Medical Care Alert vs. Aloe Care Health

As people age, their need for constant monitoring and medical attention also increases, especially for seniors who have underlying illnesses and those who are prone to falls. A significant number of seniors prefer to maintain their independence until old age, and with that, they may feel that having a caregiver who provides close monitoring interferes with their self-sufficiency.

For independent adults, a life alert system is good news. They can still live alone with minimal worries on accessing immediate help should they need it. This actually improves their quality of life as they enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing help is nearby as the need arises.

Medical Care Alert and Aloe Care are two thriving and well-respected companies that provide top quality medical alert services. In this article, we will compare these providers across an objective-based criteria and examine their features, cost, and services.

	Medical Care Alert	Aloe Care Health
Overall Grade	Overall Grade: A-plus	Overall Grade: A
Costs
Monthly Cost Price	$29.95 - $39.95	$24.99 - $49.99
Device Cost	$0	$99.99 - $349.99
Shipping Fee	$11.95	n/a
Cancellation Fee	No fee	No fee
Fall Detection Fee	$10	n/a
Cellular Fee	n/a	n/a
Spouse Monitoring	$0 - $29.95	$29.99
Features
Connectivity Option	Cellular, Landline or Cellular	Cellular, Landline or Cellular
Two-way Speaker & Microphone	Yes	Yes
Home-based Back Up Battery Life	80 hours	4-6 hours
On-the-go Battery Life	72 hours	120 hours
Button Range	1000 ft	200 ft or 200 ft
Water Resistant	Yes	Yes
GPS Tracking	Yes, some plans	Yes, some plans
Caregiver App	Yes, some plans	Yes
Response Time	12 seconds	30 seconds or 30 seconds
More Details	See All Plans	See All Plans

Medical Care Alert

Pros:

• 100% U.S-based Monitoring Center
• EMT/EMD Certified emergency respondents
• 14-day free trial period, with full refund of any remaining service fee
• With GPS location tracker
• All devices are compatible with automatic fall detection
• Long battery life (lasts up to 3 days)
• No activation fees
• Price-lock guarantee
• The RemoteCare 24/7 smartphone app lets authorized caregivers check the location and device status of the HOME & AWAY help button
• Free lockbox provided with an annual monitoring plan

Cons:

• Subscribers must choose an annual prepaid plan to get the lowest monthly price
• No month-to-month billing option for new subscribers

Aloe Care Health Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Reasonable monthly monitoring fees
• Aloe Care Health App can track a loved one’s mobility, keep tabs on calls, and be contacted for check-ins.
• 24/7 emergency monitoring
• Voice-activated system
• Fall detection fee is included in the basic monthly monitoring fee
• Free shipping on all orders, with offers for faster shipping for an additional cost
• Motion sensors availability with their Total Care plan
• 30-day trial

Cons:

• Initial device cost shall be paid upfront
• Devices are waterproof but are not recommended to be submerged in water for too long
• Limited device range

Medical Care Alert Overview

Medical Care Alert have already established their systems throughout the years by their ample time and experience in the industry being founded since 2012. As they are family-owned, they also monitor their own family members through their systems.

They have highly-trained emergency respondents who are all EMT/EMD certified, which means that they are experts in health care matters. Because of this, their systems are most ideal for seniors who have health risks and also for our vulnerable loved ones. Medical Care Alert’s monitoring system is certified by various third-party organizations, as they are UL-approved, and maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. This is an important aspect to look at because reliability always comes first when deciding which medical alert system is worth purchasing.

Medical Alert Systems

Home Medical Alert System- Landline

The Medical Care Alert Home system needs a standard landline connection to operate appropriately. This plan includes a base unit paired with a pendant or wristband help button. The base unit includes a speakerphone for hands-free communication with the emergency monitoring center. The water-resistant help button has up to 1000-foot range from the base console through the landline connectivity. The battery features an 80-hour backup so you don’t have to worry if the power goes out. The system is at $29.95 per month, with optional upgrade for fall detection that costs $10 every month.

Home Medical Alert System- Cellular

The Home Cellular Medical Care Alert system works as an alternative in-home medical alert system that will protect you anywhere in your home through connecting to the AT&T 4G LTE wireless network. The system has a 1,000 foot range from the base console, which exceeds the average size of an American home. This provides extra assurance for you and your family members as the range capacity covers all areas inside your home and in your yard. The wearable help button is also water-proof, and has a battery life of up to 80 hours.

Home and Away Ultra

This system fits the lifestyle of seniors who are active and always on the move, as this system provides in-home and mobile protection. The Home and Away Ultra provides a lightweight and compact device that comes with a wearable waterproof help button pendant, with a GPS location tracker, that is directly connected with a trained, EMT/EMD certified operator ready to respond in cases of emergencies. This mobile system connects to AT&T 4G LTE and works in any location that is accessible to the AT&T cellular service.

The battery can be used for up to three days, giving you convenience and peace of mind even when you need to be away for a while. This system can also be upgraded to have fall detection monitoring for only $10 a month.

Home and Away Duo

The Home and Away Duo offers similar services and features with the Home and Away Ultra model, providing coverage across the country wherever cellular signal is accessible. It comes with the Duo GPS device and a water-proof help button which is safe to wear anywhere and in any weather. Its battery life can last up to three days, and the device comes with a free charging cradle. The pendant is also equipped with a speakerphone and GPS, Wi-Fi and cellular location services that allows access to the Medical Care Alert call center to pinpoint the exact location of the user in times of emergencies. All it takes is just one push on the help button in a medical emergency.

