PlushCare is a membership-based telehealth platform. If you’re wondering whether the membership is worth it, take a look at our PlushCare review as we dive into what it has to offer.
PlushCare is a telehealth platform that offers a range of healthcare services, including mental health, prescription refills, and weight loss programs. In this review, we break down what the service has to offer and the cost of it all. Plus, we have a tester share their experiences with PlushCare’s platform.
General health
Sexual health
PlushCare weight loss programs
Online therapy
Our tester, Parisa Syed, set up a sample profile to go through the process of setting up an account with PlushCare.
Syed’s initial impression of the home page was that it was calming, clean, and uncluttered. It’s made clear right away that PlushCare accepts insurance. There are appointments at the top and throughout the home page to get an account started.
The home page is pretty straightforward, but Syed mentions the tabs are pretty general.
“There’s no dropdown for the types of online prescriptions they offer, which can feel a bit intimidating for some, especially when you’re feeling hesitant about going online for a prescription,” she said.
PlushCare also has a list of some health conditions it treats in the middle of the home page after a bit of scrolling.
The pricing is pretty transparent throughout the platform. For the medications themselves, it was not very clear for any condition, though.
“The closest they got to product pricing was in the middle of each condition page, where they have the FAQ ‘how much does this medication typically cost?'” Syed said.
Appointment, sign-up, and questionnaire
There are three questionnaire interfaces you come across when creating a profile. If you go from a general health page or online prescription page, you are taken straight to whether you’ll be paying with or without insurance.
From there, you either select your insurance or select the state you’re in. Then, you’re given a list of doctors in your state. No filters or anything, just their names, their profile, picture, and reviews. Once you choose a doctor, you can then choose a time that works for you and create a profile.
If you go to PlushCare’s mental health or weight loss tabs, you’re given different screens.
The mental health screen asks whether you’re wanting to meet with a therapist or talk with a physician. Then, it asks if the appointment is for you or someone else. It asks for your state, and then will show you available therapists in your area. Once you find a therapist you like, you can select a time that works for you, and then create your profile.
For weight loss, you click the “Next” button a few times before you get to the questionnaire. The first question is about your medical history. There’s a progress bar at the top of the page so you can see how much you have left to answer.
Afterward, you’re asked whether you’ll be paying with or without insurance, and then about the state you’re in so you can choose your healthcare professional.
Confirmation and treatment
After you’ve created your profile and selected your appointment date, you’re brought to the confirmation page where you can double-check all of your information and see the total cost of your appointment.
Here, PlushCare will remind you of the membership fee, which will be charged to your payment method after your 30-day free trial.
After your appointment, if your healthcare professional has prescribed any medication, it will be sent to the pharmacy of your choice.
Medication management and prescriptions
PlushCare has board certified doctors who can prescribe medications for mental health, general health, sexual health, and more.
To get a prescription, or a refill of a previous prescription, PlushCare requires an online evaluation before the prescription is filled. The appointment should take about 15 minutes. Afterward, the prescription is sent to a local pharmacy of your choice, where you can pick it up usually on the same day.
PlushCare, like most telehealth and online therapy platforms, does not prescribe controlled substances like Adderall, morphine, Xanax, Ambien, and more.
Included in PlushCare’s membership is its discount card. This card can help you save up to 80% on eligible prescriptions at more than 50,000 pharmacies nationwide.
Membership fees
PlushCare does charge a membership fee for anyone who uses its services. There are two payment options: You can pay $19.99 per month or $99 per year.
Both PlushCare memberships include:
- same-day appointments
- prescription discount cards
- discounted lab referrals
- ongoing, in-app messaging with a care team
- wellness check-ins with your healthcare professional
PlushCare does offer a free 30-day trial when you first sign up. You can cancel at any time if you feel like this platform isn’t for you.
If you decide not to pay the subscription fee, PlushCare says you need to call to schedule appointments with them. It mentions its membership covers costs that add value to its platform, including its services, technology, wellness offerings, ongoing support, and more.
