Medical Care Alert vs. LifeFone

People become most vulnerable in their senior years when it comes to emergency threats, health risks, and even accidents like fall. With these in mind, a quick response to the emergency is the best way to mitigate these worries. Having a medical alert system is like having a safety net. It provides you and your loved one the confidence in knowing that you are able to call for help with just one push on the help button.

We will compare the features and deals of two well-respected medical alert system providers in the industry, Medical Care Alert and LifeFone, to see which company offers the better deal. We will assess both providers objectively to determine the better option that will fit your lifestyle and your needs. Through this comprehensive guide, we will look at how Medical Care Alert measures up against the offers of LifeFone, and vice versa.

We have done extensive research to measure the value and capacities of these two systems to provide you a thorough comparison based on their features, cost, and services.

	Medical Care Alert	LifeFone
Overall Grade	Overall Grade: A-plus	Overall Grade: A-plus
Costs
Monthly Cost Price	$29.95 - $39.95	$29.95 - $45.95
Device Cost	$0	$0
Shipping Fee	$11.95	$11.95
Cancellation Fee	No fee	No fee
Fall Detection Fee	$10	$0 - $10
Cellular Fee	n/a	n/a
Spouse Monitoring	$0 - $29.95	$39.95
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	32 hours or 30 hours
On-the-go Battery Life	72 hours	720 hours or 384 hours
Button Range	1000 ft	1300 ft or 1400 ft
Water Resistant	Yes	Yes
GPS Tracking	Yes, some plans	Yes, some plans
Caregiver App	Yes, some plans	Yes, some plans
Response Time	12 seconds	15 seconds
More Details	See All Plans	See All Plans

Medical Care Alert

Pros:

• U.S-based Monitoring Center
• All operators are highly trained, and all have EMT/EMD certification
• 14-day free trial period, with full refund of any remaining service fee
• GPS location tracker and automatic fall detection are available
• Long battery operation duration (lasts up to 3 days)
• No activation fees
• Monitoring costs are guaranteed to never increase as long as the subscriber stays with Medical Care Alert
• 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

LifeFone

Pros:

• U.S-based company with 24/7/365 monitoring
• U.S. call center with two back-up call centers
• Range capacity of up to 1,400 feet from the base unit
• In the industry for 46 years
• 100% Lifetime Warranty for all devices
• No activation fees
• Optional equipment includes a wall-mounted help button, vanity pendant button, beaded lanyard and wall mounted or hanging combination lock boxes
• Daily safety checks, activity tracking, and medication reminder service can be added for a fee
• 30-day money-back guarantee and any prepaid amount is refunded on a prorated basis
• Battery life lasts up to 30 days

Cons:

• Pricing plans are not comprehensive
• Costs for optional services and add-on features can add up quickly

Medical Care Alert Overview

Medical Care Alert was founded in 2012, and operates two monitoring centers in New York and California. Their systems work best for independent seniors who have health risks and also for vulnerable loved ones, mainly because their emergency respondents are all experienced in the field of health care. ..

They invested in the quality of their overall medical monitoring system. Their U.S-based monitoring center is UL-approved, and maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. What sets Medical Care Alert apart from the rest is that their emergency respondents all hold EMD/EMT certification, which proves that they are all highly trained to manage emergency situations.

Medical Alert Systems

Home Medical Alert System- Landline

This system is the most ideal plan for seniors who live independently and who want a reliable whole-house protection. The system comes with a base console and a shower-safe wrist or pendant button. The wearable help button can be used up to 1000 feet away from the base console.The base unit features a hands-free speakerphone that directly connects with the emergency monitoring center. The device has a power backup of up to 80 hours, which makes it even more reliable even in the event of a power outage.

The system is priced at $29.95 per month, with optional upgrade for fall detection that costs $10 every month.

Home Medical Alert System- Cellular

If your home does not have a standard landline connectivity, this system is a go-to alternative protection for your home. Aside from connecting to a landline, the system connects to AT&T 4G LTE wireless network. Like the landline system, the cellular system also provides you 1000-ft range, which is enough for a standard american home. The wearable help button is also water-proof, and has the same capacity for battery backup of up to 80 hours.

