WAFF.com: North Alabama News, Radar, Weather, Sports and Jobs-BBB looking into newspaper healthcare plan advertisement
By Jeanie Powell
WAFF 48 News Reporter
A full page advertisement for a new healthcare plan placed in the Huntsville Times and Decatur Daily has had some people picking up the phone calling the Better Business Bureau and our newsroom.
The ad is a new company's promotion.
You can receive a free universal health card guaranteeing discounts to various health care services.
No medical examines are necessary and no one's refused.
But many named providers say that's not the case and it's leaving participants confused, feeling some details provided are misleading.
The full page ad tells of an $18 dollar registration fee that gets you a free Universal Health Card for 30 days.
It's offered to anyone, no matter age, insurance, or lack thereof.
It's not an insurance card, but a Universal Health Card, claiming to offer discounted services from physicians' offices to prescriptions.
But many people are confused about this offer you have 48 hours to subscribe to.
We showed three people on the street the ad, which they hadn't read.
One woman said, "Sounds good."
It seemed like something she might be interested in.
Another says, "It's got pictures; it's got a graph, then it has advertisement in small letters at the top. An elderly person is going to think this is a newspaper article."
Sean Wallace, a Valley chiropractor, says, "I haven't heard of it, if somebody came into my office and said do we accept Universal Health Card,I'd say I have no idea what you're talking about."
Michele McDaniel, CEO/President of the Better Business Bureau of North Alabama says, "We found it first in the Decatur Daily a couple days ago and then on the Huntsville Times and we've been getting a lot of calls into our office."
Providers are listed via the web and print, but some applicants say the companies listed for their zip code like Target, Wal-Mart, and Walgreens aren't participating.
McDaniel says, "There's an $18 dollar registration fee and then there's two plans: One would be $29.99 a month, one $49.99 a month, but again, how would you spend the money if you can't find anyone who you can legitimately go to? And once you pay that money, that doesn't cover your medical expenses, that just gives you the right to go to them and ask for the special discount. When we asked the company how much discount, it ranges from five to 60%, so you'd have to go to each provider and find out from them what percentage it would be if they actually do participate."
We asked McDaniel what penalties a company could face if misleading information is printed, naming companies who are actually not participating.
She says in their market place, the District Attorney's Office or the Attorney General's Office could investigate the situation.
The BBB's job is also to check to ensure a company is not acting fraudulent to best protect all consumers.
McDaniel says her staff is doing its own investigation on the company headquartered in Canton, Ohio.
"When we've been talking to the providers listed, we find that they do not take part. So the info on this company's web site appears to be fraudulent or there's been some mistakes made."
We found the same when we contacted several doctor's offices.
The ones we called from the web site said they offered no discounts and did not accept Universal Health Cards.
We also learned from the company's consultants with Universal Media Syndicate, that the provider is Bio Scrip, so we also tried that name in some of our phone inquiries.
Most of the pharmacies didn't accept the Universal Health Card and some did accept Bio Scrip, but weren't sure if they accepted Universal Health Card; they would need more information like a group number.
Universal Health Card consultants tell the WAFF 48 Investigators that everyone on their documents listed, is a participant, but there might be confusion since people haven't received their actual cards.
When a consumer subscribes, they get a membership kid with more instructions.
They claim there are so many programs or discount programs out in the market and since they are a brand new company, that pharmacists or technicians might not recognize the name, but would by the group or prescription number.
The consultants also told us that Beech Street Corporation is the physicians' network (doctor's only) in which they have a contractual agreement.
They tell the WAFF 48 Investigators they will address problems to try and make this easier on customers.
We asked if they were a legitimate company and if they hold firm to their promises to customers that they can get the full services and providers they stand by.
They say it's a solid deal.
Our local BBB tells us the Ohio BBB where the company is headquartered just learned of the ad Friday and is also looking into the matter.
The Ohio BBB will be meeting with company management Thursday to learn more about the medical plan and how it works.
You are urged to call the Better Business Bureau of North Alabama at (256) 533-1640 if you have any concerns.
For questions about providers and this plan, consultants with Universal Media Syndicate tell us you can call 1-800-731-4576.
The Huntsville Times tells us it contacted the BBB of North Alabama and is taking steps to ensure there's no more confusion about this advertisement.
You can email Jeanie at jpowell@waff.com