Family plan
An additional perk of the PlushCare membership is the family plan. If you do subscribe to PlushCare, annually or monthly, you can share your membership with up to five adult family members at no extra cost.
Each party is responsible for their own visit and copay fees, and they can create their own, private PlushCare profiles.
Cost and insurance
The cost of most of PlushCare’s services are the same.
PlushCare accepts a majority of insurance plans, so the only payments users have to make are the copay and the membership fee. Insurance does not cover this fee.
If you choose to pay out of pocket, you must pay the membership fee and $129 per appointment. If you’re using PlushCare’s online therapy services, you must pay $169 per appointment and the membership fee.
At this time, PlushCare does not accept Medicare or Medicaid, but it does accept health savings account (HSA) and flexible spending account (FSA) payments.
PlushCare also has a refund policy. It offers a full refund for the appointment (not including the membership fee). It does not accept returns of any prescriptions.
At the time of publishing, PlushCare has a B rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). There are 369 complaints on its BBB page, and it has a 2.09 out of 5-star customer rating.
Keep in mind, though, that sites like BBB are meant so users can share their complaints on a public platform so their issues can be resolved.
On the Google Play store, PlushCare has 4.7 stars based on 7,130 reviews. Most of the reviews are positive, citing they loved the care they received from their doctor and that wait times were very low.
However, some reviewers mention the app has some technical issues and bugs that need to be resolved. Some also mention they were still charged a membership fee after they canceled their auto-renewal.
PlushCare has a 4.9-star rating based on 123,800 reviews on the Apple Store. Reviews are mostly positive, but some users explained they had issues with getting ahold of customer service or support. They also reported technical issues while connecting to a session.
• $129 per visit without insurance
•$169 per visit for online therapy without insurance
• medication management
• mental health
• sexual health
• weight loss
• mental health
• primary care
• urgent and non-urgent care
• dermatology
• medication management
• mental health
• sexual health
• urgent and non-urgent care
• dental care
• dermatology
• sexual health
• urgent and non-urgent care
• mental health
• urgent care
What we like
- 30-day free trial
- ongoing support
- variety of treatment options
- accepts insurance
- refund guarantee
- can choose your own healthcare professional
- lots of membership perks
- prescription discount card
What we don’t like
- membership required
- expensive option without insurance
- no automatic refills
- pricing of treatments unclear
- some navigation is not straightforward
- some reports of communication issues
- cancellation issues
- cannot prescribe controlled substances
Because PlushCare’s membership offers a variety of support tools, PlushCare may be best for people who need ongoing care with regular check-ins. Its weight loss programs, for example, have ongoing support even after reaching the desired goals.
PlushCare may also be beneficial for people with insurance, since the copay is likely cheaper than the service without insurance. People who also need access to medication refills without going to the doctor in person could see PlushCare as an alternative option. The prescription drug discount card that PlushCare offers could be a huge help in this area.
For any urgent care needs, like a flu or cold, or just a checkup, PlushCare may be beneficial and convenient since you can do it in the comfort of your home instead of heading to the doctor’s office.
While PlushCare does have good services, it cannot help in the case of emergencies. If you or someone you know needs immediate assistance, call your local emergency services or dial 911.
For folks who need controlled substances, like Adderall or Ambien, it’s better to go in person for these checkups so your healthcare professional can monitor your treatment and adjust the dosage as necessary.
PlushCare does offer care to anyone over 3 years old when it comes to general health, but for online therapy, users need to be at least 18 years old for treatment. There are other online therapy options for teens, though, and some also take insurance.
PlushCare is a subscription-based telehealth platform that can assist with a variety of services. For people who don’t need immediate assistance but need ongoing assistance or convenient care, PlushCare could be for you.
It offers a lot of resources and tools you can use in the membership, like ongoing chat support, a prescription discount card, and more.