Home and Away Ultra

This system costs $39.95 per month, and it includes a compact water-resistant device equipped with a GPS location tracker that allows real-time monitoring. With just one press on the help button, the user is directly connected to a trained, EMT/EMD certified operator. This mobile system connects to AT&T 4G LTE and works in any location that is accessible to the AT&T cellular service. The batter can hold for up to three days on a full charge. Fall detection may be added for $10 a month.

Home and Away Duo

The Home and Away Duo costs $39.95 per month, and it works similarly with the Home and Away system. The difference is that this plan includes a shower-safe wrist or pendant button for two-way communication for in-home use and a GPS device for mobile use. The system works on AT & T cellular network so it can function anywhere as long as cellular signal can be accessed.

LIFEFONE OVERVIEW

Established in 1976, the company’s long experience in the industry has made them build their reputation in providing reliable medical alert services. Among the medical alert systems we have reviewed, we rated it best in the category of having an extensive and powerful battery life that can last up to 30 days, which makes LifeFone way ahead of its rival alert systems in terms of battery operation duration. This is an important feature of a medical alert system, as it ensures a continued delivery of services even in unforeseen situations.

Additionally, the monitoring center of LifeFone is awarded with a Five Diamond Certification by the TMA, and they are also UL-certified and FM approved, which established their monitoring center reliability and reputation.

Medical Alert Systems

At-Home Landline

This can be purchased for a monthly cost of $29.95 .As this is similar to the classic in-home system models, this requires a landline connection to function. The range capacity of the button is up to 1300 ft from the base console, and the device has a 32-hour backup battery. This includes a water-resistant wearable device that is safe to use even in the shower. You can also have an optional fall detection that costs an additional fee of $5 per month..

Users can opt to purchase a second wearable help button for $39.99 upfront fee intended for the wearable help buttons. The At-Home Landline also features a room temperature sensor. This sensor will send an alarm to the user's caregiver or family member if the temperature in the home goes above or below the user's customized settings.

Finally, the device can answer incoming calls. So, if the user's landline phone rings, they can simply press their help button and the device will answer the call for them.

At-Home Cellular

If you do not have landline connectivity installed in your home, you can opt for the At-Home Cellular. They have the same features as the At-Home Landline, only the Base unit connects via AT&T’s mobile network. Since this system is connected to a cellular network, it requires a strong network signal in order to work properly. We recommend contacting LifeFone's customer support to check if your area has good coverage before purchasing this system.

The At-Home Cellular model starts out at $34.95 per month, and is also compatible for a fall detection upgrade.

At-Home and On-The-Go

This plan is a great option for those who are often away from home, as it includes both home-based and mobile protection. This system includes a base station that connects via the cellular network for your home, and you get a mobile GPS unit that you can take outdoors as well. Pricing starts at $39.95 per month.

This system offers an impressive range capacity of up to 1400ft away from the base unit, or up to 600ft away with the mobile device. The system uses AT&T's 4G LTE cellular network and has GPS location tracking, so you can be located even if you're away from home. In addition, the system's mobile devices can last up to 30 hours on a full charge.

LifeFone's At-Home and On-The-Go system can be purchased for a monthly cost of $39.95. A wearable fall detection pendant can be added to this plan at an additional cost of $10 a month.

At-Home and On-The-Go VIP

LifeFone's At-Home and On-The-GO VIP plan is the most ideal plan for seniors who love to travel and explore. This system costs $43.95 per month. However, it does not offer the option to add fall detection.

This plan boasts its 30-day battery life, which makes LifeFone shine as the Best in Battery Life among the medical alert systems we reviewed. The plan consists of an all-in-one voice-in-pendant that can be worn as a necklace or on a belt clip. The device works with LifeFone's 4G LTE cellular service, which provides coverage anywhere. The portable device also comes with a clear two-way talk which allows clear communication with LifeFone’s care agents.

At-Home and On-The-Go VIPX

LifeFone’s At-Home and On-The-Go VIPX costs $45.95 per month. The VIPx name has an X to it primarily because this system offers a lot of extra features. The system includes a small, lightweight, and powerful device that is waterproof and has an impressive battery life of 16 days. The system connects to Verizon or AT&T 4G LTE cellular service for nationwide coverage. It also offers an optional caregiver app that can also be added for an additional $8 a month. The app allows caregivers to track the location, activity, first motion of the day, button presses, and battery levels of their loved ones.

