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FirstCare Medical Plan - Terms & Conditions

Website Terms and Conditions

These Terms and conditions together with our Privacy and Cookie Policy (the “Terms”) govern your use of this Website.

Applicability

These Terms apply to all visits to and all use of this Website of FirstCare Medical Plan (“FCMP”), as well as to all information, recommendations and/or services provided you on or through this Website (the “Information”).

By using this Website you agree to the applicability of these Terms. We note that these Terms may be changed over time. Such changes shall be effective immediately upon the posting of the modified Terms. Users of the Website are advised to regularly read the Terms for possible changes. Information and Liability

The Information is for general information purposes only and does not constitute advice. FCMP shall not be liable for any damages resulting from the use (or inability to make use) of this Website, including any incorrectness or incompleteness of the Information, unless such damage is the result of any willful misconduct or gross negligence on the part of FCMP.

FCMP shall furthermore not be liable for damages that may result from the use of electronic means of communication, including, but not limited to, damages resulting from the failure or delay in delivery of electronic communications, interception or manipulation of electronic communications by third parties or by computer programs used for electronic communications and transmission of viruses.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Website and its entire contents, features and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video and audio, and the design, selection and arrangement thereof), are owned by FCMP (and/or its parent companies or partners), its licensors or other providers of such material and are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

You can use the Website only for purposes in line with these Terms. You are permitted to make copies of (parts of) the Website for personal use. You must not use any part of the content on our Website for other purposes without obtaining a written license from us.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify us from and against any actions, claims and liabilities arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms or any unlawful use of the Website.

Miscellaneous

Each of the paragraphs of these Terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

These Terms are governed by the laws of Jamaica. Any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection to the use of the Website will be settled by the courts of Jamaica.

Your Contract with Firstcare Medical Plan (Jamaica) Ltd.

Thank you for purchasing the Firstcare Medical Plan. The Firstcare Medical Plan is a product offered by Firstcare Medical Plan (Jamaica) Ltd, a company registered under the laws of Jamaica, with office located at 19 Cargill Avenue, Kingston Jamaica, St. Andrews.

Firstcare Medical Plan is an affordable Health and Wellness membership plan that offers members exclusive health and wellness benefits in Jamaica and or the United States.

Firstcare Medical Plan members have access to general medical practitioners and specialists throughout Jamaica and Florida, USA.

Firstcare Medical Plan referred to hereafter as, Firstcare, is a primary healthcare plan that provides members with access to private primary care visits and discounts on other medical services. Firstcare offers three affordable plans.

If you choose the Firstcare Jamaica Plan, your benefits include access to free and substantially reduced cost of general practitioner visits within the Firstcare Jamaica local network, discounts at specialists, labs, pharmacies, and other medical service providers as shown in our brochure and website, which will reflect changes from time to time. Additionally, discounts at our local merchants for non-medical products and services under our Firstcare Rewards Program.
If you choose the Firstcare USA Plan, your plan offers access only to the benefits at our USA providers. This includes but is not limited to the discounts at our general practitioners and specialists in the USA, discounts at our labs, pharmacies, Minute Clinic access and more as noted in our brochure and on the website under Firstcare USA benefits. Firstcare USA members also have access to our Firstcare Rewards benefits at our USA based vendors not the local Jamaica vendors. Also, our Firstcare USA members have access to our Self Pay packages to save 30-60% on services in the USA subject to an access fee. (See website for more details)
If you choose the Firstcare Plus Plan, you have access to the benefits of both plans.
Note that one payer can choose different plans to cover different loved ones under his/her name which will be noted on the primary members Firstcare card.

FIRSTCARE PRICING

Current prices for the Firstcare Plans are noted in the brochure and on the website. The three plan offerings are as follows:

Firstcare Jamaica Local
Firstcare USA
Firstcare Plus

Note that the rates indicated are in Jamaican dollars and as such are subject to change based on the Jamaica to US$ exchange rates. Any change will be announced with 30 days’ notice to payers.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO YOU

Firstcare agrees to:

Maintain a network of doctors and medical service providers who are approved to practice in the country.
Provide access to those providers according to the benefits noted in our brochure via a membership card produced for each payer. (The member card can be digital or physical).
Replace lost physical cards at a modest fee.

