“Free medical alert system” sounds amazing – and it often is. The advertisements tout complete emergency coverage with no monthly fees, but the truth behind the advertisements are often much more complicated than what advertisement would otherwise imply.
Knowing what’s really out there is one way to stop seniors from being disappointed and actually finding legitimate options that provides the safety benefits, and protection they want. The question is knowing how to ask the right questions, and knowing what the warning signs are with no-cost medical alert claims.
What “Free” Really Means
Most ads for free medical alerts are never completely free – they just disguise their costs in ways that are misleading; devices could cost you hundreds of dollars, yet free monitoring; free basic medical alert service, but once you want to add anything useful, the fees are very significant.
One comingled category of a “free” medical alert is where a no fees offer is for a limited time. One example of this is a Life Assure medical alert systems for seniors free Canada, which provides a no fee period to help reduce costs for seniors. Normally they will give you several months of service free; then after that limited time is a paid plan.
The most common way free services get you to make money, is to charge equipment rent. They may offer you the free subscription, but the device you have to rent, it will be enough to generally equal regular paid services.
They literally offer you a free option, but it can be so limited that is not a viable option for many seniors. These may only be available at certain hours, may only have limited geographical service area, or may have limited assistance if technical support is needed.
True Governmental or Community Programs
There are indeed true free medical alert services out there in some governmental agencies or community providers. These are typically granted to low-income seniors or seniors with medical conditions that make them eligible for more home or community service.
Veterans Affairs provides medical alert services for veterans that qualify, that may include no cost equipment and monitoring services. However, there are criteria that qualify with the application process taking time.
Many Area Agencies on Aging have free or low-cost monitoring programs that are supported with community grants or donations. Most of these programs have waiting lists families and participants are deemed based on low-income and/or the need for monitoring.
In some states, Medicaid will cover a medical alert system under the home and community-based services waivers. The coverage differs from state to state and most seniors will need to fit strict qualifications that will revolve around income or care needs.
Sometimes local hospital systems or health system will have programs they provide to their patients deemed at higher risk for an emergency. These programs are typically for seniors with specific medical conditions or recently discharged from the hospital.
Hidden Fees & Contract Terms
Once you have bundled all insurance fees for a “free” medical alert program. Activation fee, shipping fee, and most of the time even a deposit of some type fees, but you would get refunded once you return the equipment in its original form after during the contracted period.
Limited Services type locations may make “free” programs from being as usable as advertised. Some free services only provide emergency response premiere business times, some provide no assistance call and limit their selling region, and many do not even provide GPS tracking like most seniors need.
There could be more restrictive guidelines used for cancelling a service for free programs versus paid members. You may have to return equipment or lose the contracted feed on the first free branded service.
The quality of customer service for free services could be below the bar as advertised because they service more to their paying members. You may have extremely long wait times for technical support, and probably should be a qualified operator to get fresh ticket resolutions or obtaining where and why to return items.
Assessing Free Options
If you decide to explore options involving free medical alert services for seniors, prior to making your selection, consider asking very specific questions regarding service limitations, what type of equipment is required, and costs that may occur in the long term. Understanding what exactly is included, and which costs might incurred, will avoid surprises after signing up.
Trial periods for assessing service quality before entering into a longer agreement can be beneficial. During these trial periods, seniors should know how to cancel services to avoid unwanted charges if the service does not work out.
Read the contract terms carefully, as there may be important details regarding service limitations, automatic renewal clauses, and cancellation procedures that may be glossed over, or not mentioned at all, in the marketing materials.
Alternatives to Full Agency Programs
Some seniors found that a smartphone app with emergency features was adequate for its basic alert and notification functions at no additional cost other than their operating phone service. The basic notification is not as sophisticated as a medical alert system and only for seniors who a nothing beyond a verbal emergency contact.
Family systems, neighbor watch networks can complement, or in some cases, serve as a substitute to a licensed agency medical alert services program. Developing a system of monitored check-ins with family members and establishing a shared emergency notification can provide safety nets that are not predicated upon monthly service costs.
There maybe some basic area-based landline monitoring notification systems that include auto-dialing emergency numbers upon pressing emergency notification buttons. These may provide the simplest alert notification process without the ongoing monitoring costs. These can work well in some settings where emergency services can be dependably obtained and they do not required GPS tracking.
Realistic Decisions
There free medical alert services exist, but are rare, and are typically very limited. Most seniors needing urgent emergency assistance response will need to pay something to get something reliable.
The objective should be finding services that provide real value, not simply free or the lowest cost. Occasionally, a paying for a real service might costs less than dealing with complications afterwards from having a free service.
Seniors must be aware of the marketing ploy about “free” and not considering the real service limitations and extra costs. True programs have clear transparency about what the services include and what the senior will receive in the services.
The best scenario would be comparing the total costs and services across multiple preselected options, and not simply assume free is better than a simple affordable paid service. Knowing what is best for true safety, puts seniors in a better position to choose options that achieve emergency assistance purposes instead of appealing to fiscal matters.