Medical Care Alert’s monitoring fees start from $29.95-$39.95 per month, which is slightly more affordable as compared with the offer of LifeFone which ranges from $29.95-$45.95 Both providers do not charge an additional fee for the device setup, and both have similar charges for shipping fee of $11.95. This is almost a close call for both in terms of cost comparison, but when it comes to spouse monitoring fee, Medical Care Alert offers it for no additional fee, while Lifefone has a one-time device cost of $39.95.

Medical Care Alert has a 14-day free trial wherein users can cancel their subscription free of charge within the trial period. On the other hand, as LifeFone lets the subscribers cancel at any time if their services do not meet their satisfaction, also free of charge under specific circumstances. Both providers have systems that are compatible with an added feature of fall-detection, for a $10 cost on top of the basic monthly pay.

Medical Care Alert and LifeFone both offer a competent set of features in all of their systems. In fact, both have almost the same capacity and features, only with slight differences. Both have two-way communication, can connect to either landline or cellular connection, have GPS location tracking, and are compatible with fall detection features.

However, when it comes to battery life, LifeFone steals the spotlight as it boasts its battery life that can last for up to 30 days with its At-Home and On-the-Go VIP, while 16 days for the VIPx systems. On the contrary, Medical Care Alert’s home-based system has an 80-hour battery backup and 3-day capacity for their on-the-go system.

LifeFone beats Medical Care Alert in the category of range capacity as it has a maximum 1400-ft range offered by their At-Home and On-the-Go system, while Medical Care Alert has a 1000-ft range capacity for their devices.

In terms of availability of a Caregiver app, Medical Care Alert has a “Remote Care 24/7” which is an advantageous feature in monitoring a number of medical cases as a caregiver can directly track the senior through the app. LifeFone, on the other hand, offers VIPx Caregiver App which can be purchased for an additional $8 a month with their At-Home and On-The-Go VIPX plan.

Monitoring Center

At the heart of any medical alert system is their monitoring center. Now, we are going to assess the reliability and quality of Medical Care Alert and LifeFone’s monitoring centers. Both have monitoring centers that operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year, and are 100% US-based which provide nationwide coverage across all 50 states in the country. They also have reputable monitoring centers that are certified by third-party certifying bodies. As for Medical Care Alert, their monitoring center is UL-approved, and they take pride in their EMT/EMD certified emergency respondents who have a profound experience in the field of health care. LifeFone, on the other hand, is recognized by various third-party organizations including The Monitoring Association which awarded them Five Diamond Certification. They are also UL-certified and FM-approved, which proves that the company's monitoring center is up to industry standards.

Medical Care Alert has a response time capped at just 12 seconds, which provides its customers confidence in their fast emergency response. This is slightly faster than LifeFone’s response time which is 15 seconds, which is also impressively fast as compared to other medical alert systems.

In terms of multilingual availability, Medical Care Alert and LifeFone both staff Bi-lingual operators who can speak Spanish during every shift, to cater to the vast number of seniors in the U.S who are more comfortable with using the Spanish language other than English.

OUR PICK

The two service providers have different offers and pricing plans. While both are considerably well-established medical alert systems companies, they have their own different strengths as well.

The key takeaway for LifeFone is that it has a lot of services to offer on a vast array of systems and add-on features. Plus, its remarkable 30-day battery life that remains incontestable by other providers. LifeFone provides the best solution for seniors who need an emergency alert device that also provides the added peace of mind that comes with daily safety checks, medication reminders and fall detection. This works best with seniors diagnosed with medical conditions, as their services ensure that they stay on track with their maintenance medications to make sure that they are safe and healthy always.

Medical Care Alert is best for seniors who have disabilities, have mobility issues, or those at risk of heart attack and stroke, and other serious medical conditions, as they have EMT/EMD certified responders who are professionally trained health care operators who have profound understanding on dealing with medical emergencies. Also, Medical Care Alert is more cost-efficient, considering the range of its features and its more advanced characteristics.

Overall, we conclude that Medical Care Alert offers a better deal over LifeFone as assessed within our valid parameters.