huge discounts for a wide range of services, including hospital stays, doctors visits, prescription drugs and dental exams. And many of these plans gladly take consumer’s money without offering much in return.

Ohio medical discount plans are also spreading. Many companies from outside of Ohio are targeting residents. To lure customers, it’s quite common they’ll make unusual promises about savings and benefits. The salespersons marketing these plans often don’t need (or have) a license or healthcare background. Mysterious upfront “administration” charges and hidden expenses also tend to show up with these types of plans.

But help is on the way. In 2007, Ohio law placed new requirements on discount medical plans in an effort to provide greater consumer protection. This law requires medical discount plans to have written agreements with network hospitals and doctors to help insure consumers received promised discounts. In fact, the Ohio Department of Insurance can investigate and take action against medical discount plans that violate the law.

In rare instances, where members are uninsurable, and the Ohio Open Enrollment plan is too expensive, an Ohio medical discount plan may be the only option. But if you are forced to consider this type of coverage, please follow these suggestions:

*Call your local Better Business Bureau to find about complaints against the company.

*Make sure that any type of “up-front fee” is completely refundable.

* If your personal medical and dental providers don’t participate in the plan, go elsewhere.

*Instead of purchasing this type of plan, you may be able to negotiate a similar discount directly with your personal providers.

Ohio medical discount plans are not the same as Ohio health insurance plans. Please…be careful!

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