I want to tell you all about an experience I had recently. I received a telemarketing call from
Affordable Health Choice wanting me to join their HealthCare Advantage program. (http://www.healthcareadvantage.com) This is a medical savings plan, not an insurance plan.

Affordable Health Choice signs you up with HealthCare Advantage.

The way they explained things to me, this would have saved us over $1,000 per year compared to our medical insurance premium deductions from my husbands checks. We could then cancel the medical insurance with his employer.

But...after signing up I started thinking: "What if we were diagnosed with a terminal disease or something catastrophic happened?" So I called HealthCare Advantage to ask if that was included or if they had a policy to cover those things. They told me that they didn't believe so and that I should contact Affordable Health Choice and ask them if they offered catastrophic policies. So I did, and they said no.

I told HealthCare Advantage that if they 'did not' have a catastrophic policy that as much as I hated our medical insurance company through my husbands employer that I would be cancelling. They said I had to cancel through Affordable Health Choice since they signed me up.

I called Affordable Health Choice and explained things to them for about the 6th time and cancelled. They told me that I should be receving a refund of the first installment I had paid, plus the most recent payment from HealthCare Advantage whick came to $285 altogether.

Both companies keep telling me to call the other one! One hand doesn't know what the other is doing.

Well, HealthCare Advantage REFUSES to refund me our money. So in essence it's like I just went up to a stranger on the street and said: "Here, here's $285 for you!"

I don't think it is right or ethical or fair and I want my money refunded and back into our checking account. Since they are refusing, I am now going to contact an attorney through a program I belong to and I'm also going to contact:

Our state Attorney General, our local and national newspapers and I'm going to call our radio and television stations to let them know so that they can warn their audiences. $285 may not be a lot of money to a lot of people, but it is one months space rent for me.

HealthCare Advantage has, in essence, stolen that money from me.

So I thought I would warn all of my internet friends about this. Please make SURE you know all of what they cover and what they don't, write down names, dates, time of day and case numbers of anyone you talk to. Record the calls if you can.

Please wish me luck in getting my money refunded, it's going to be a hassle!