Health insurance is expensive. This is the main reason why so many Americans lack health insurance. Some of the social coupon websites have started connecting to dentists, doctors, and health care providers in order to offer people deals on health care services.
Groupon is, perhaps, the most easily recognizable social coupon website. Others include: LivingSocial, PeopleDeals, EverSave, SocialBuy, and Tippr. Google might be getting into this market with GoogleOffers soon.
In order to get a social coupon, you typically have to subscribe to the service. It isn’t free, but it also isn’t an outrageous price. The company connects with local businesses, such as restaurants, stores, cafes, and salons, in order to create coupons that people who use the social coupon service can purchase for a discounted rate. One of the most common examples is when a restaurant will offer a dinner for two at half price, for people who purchase that particular social coupon.
A new trend seems to have begun. Social coupon websites have started connecting with health care providers, who will offer services such as teeth cleanings, eye exams, chiropractic care, or medical checkups, for a discounted rate. This rate is a “one time only” deal, and you must purchase a social coupon in order to get it. This allows the person who buys the social coupon to receive that particular form of health care for a much lower rate than would be possible outside of this deal.
There are some benefits to using a social coupon for health care. It allows you to be seen by a doctor or dentist even if you don’t happen to have health insurance. It definitely cuts down the cost of visiting a doctor and receiving that particular type of health care. It beats waiting to have a health issue taken care of until it is bad enough to require a trip to the emergency room.
There are also problems with this system. You most likely will be seeing a doctor who has never treated you before, and doesn’t know a thing about your medical history. This could lead to problems with diagnosis, in some instances. The timing of when a social coupon for dental care appears on a website might not match up with when you need to see a dentist. If you don’t live in a big city, there might not be social coupons offered for the doctors that are local to where you live.
In short, using a social coupon to get a medical check-up or a teeth cleaning isn’t a perfect substitution for having an actual health insurance plan. However, it could save you some money if you happen to be able to buy the right coupon at the right time.
Image by Doey_ on Flickr