Florida Health Insurance

Fair Warning: Discount Cards are not health insurance

Health care discount cards and programs are being marketed heavily in Florida.  Typically, the discount programs offer cards, for a fee, that are intended to allow the program members to get discounts from participating physicians and providers. Once the discount is given, the program member is responsible for most of the bill for the medical treatment.

Don't be fooled into thinking these are individual health insurance plans.

The coverage does not come close to the benefits you receive with even a high deductible individual health insurance plan in Florida. Some programs make it difficult for a reader to determine exactly what it is they are purchasing even though it is disclosed on their websites, printed material etc.   However, other programs appear to intentionally leave an impression that they are insurance or function just like insurance.

• You may be required to pay a monthly fee of $20 to $100 before getting access to any savings.

• Discount card programs offer only a reduction in the actual cost of prescriptions or medical services. For example, a card that provides a 20% discount or savings would still require that the consumer pay 80% of the cost of the medical services ($100,000 medical expense would require that the consumer pay $80,000).  This is important since most participating providers require advance payment.

• Most of these plans require advance notice of utilization of discounts in order to honor them. In some cases, 7 days notice is needed for a doctor's visit, and 30 days notice is often required for hospitalization.

• Some discount medical/prescription plans offer discounts only on certain drugs. In many cases, purchasing a generic drug may be cheaper than applying the discount to a name brand drug. Therefore, check with your local pharmacist to confirm their participation and note the discounts offered.

• Terminating health insurance and opting into a medical discount card program may prevent or hinder an individual's ability to regain coverage at a later date.. They are not HIPAA compliant and do not provide credit against preexisting conditions when moving into an actual individual health insurance plan. 

• Also, consider pre-existing conditions when terminating health insurance.

• A few plans may use marketing tactics that lead consumers to believe they are purchasing insurance coverage. Call the Florida Department of Financial Services at 1-800-342-2762 to ask questions about any discount plan in which you are thinking of enrolling.

• Do not sign up for any program in which the benefits are not clearly defined...this goes for Florida health insurance plans as well.

• Do not sign up for a program until you have independently confirmed participating doctors or providers in your home area.

Even when there is disclosure that the program is not insurance, there is still confusion.  Don't be fooled by terms such as: "enroll," "open enrollment," "benefits," "benefit plan," "PPO network," "coverage," "pre-existing conditions," or other terms that could mislead a person into believing the discount program is a Florida health insurance plan.

These plans are not regulated by the Florida Department of Regulation

Even if the program states that it is not insurance, please review the program´s advertising, printed material and Web sites to see whether the program uses terms or phrases that would lead a consumer to think that the program is insurance.

If you have questions on whether or not what you are looking at is a Discount Card and not a health insurance plan give us a call at: (407) 425-9347.