Firstcare reserves the right to change, add or delete providers and vendors on the plan without prior written notice to you. Firstcare reserves the right to adjust rates for the afore-mentioned plans with 30 days notice, sent digitally via email or text, published in a newspaper, personally by letter or in hard copy. Also, we may post notice of rate change on our website with 30 days notice before the effective date without sending a notice to you directly if we so choose.

If you remit payment via employer salary deductions, you agree to us sending notice to your employer for an adjustment to your payment to us with a copy of your signed authorization giving us such leave at the time that you signed up for the plan without further reference to you. If you pay by any other means, you agree to adjust your payments to reflect the new rates in order to maintain your plan. Any plan not paid within 30 days of a rate change is subject to cancellation.

Firstcare reserves the right to cancel a member’s plan if, in its sole discretion, it perceives that fraudulent activity has taken place with the member’s card and visits, or if we determine, in our sole discretion, that the plan is being abused.

For Example:

Where it is reported that a member is visiting providers frequently and no medical needs are recorded.
Where a member was caught trying to include other persons who are not registered under their membership.
Where membership fees are long past due, and the member has attempted to retrieve services/benefits from a provider/vendor.
Where the member has created a fictious card.
These instances do not exhaust our reasons and if proven otherwise the member can be barred from reentering the plan.

Firstcare takes no responsibility or liability for the actions of network providers. Each provider is a private contractor and bears responsibility and liability for their own actions.

PAYMENT OF MEMBER FEES

Member accounts are effective once they are activated in our system. Activation occurs either on the date of sign up and successful payment via a credit or debit card online or by Firstcare after payment or a contract is secured.

The payment date for the plan will be set on or about the same date in the next month as the date the plan was first paid. This way the member is always paid current and their plan will not be in jeopardy of becoming inactive.

Latitude is given to corporate accounts to arrange for the first payment as companies may want to make deductions from members who sign up first and then remit initial payment. In such cases, we reserve the right to effect cover on the promise of payment from the company and grant access to the network to members who have signed up. The effective date for group accounts is the 1st of the month after sign up. Firstcare reserves the right to determine what constitutes a group and the month to make the group effective.

Member fees are due in advance and can be paid monthly preferably via an automatic payment method. Walk-in cash payments are discouraged, that notwithstanding, members can pay cash for three or more months in advance. Members can pay quarterly, semi-annually, or annually via their preferred payment method by simply multiplying the fees by the amount of the month being paid for. Members can make payments by credit or debit card, bank transfer, check, cash or drafts. Additionally, membership fees are not grouped, as such each member has a fee which must be paid as per the plan chosen.

Firstcare Medical Plan (Jamaica) Limited offers its members a ten day no questions asked refund policy (10 days). This means each member can get a refund within the first 10 days from signing up, subject to not having used the plan during that period. After the 10 days, a cancellation can still be processed however there will be no refund of membership fees paid.

As a member, you agree to make six consecutive monthly payments as a condition of membership in the plan via whichever payment method you choose. Should you fail to make a payment in the first six months, after 30 days past a due payment, we will inactivate your membership and you will have 30 days from that date to bring your membership current, failing that, we will charge your card or bill you for the balance to make up six payments and cancel your membership. Thereafter, should you wish to reengage with the plan, you would have to sign up anew.

ACCESSING SERVICES

Members are required to show their Firstcare card and photo ID to providers to access care. The provider will insert the member’s Firstcare card ID number into Firstcare proprietary system to confirm if the member is active and therefore approved for services or inactive and not eligible for services under the plan.

Once the provider inserts the member’s ID number, the system will then bring up all persons who are covered under that card and the type of plan each person has. The member seeking care is required to show a photo ID to the provider.

The system will generate a number for the member and variations of that number for their added dependents. This number will be their Firstcare Medical Plan ID number.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

Firstcare maintains a Quality Assurance program to measure the level of service and satisfaction being rendered and realized by operatives in the plan. We randomly call members who have received services in each period to ask their opinion on the service they received at a provider in the network. You are encouraged to participate should you be selected. There is no obligation to participate.

