Medical Alert Systems With No Monthly Fee
They exist, they are cheaper, and for some people they are genuinely the right answer. Here is exactly what you get and what you give up, written by a company that sells the other kind.
What "no monthly fee" actually means
Almost every no-fee device is an auto-dialer. You program in two or three phone numbers, usually family. When the button is pressed, the device rings those numbers in order and plays a recorded message, or opens a speakerphone.
There is no monitoring center. Nobody is on duty. The device is doing what a phone would do, automatically.
That is fine right up until the moment it is not. The situations where an auto-dialer fails are specific and worth picturing honestly:
- Your daughter is in a meeting with her phone face down. The device rings out and moves to the next number. Then it has run out of numbers.
- It is three in the morning and everyone is asleep.
- Whoever answers has to work out what is wrong, where exactly the person is, and what to tell 911. A monitoring operator has the address and the medical notes on screen before they speak.
- The person cannot speak, because they are hurt or confused. An auto-dialer plays a recording at a family member who now knows something is wrong but not what or where.
- A number changed and nobody reprogrammed the box.
Side by side
| No monthly fee (auto-dialer) | Monitored (what we do) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Whoever picks up, if anyone | A trained operator, 24/7/365 |
| Upfront cost | You buy the device outright | Nothing. Equipment included |
| Ongoing cost | None | From $27.95/mo |
| If nobody answers | Nothing happens | The operator keeps working the list, then calls 911 |
| Knows the address and medical notes | No | Yes, on screen before they speak |
| Fall detection | Rare, and nothing to call if it triggers | Available, goes to a person |
| If it breaks | You buy another | We replace it |
When the no-fee option is genuinely the better buy
We would rather say this than pretend otherwise.
- There is a reliable person nearby who always answers. A spouse in the next room, an adult child two doors down. The auto-dialer is reaching someone who is actually there.
- The person flatly refuses monitoring. Something they will accept beats something better that sits in a drawer.
- Money is genuinely the deciding factor and the alternative is nothing at all. A device that calls your son is better than no device.
- As a second button in a workshop or basement alongside a monitored system.
When it is the wrong buy
- The person lives alone and family is far away or at work all day.
- They have fallen before, or take blood thinners, where minutes on the floor matter.
- They have dementia, or may not be able to explain what is happening.
- You are buying it so that you can stop worrying. An auto-dialer moves the worry onto whoever has to answer the phone.
If it is the monthly cost that is putting you off, say so before you decide.
Our cheapest system is $27.95 a month on bank autopay, which is under a dollar a day, and annual billing takes another $2 off each month. Veterans and Meals on Wheels recipients save $5 a month. We also match any competitor pricing. There is no contract, so you are not committing to anything you cannot stop.
See all systems and pricesCall (866) 743-7348
And if after all that a no-fee device is still the right answer for your situation, buy one. We would rather you had something that gets used than nothing at all.