Aloe Care Health Overview

Aloe Care Health is quite new to the medical alert industry, but it beats the long experience of other medical alert system providers with its technologically advanced features that offer a completely new experience for the users.

The interesting feature that Aloe Care Health has is its voice-activated medical alert system with pendant-free fall detection. This is a good option for seniors who don’t like to wear anything when moving around the house. The at-home medical alert packages also monitor indoor temperature, air quality, and activity.

Aloe Care's plans start at $24.99 up to $49.99 a month, which is not the cheapest, nor the most expensive in the market. They don't require a long-term contract, so you're free to cancel their services at any time. Another attractive offer is that the automatic fall detection is already included in their monthly subscription fee, unlike most providers that charge a standard monthly fee for this feature on top of the base price.

One downside of their system is that the buttons only have a 200ft range from the base station. So if you have a large home, you might need to purchase an extra button so that you can still be covered in the event of an emergency.

Medical Alert Systems

Mobile Companion

Mobile Companion is Aloe Care's on-the-go device that offers LTE coverage. It's a small, pocket-sized device that has a fall sensor and two-way voice communication. It also has real-time GPS tracking and can last up to 5 days on a single charge. The monthly subscription for this service is $24.99 a month, with an initial equipment fee of $99.

Essentials

Aloe Care Health Essentials plan includes a voice-activated base console called Smart Hub and a wearable Care Button. The system uses the AT&T connection. This home-based system costs $29.99 a month with a one-time device cost of $149.99. The Smart Hub is equipped with motion, temperature, and air quality sensors. It also has a button to trigger an alarm that is directly connected to Aloe Care’s professional monitoring center. The Care Button is a wearable device that has a range of 200ft and can also be used to trigger an alarm.

Essentials Plus

The Essentials Plus plan costs $39.99 a month plus a one-time fee of $249.99 for the device cost. The one-time purchase fee includes a Smart Hub base that is voice-activated and has built-in motion, temperature, and air quality sensors; a wearable Care Button to call for help up to 200ft range; and a Mobile Companion device with wearable fall detection and AT&T LTE coverage nationwide.

Total Care

Aloe Care's Total Care package includes everything in the Essentials package plus a mobile companion. This compact system functions as an on-the-go system that protects you anywhere you go, as it operates with the AT&T LTE coverage nationwide. This plan also includes two additional mobile security features: two motion sensors and automatic fall detection. This plan is the most expensive they offer which costs $49.99 a month with a one-time device cost of $349.99.

Comparing the cost of Medical Care Alert and Aloe Care Health, the former is considerably more affordable in the long run, specifically because of Aloe Care’s expensive upfront equipment fees which ranges from $99-$349. The company requires the users to buy out the device rather than renting it.

Although Aloe Care Health offers free fall detection in their plans, Medical Care Alert’s low monitoring fees can well justify their additional $10 charge for the optional fall detection. Medical Care Alert charges its customers $11.95, while Aloe Care offers it for free, but for an additional $40 for faster shipment. Lastly, Medical Care Alert don't charge spouse monitoring on their plans except for Home and Away Duo where you will need to own separate system while Aloe Care offers the same for $29.99.

With these data on their costs, it is clear as day that Medical Care Alert offers their services for a more affordable rate, which saves you a lot of expenses in the long run.

On the surface, Aloe Care Health can look a bit more modern as it uses advanced technology for its systems, but both providers can serve the same functions of an effective life alert system.

Both of their devices offer two-way communication, GPS location tracking, and fall detection features. However, Medical Care Alert only offers a fall detection feature for an additional $10 a month, while Aloe Care's plans already come with this feature. The cost for fall detection, however, does not largely influence the overall cost offered by Medical Care Alert, because it is an optional feature and the fee is the standard cost in the market.

For the in-home system, Medical Care Alert has a larger range capacity which is 1000ft, as compared to the 200-ft range of Aloe Care. If you live in an average home, the limited range of Aloe Care may be an issue for you.

Overall, Medical Care Alert performs better in terms of features and capacity, most especially in their response time of 12 seconds, which is twice as fast as the recorded response time of Aloe Care Health.

Monitoring Center

Medical Care Alert and Aloe Care monitoring centers operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Both of them are 100% US-based and have nationwide coverage across the country. Aloe Care is TMA Five Diamond Certified and Medical Care Alert is UL-approved.

While they both have excellent monitoring centers, Aloe Care's average response time is 30 seconds while Medical Care Alert’s operators can attend to an emergency in as fast as 12 seconds.

Additionally, Aloe Care is only available in English for now but they are currently working on incorporating Mandarin and Spanish into their system. Medical Care Alert, on the other hand, staffs bi-lingual operators who can speak both English and Spanish.

OUR PICK

After comparing Medical Care Alert and Aloe Care Health side by side, we highly recommend Medical Care Alert because they provide efficient and reliable emergency response for a more affordable rate which the users will surely appreciate over time.

The good thing about Aloe Care Health is how it prioritizes a network of caregivers through the Aloe Care Health mobile app that is designed to make collaboration among caregivers and family members easy and seamless.

However, if you are on a budget, and are after an all-inclusive function for a medical alert system that is quick to respond to emergencies, consider Medical Care Alert. Additionally, Medical Care Alert is an excellent option for seniors who have health risks and serious medical conditions, as they have EMT/EMD respondents who are highly trained in the field of health care. With the devices that come along with their plans, you'll surely get more protection for your money with Medical Care Alert.