Connect America Medical Alert Review

Pros and Cons of Medical Alert’s Systems

Medical Alert Systems Overview

Medical Alert divides its medical alert systems into two categories: At Home, for seniors who spend most of their time in their houses, and On the Go, which is ideal for active seniors who spend significant time outside their homes. Here is an overview:

• At Home: This system comes with a two-way speaker and a help button that can be worn as a lanyard or wristband. The At Home system can be used with a landline or cellular connection, and it has an 800-foot connectivity range, which is enough for most average-size homes.
• On the Go: This system is an all-in-one help button that operates on AT&T’s cellular network. The help button works as a two-way speaker and includes advanced GPS technology.
• On the Go + Button: This mobile unit includes the On the Go system’s technology, but with additional coverage. With this system, you get the On the Go help button in addition to a lanyard or wristband.

Using Medical Alert’s Systems

The At Home system for landline is shipped with:

• 1 in-home base unit
• 1 pendant help button
• 1 landline phone cord
• 1 instruction manual

The On the Go + Button system includes:

• 1 mobile unit
• 1 charging cradle
• 1 pendant help button
• 1 power cord
• 1 instruction manual
• 1 carrying pouch

Installation

Setting up the At Home system was pretty straightforward, and similar to setting up a new landline telephone. I plugged the At Home base station into a phone jack, waited for a connection to establish, and then placed my first test call.

Setting up the On the Go + Button system was similar to the in-home system. I merely had to plug the charging cradle into a power outlet, place my mobile unit on the cradle, and wait for it to power up. Once it was fully charged a few hours later, I placed my first series of test calls.

Testing Medical Alert’s Systems

Making test calls with Medical Alert’s systems was easy, and an operator responded in about 24 seconds after each call was placed. I was also pleased with the volume of my system’s speakerphone. Even from many rooms away, I was able to communicate clearly with Medical Alert’s monitoring agents.

The At Home base station has a backup battery for emergencies when your power may be out. The backup battery lasted about 70 hours when I cut off its power supply.

My On the Go system also worked well. I took it with me on walks through the neighborhood and even on a trip to the local rose gardens. No matter where I went, it was able to quickly connect me to monitoring agents when I pressed the help button. I was also impressed with its battery life. Most mobile systems need to be charged every day, but Medical Alert’s lasted about three days with heavy use.

My systems’ fall-detection features also worked well. Each time I conducted a test fall, my systems quickly contacted the monitoring center. There were some false alarms, but Medical Alert makes it easy to cancel these calls simply by pressing the help button.

Medical Alert Mobile App

Medical Alert’s mobile app, Medical Alert Connect, offers added features for Medical Alert users and their caregivers. Downloading Medical Alert Connect allows you to check your device’s status and maintain a list of trusted contacts. For caregivers, Medical Alert Connect provides the ability to monitor the profiles of subscribers in their care and receive alerts when a device is being tested or used. For On the Go users, the app allows for location monitoring through advanced GPS technology.

Medical Alert Pricing

Medical Alert’s systems can all be purchased on a monthly, semiannual, or annual schedule. A monthly landline subscription to the At Home system costs $22.95 per month, and semiannual and annual subscriptions cost $19.95 per month. The At Home system using AT&T’s cellular network runs $32.95 for a monthly plan and $29.95 when you pay semiannually or annually.

The On the Go system costs $37.95 monthly or $34.95 for a semiannual or annual plan. The On the Go + Button system costs $42.95 for a monthly subscription, and $39.95 for a semiannual or annual plan.

The semiannual and annual plans both come with free shipping, and the annual plans also include a free lockbox and one free month of service. Fall detection is available with any of Medical Alert’s systems for an additional $10 per month. A protection plan that covers up to $350 of out-of-pocket expenses is available for an additional $1 per month.

Medical Alert vs. Life Alert

Medical Alert and Life Alert are two of the most popular brands of medical alert devices; however, the two providers differ greatly in terms of systems, features, and prices.

For starters, Life Alert offers no type of automatic fall detection. None of their devices have support for this feature, and users must always manually press their help button to place an emergency call. Medical Alert, however, offers their fall detection pendant on both in-home and mobile systems.

Medical Alert also offers a free smartphone app. With this app, a loved one can receive real-time notifications when the user presses the help button. For the mobile system, loved ones can track a user’s location. Life Alert does not offer any such app.

In addition to offering these extra features, Medical Alert is also far more affordable, with their systems starting at $19.95 per month, making them one of the most affordable medical alert companies we’ve reviewed. Compare this to Life Alert, whose systems start at $49.95 per month. Life Alert also requires users to lock into a three-year contract, while Medical Alert only requires month-to-month agreements.

To learn more about our experience with Life Alert, read our full Life Alert review.

Final Thoughts on Medical Alert

Medical Alert is a trusted name in emergency monitoring systems. At a comparable price to many other companies, Medical Alert provides simple-to-use devices that allow you to feel secure in your home. Medical Alert is one of this year’s best medical alert systems.