Alarmist health card ad

"Cut off set for free Universal Health Card" proclaims the big, bold headline in today's News & Observer. It rides atop a full-page of text and photos of health-care subjects.

First of all, it's an ad, although some readers could be forgiven if they thought the page was news. The "story" goes on to inform people that if they act within 48 hours, they can get a free card that gives them "affordable care provided by 561,000 doctors, dentists, pharmacists and hospitals."

Problem is, it is not free. You have to pay an $18 registration fee to get a 30-day free trial to use the card. Afterward, you pay $49 a month to continue using it. That's disclosed in smaller type further down in the ad.

I called the toll-free number listed in the ad and asked what providers in my area would honor the card. My doctor's office was not one of them, an operator said, but UNC Hospitals was. But UNC, Health Care spokeswoman Karen McCall said UNC would not honor the card. "UNC is not a participant in this program, and we have given the Universal Health Card and all their provider networks notification that we are not part of their program," she said.

Jim McClure, The N&O's vice president for display advertising, examined the ad after I inquired with him. "After reading the content several times, I find that it clearly states what it is and what it is not," he said.

Maybe technically that's true, but to me the ad looks misleading and, based on my brief research, promises more than it delivers.