Medical Care Alert vs. Medical Alert

Medical Alert systems are tools that extend protection and safety monitoring to the elderly who want to retain their independence until old age. Through modern technology, seniors and vulnerable loved ones can be safely independent while knowing that help is just a push of a button away when an emergency happens.

With a significant number of medical alert system providers on the market, it can be perplexing to decide which medical alert system to subscribe to. That is why we created this guide to help you compare which companies offer the best deal.

Medical Care Alert and Medical Alert both have a good reputation in this industry, with their features and services that offer a sense of confidence for independent seniors who need to be regularly checked and those who are prone to medical emergencies due to health risks.

Let's take a closer look at these two systems to help you decide on which is best suited for your needs. We have provided a thorough comparison based on their features, cost, and services.

	Medical Care Alert	Medical Alert
Overall Grade	Overall Grade: A-plus	Overall Grade: A
Costs
Monthly Cost Price	$29.95 - $39.95	$22.95 - $42.95
Device Cost	$0	$49
Shipping Fee	$11.95	$NaN - $NaN
Cancellation Fee	No fee	No fee
Fall Detection Fee	$10	$10
Cellular Fee	n/a	n/a
Spouse Monitoring	$0 - $29.95	$0
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	30 hours
On-the-go Battery Life	72 hours	120 hours
Button Range	1000 ft	800 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
More Details	See All Plans	See All Plans

Medical Care Alert

Pros:

• Round-the-clock monitoring with their US-based monitoring center
• Staffs EMT/EMD trained health care operators
• Offers 14-day free trial
• Has built-in GPS location tracker
• Compatible with automatic fall detection
• Battery can last up to three days
• No activation fees
• Price-lock guarantee
• Caregiver-app ready
• Free lockbox provided with an annual monitoring plan

Cons:

• Lowest monthly fees comes with their annual billing method
• No month-to-month monitoring option – subscribers must prepay for at least 3 months of service

Medical Alert

Pros:

• Low monitoring fees
• No long-term contracts
• Money-back guarantee within 30-day free trial
• Systems are caregiver app-ready
• Free Lockbox on all system plans

Cons:

• Restrictive range for in-home systems
• Charges one-time equipment fees

Medical Care Alert Overview

Based in Northville, Michigan, Medical Care Alert provides various response systems that are designed to suit the individual needs of its clients. The company is family-owned, and they also use their systems to monitor their own family members.

Their U.S-based monitoring center is UL-approved, and maintains an A+ rating with Better Business Bureau, which ensures that their central monitoring operations adhere to safety and quality standards. 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

Medical Care Alert’s landline home system is a perfect option for independent seniors who are medically diagnosed as they have EMT/EMD certified responders who can manage a medical emergency effectively. The system comes with a base unit paired with a water-resistant help button that has up to 1000 ft range from the base console. It operates through landline connectivity. It also has an 80-hour backup so you don’t have to worry if the power goes out. The system is valued at $29.95 per month, with optional upgrade for fall detection that costs $10 every month.

Home Medical Alert System- Cellular

This is a good alternative for an in-home protection if your home is not connected to a standard landline connectivity. This home system connects to AT & T 4G LTE wireless network. It works up to 1000 ft away from the base unit, which is a range enough to cover a standard home size. The system basically works in the same way with the home landline system, but only works through a different connection.

Home and Away Ultra

From the name itself, Home and Away Ultra provides a blended in-home and mobile protection. The system comes with a lightweight device that is safe to use in the shower. It also has a GPS location tracker that allows real-time monitoring anywhere. The system is directly connected to the monitoring center, where an EMT/EMD certified emergency response operator is ready to assist. This mobile system connects to AT&T 4G LTE and works in any location that is accessible to a stable cellular signal. A fully-charged battery can be used for up to three days. 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 includes in its package a neck pendant or a wristband, a GPS device, and a charger. The pendant has a good battery life that can be used for up to three days on a single charge. The device is waterproof, and uses GPS tracking, Wi-Fi, and cellular location to work in an emergency. This system costs $39.95 per month and is compatible with an optional fall detection for $10.

Medical Alert Overview

Medical Alert is a US-based service provider established in 2004 by its parent company, Connect America. Connect America has 15 field service and support locations in the US and all of them are members of the Medical Alert Monitoring Association (MAMA).

Medical Alert has been providing emergency response and medical alert monitoring services to thousands of senior citizens nationwide since the start of their operations.

Their systems are a great choice for those who are looking for reliable and high-quality medical alert systems. Among the medical alert systems we have reviewed, their systems are the most comprehensive and straightforward, offering only the most basic and urgent features needed by senior citizens. They offer three system plans, all of which come with no activation fee and low-cost monthly monitoring fees that can be canceled anytime.

They also offer a very affordable protection plan that costs only &1 per month, which covers system replacement in case of theft, loss or damage.

