Sixteen Discount Health Care Card Providers Licensed in Texas - Effective April 1, 2008, license required
May 21, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Stanford
512-463-3208
AUSTIN –Beginning April 1, 2008, all discount health care card providers wanting to conduct business in Texas were required to be licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Currently sixteen companies meet state requirements and are legally acting as discount health care providers.
Discount health care cards are not insurance. They are non-insurance plans that offer consumers access to health care services at discount rates. The cards vary on whether or not they require a one-time enrollment fee but all have an ongoing membership fee. In exchange for these fees consumers receive a discount health card that may enable them to receive discounts on specific health care services, such as dental and medical care. The discount card companies provide names of specific health care providers who agree to discounts under the program.
Terms differ from card to card and you must examine the discounted services carefully and verify with health care providers whether or not the discounts outlined are honored. Often the appearance and format of the information is strikingly similar to that of health insurance providers and consumers believe they are signing up for health insurance when in actuality it is a discount health care card service plan.
Texas has the highest rate of residents without health insurance in the nation. Currently, one in four Texans has no health insurance coverage. The vast majority of the uninsured are employees of small businesses or are self-employed who cannot afford health care insurance premiums. Discount health care cards may look very inviting but potential consumers should keep these warning signs in mind before signing up:
- How did you hear about it? Legitimate companies aren’t likely to advertise through spam emails, flyers, and blast faxes.
- Disproportionate savings. You are promised huge savings that are completely out of line with what similar companies are able to offer.
- Information hold outs. They won’t provide their list of participating providers until after you pay.
- Read the not so fine print. Legitimate companies will include words like “Discount Health Card is NOT insurance” in their brochures and advertisements.
- Do the discounts out weigh the costs? Carefully calculate whether the discounts you will be getting make the costs worth it.
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