CREDIT & DEBIT CARD PAYMENTS

You agree to pay membership fees for all persons on your plan as evidenced by your Firstcare application. For payments that are not honored when presented you will have 30 days to make good that payment. After 30 days we reserve the right to suspend or cancel your membership and that of all those on your plan.

For automatic payment method, if you use a credit or debit card, we will charge your card on the payment due date. Should your payment fail on a try to charge we will make subsequent efforts to collect that payment within 10 days after the decline. Should the payment fail again, and we maintain the plan as active, we will charge for the outstanding month or months along with the current month or any combination thereof in the next month or months until the fees are current.

RE-INSTATEMENT

Should your plan be made in-active for non-payment you will have 60 days to pay up the plan and bring it current. Otherwise, you will have to write up a new application.

You are responsible to make your best efforts to protect your membership card from being used by unauthorized persons or being abused by persons on your plan. Unauthorized use or abuse of your plan is grounds for cancellation of your plan at the sole discretion of Firstcare.

USE OF FIRSTCARE USA & FIRSTCARE PLUS

If you or any person on your card has a plan that allows them access to our USA network, you agree to follow the protocols in place and available on our website about how to access care in the USA. These protocols can be updated every so often.

In the event that your employer is making your payments where either the company is paying all or part of your membership fee and/or you are paying all or part of your fee and for any added persons and subsequently are no longer at that place of employment, you are responsible to secure payment from your new employer or to contact us to make new payment arrangements.

Any notices that we have to send to you will be sent electronically. We reserve the right to send physical notices if deemed necessary. Electronic notices will be sent to your email address or phone number on file. Physical notices will be sent to your address on file.

FORBEARANCE

Firstcare reserves the right not to exercise any right or enforce any penalty noted herein. However, our forbearance to do so does not in any way diminish our right to act. Our right remains in full force and unaffected by any inaction we may choose.

RECORD KEEPING

You agree to carefully review your payment records and promptly advise us of any difference arising on a reconciliation. In the event you fail to advise us of any differences you agree that the statement shall be final and conclusively settled in all respects, that our record of your payments is correct and that Firstcare is totally and irrevocably released from all claims. In any event any purported differences must be notified by you to us within thirty (30) days of your latest payment or attempt to receive service. You agree that our records of your payments shall be conclusive and binding on you, particularly regarding whether a payment by you has been made and the date of Payment.
Any discrepancy arising on reconciliation of the records by either party, resulting in funds being payable by one of us to the other, will be settled promptly upon notification and verification. We shall not be liable for any errors made by your banking institution of payment source.
We will keep appropriate records relating to automated payments made by you for a period of one (1) year after the date of Payment.

AUTHORIZATION

You warrant that the person(s) signing this Agreement, whether it be you or someone on your behalf have the authority to bind you to the terms of this Agreement.

CONFIDENTIALITY

You shall treat the information disclosed by us as confidential and in particular shall not use the information for any unauthorized purpose or disclose such information to any person other than those who it can be proven have a right or need to know the information.

This Agreement may be terminated by either you or us provided sixty (30) days prior notice in writing is received by the other party. After Termination, neither you nor anyone on your plan will have access to Firstcare’s network. The provisions of this Agreement concerning our liability and the reconciliation of any accounts between us shall continue to apply despite the termination of this Agreement.

ASSIGNMENT AND AMENDMENT

You are prohibited from assigning this Agreement or any part thereof to another party without our prior written consent. We may assign this Agreement to a subsidiary or affiliate of Firstcare Medical Plan (Jamaica) Ltd. without obtaining your consent. Firstcare reserves the right to amend this Agreement in any way provided we give you thirty (30) days’ notice in writing of the proposed amendment. If you do not agree with the proposed amendment, you must provide Firstcare notice of termination of this Agreement ten (10) days prior to the proposed amendment taking effect. If you do not respond to our notice prior to the said ten (10) day period, you will be taken to have agreed to same.

NOTICES

We shall personally deliver, electronically transmit or mail any notices to you at the address specified in your application. You agree that for the purposes of this Agreement you shall have received any notices sent by mail on the third business day following the mailing date, and that you shall have received any electronically transmitted notices on the transmission date.

GOVERNING LAW

This Agreement shall be governed in all respects by the laws of Jamaica.
The parties hereto irrevocably submit to the courts of Jamaica.