Medical Alert Systems

Home-System Landline

MedicalAlert Home System landline is the most affordable package offered by the company, with a starting cost of $22.95 per month. It features a base unit with a wearable help button that is water-resistant. It provides an in-home protection with up to 800 feet range of protection from the basic console. It also has a 30-hour backup in case of power outage, which keeps you protected in any incident. The average response system is capped at 30 seconds. Possible upgrade costs $10 every month for an optional fall detection.

Home-System Cellular

The home system of MedicalAlert offers an option for cellular connectivity through AT&T network for a monthly fee of $32.95. The cellular fee for this connectivity option is already included in the payment plan. Basically, it has the same features as the Home System Landline model, but this works best for seniors who don’t have a landline system installed in their home. The water-proof wrist and neck pendant have an 800 ft range that provides secure coverage in all areas of your home. An optional upgrade for an automatic fall detection is charged at a standard rate of $10 every month. This add-on is compatible with all the systems of MedicalAlert.

Mobile System

The Mobile System includes a help button that is wearable either as a wristband or as a pendant worn around the neck. It mainly features a two-way speaker that allows a clear communication with the emergency response operators, and a GPS location tracker that can readily locate the user in case of an emergency. This system costs $42.95 on a monthly subscription and it comes with a compact, water-resistant mobile device that lets you immediately access help anytime, anywhere. It connects to the AT & T cellular system and has coverage in all 50 states. It also provides 24/7/365 protection with just one push on the help button, which is convenient and at the same time, reliable. What’s even more impressive is that the battery has a capacity of up to 5-days, which adds to the peace of mind that it provides. This system can also be upgraded to have fall detection monitoring for $10 a month. .

Medical Care Alert and Medical Alert systems differ to a significant extent when it comes to its pricing offers.

Medical Care Alert’s monitoring fees start from $29.95-$39.95 per month, which costs slightly more than the cost offer of Medical Alert, which starts at $22.95-$42.95 per month. However, Medical Alert charges a one-time device cost for $49, while Medical Care Alert offers this for no additional cost. This is one good factor to look at when making a decision between these two providers.

The shipping fee for Medical Care Alert is also way cheaper, which costs for only $11.95, as compared to the $15.5 shipping fee of Medical Alert. As for cancellation, both offer free cancellation, within 14 days free trial for Medical Care Alert, while 30 days for Medical Alert system.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 for your purchased system.

When it comes to features, Medical Care Alert and Medical Alert offer almost the same features, but the former is considerably more advanced when it comes to battery life, range capacity, and response time.

Both have two-way communication, can connect to either landline or cellular connection, have GPS location tracking, and are compatible with fall detection features. Medical Care Alert has a battery backup of 80 hours for its home-based system, while Medical Alert has a shorter battery life of 30 hours for the same system. As for the on-the-go system, Medical Alert has a significantly longer battery life capped at 5 days, while Medical Care Alert’s battery life lasts up to 3 days for their on-the-go systems. Both mobile systems are compact, lightweight, water-resistant, and with GPS location tracking that is great for those who are always on the go. Moreover, Medical Care Alert has a device range of 1000 ft, which covers a larger area as compared to the 800 ft range capacity of Medical Alert.

Monitoring Center

Medical Care Alert and Medical Care’s monitoring centers operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Both are 100% US-based and have nationwide coverage across all 50 states in the country. While both company’s monitoring centers are UL-listed and are certified to adhere to the safety standards of Underwriter Laboratories, and both have highly trained operators, Medical Care Alert has an advantage on their EMT/EMD certified emergency respondents who have a profound experience in the field of health care.

In terms of multilingual availability, Medical Alert is more advanced, with their operators who speak multiple languages, as compared to Medical Care Alert who has Spanish-speaking agents on each shift.

Measuring both company’s response time, it is highly reassuring that Medical Care Alert maintains their impressive 12-second response time, while Medical Alert has a 30-second response time.

OUR PICK

After comparing the offers of Medical Care Alert and Medical Alert side by side, we have concluded that Medical Care Alert is the better choice. This is mainly because they offer more, while they price less so you are sure to get your money’s worth.

Although Medical Alert has a slightly lower starting monthly rate for their systems, a great difference is seen on the one-time device cost for Medical Alert that costs $49 while Medical Care Alert offers it for free. The same applies for the spouse monitoring, which is offered with no additional cost

In terms of features, Medical Care Alert is more advanced specifically on its home-based battery life of up to 80 hours and its range capacity of up to 1000 feet from the base unit. These functions are important as they provide an extra layer of protection for the elderly.

Most importantly, Medical Care Alert’s monitoring center is faster to respond to emergencies with its shorter response time of only 12 seconds. After all, the main purpose of a medical alert system is to be able to get help as soon as possible in case of an emergency.

Overall, Elderguide highly recommends Medical Care Alert over Medical Alert as far as our data-driven review is concerned. If you’re having a hard time in making a decision between subscribing to Medical Care Alert systems and Medical Alert systems, the former really gives you the better service and better functions, for a more affordable rate.