HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - The Better Business Bureau has sounded the alarm about a "Universal Health Card" that's been advertised in a couple of north Alabama papers, claiming to offer subscribers affordable health care.

Better Business Bureau of Huntsville president Michele McDaniel said the watchdog group is investigating the claims made by the company after started getting calls Monday from residents in Decatur who saw the ad in the newspaper.

On Tuesday, a full-page ad also popped up in the Huntsville paper, claiming big savings.

"There's a lot being claimed by this company that needs to be questioned and verified before we would encourage people to look further into this," McDonald said. "It's looking less and less valuable as we do our investigation."

At the bottom of the ad, the company selling the cards says it's not insurance, but a discount card. Their website claims there are seven doctors in Huntsville that accept the card.

However, some of the doctors claimed as providers told WAAY-31 News that hadn't even heard of the Universal Health Card. When WAAY-31 News made calls to doctors in north Alabama that were listed on the company's Web site, the reporter was repeatedly told that they were not a part of the card program.

"We're concerned because they're saying 561,000 providers, yet when we've looked locally we're not finding very many providers in North Alabama that are participating," McDaniel said.

Employees at a local Walgreens drugstore said they acccepting it, but couldn't say how much of a discount it offered. It has not yet been confirmed if Wal-Mart is accepting the card.

BBB officials urged customers to do research on the card before buying it.

Reporter: Haley Baker
Web Editor: Dana Franks

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