Direct Med is a scam and a fraud

[ThirdWorldJohn]

I filled out a survey on line. I was looking for affordable health Insurance. I found a great plan called Direct Med that I was supposedly able to get for $124/month. Covered my pre-existing and was a sub of US Life and Aetna and I do not know if that is a real company. So I googled Direct Med and found the scam and here it is. I am posting in case any other people are scammed like me. Fortunately I found this before I enrolled and was out any money.

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/direct-med-c139857.html

Direct Med
Posted: 2008-12-17 by Jessica

leads you to believe they are insurance
Complaint Rating: 100 % with 22 votes
Company information:
Direct Med
United States
directmednet.com

I am about to graduate from college and desperate for health insurance and a job and was browsing online for insurance options. I received a call within 10 minutes after entering my info with US Health Benefits Group who says they are associated with eHealthInsurance, which is a reputable company so I took the call.

The agent told me I was buying a discount and I quote "insured benefit plan". He said I would be covered for primary care physicians, specialists, and prescriptions for copays of $20, that it was the same as a PPO plan, and that I would get this all for $124. a month plus a $135. signup fee. In my desperation for some type of affordable coverage I gave them my credit card number, social security number, address and phone information, as well as my driver's license number. I then received a confirmation email with temporary cards stating THIS IS NOT HEALTH INSURANCE AND IN NO WAY A SUBSTITUTE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE, which is when I realized my naivety and looked them up online.

I called the next day to talk to the agent who sold me the plan, who basically panicked and handed the phone over to his supervisor when I said I looked it up and no one accepts their card. I then had to call Direct Med directly and go through them to cancel, and after they too panicked that I had called them out on their scam, they played me back a tape-recording of my conversation the night before with a customer service rep stating that I did understand what I was buying.

The words "discount and insured benefit plan" sounded to me, and are probably designed to sound to the average person like 'health insurance plan', which is what I was led to believe I was buying.

They did refund part of my money, but I still lost the membership sign-up fee of $135.00.

Long story short, Direct Med is selling a bait-and-switch scam and preys on people desperate for affordable healthcare—those who can least afford to lose the money they are swindled out of in the first place.

[Suich]

1. Why haven't they been shut down?

Do you know? I hate, hate, hate scams!!!

:)

[zeos3]

2. Sadly, there's plenty of this out there

Whenever they use language like "insured benefit plan", beware. These are usually just discount cards and barely cover anything. These companies fall back on your signature or, in the above case, your verbal confirmation that you understand what you are getting yourself into to try to shield themselves from liability or litigation.

It can get confusing, but you have to pay attention to the language used. Also, beware of temporary health insurance or short term medical insurance. There is nothing really wrong with these plans in and of themselves but they are exactly what they state, TEMPORARY. I've heard of people buying a series of temporary plans to save money vs a permanent plan but they run into problems if they develop a chronic condition or exceed the benefits.

Thank you "consumer driven health care", as if we didn't have enough to study to become more "educated consumers". I feel a rant coming on so I'll end it here before I crush another computer mouse, mistaking it for a stress ball.


Edited to add this:

Check the maximums on the plans you're considering! Check the lifetime maximum benefit, check if there's a maximum prescription benefit, check if there's a maximum benefit for checkups/bloodwork/xrays, etc. Also, stay away from NASE and Mega Life and Health Insurance.