POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Insurance, Benefits Programs & HIV => Topic started by: cozmikcardigan on March 19, 2013, 01:37:29 pm
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Hey Guys
This topic was brought up about 6mo ago and I wanted to do a follow up on people's experience with Confidential Patient Services.
It's almost too good to be true. Anybody work with them before? Is it a scam?
thanks guys!
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Hey Guys
This topic was brought up about 6mo ago and I wanted to do a follow up on people's experience with Confidential Patient Services.
http://confidentialpatient.com/index.php/component/content/frontpage
It's almost too good to be true. Anybody work with them before? Is it a scam?
thanks guys!
I have no experience with this entity or others like it.
I did, however, follow the link you provided.
A few things that gave me pause:
>Several sub-page links did not return information and only listed a message "Undergoing Maintenance".
>The link to apply and provide your personal information produced a form to complete, however--interesting.
>At the "Contact Us" link there is no physical address. A physical address for such a company would be helpful to narrow a geographical location in order make an inquiry through the Better Business Bureau and/or other regulatory agency.
>The copyright insignia at the bottom of the main landing page has no year. This could mean an old phantom site or one that is not properly registered.
>I tried a google search on the company name which returned no useful results.
Bottom line, I would suggest caution.
Other Board Members may have a different take or more substantive experience with this sort of thing.
Take care.
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Hi Cosmik . I removed the link from you post because Im not comfortable with some things on the site you linked to .
Welcome to the forums .... An introduction would be nice . Are you HIV positive ?
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This topic was brought up about 6mo ago
A few questions. What topic was brought up? Can you provide a link to the thread of which you speak?
It's almost too good to be true.
their program summary page describes many services offered by many ASOs, so I don't know that describing these services as "too good to be true" is quite right. What exactly did you find so amazing about their services?
Jeff, you might want to edit the link out of Tampa's quote also if you're trying to remove the link. ;)
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what a lot of boilerplate text. Inspecifics. Misty. Shady.
This smells like a way for a middle man to skim profits off HAART prescriptions. Just, you know, IMO.
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A few questions. What topic was brought up? Can you provide a link to the thread of which you speak?
I think he was probably referring to this thread (http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=45229.0).
I find it a little more than suspicious that important pages like their About Us page is "Undergoing Maintenance". Also, a google search doesn't get many hits (only about fifteen, and two of those are to this thread and to the thread I linked to above), although a few of the hits are about LA's 2012 AIDS Walk.
One of the hits linked to Evan Spencer (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/evan-spencer/5/5ab/21), who is allegedly the Co-Founder and Director of CPS. I googled his name as well, and found that he is going to be a special guest speaker at an upcoming "1st Annual AIDS Benefit Gala" of the The AIDS Assistance Foundation (AAF) in SoCal. (the benefit was originally scheduled for January, but the date has been changed to May) Read it for yourself (https://www.facebook.com/events/526859583991674/).
Google them yourself (I used CPS "confidential patient services" and see what you think. Personally, I smell a scam, but I can't quite put my finger on why. I hope we're not maligning a legitimate outfit.
I would advise anyone who is thinking of using this service to check them out carefully. They have two toll-free numbers listed on the site (800-266-5336 and 800-233-5336 ), so maybe someone in the States can ring them and see what they have to say for themselves. They also list an email address - info@confidentialpatient.com.
Don't divulge any personal information unless you're 100% happy that they are who they say they are and do what they say they do.
Please understand that neither aidsmeds nor poz.com are promoting this service. I'll check with Ian Anderson later today to see if he knows anything about CPS.
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Thanks for the replies guys.
I found out about CPS when someone from a support group steered me to the service. What I felt to be a little disconcerting is that this support group was almost non existent except for the pictures he had on his lap top and an unfinished web site..
My gut pretty much wasn't vibing with him
Hi Cosmik . I removed the link from you post because Im not comfortable with some things on the site you linked to .
Welcome to the forums .... An introduction would be nice . Are you HIV positive ?
Hey Jeff.. I am HIV Positive. I only found out in June of this past year.
And I wasn't trying to promote the services. I googled CPS and found a thread from a few months back on here so I decided to start an account and go from there.. Thanks for Double Checking.
I did speak with Evan on the phone while i was being roped in. He seemed legit but I still feel like they are some sort of middle man. They're offering to pay for ALL MEDS and doctor's visits etc.. But why? to what gain? who's benefiting?
Am I being cynical????
Im looking to meet up with other guys who joined the alleged "tribe" to see what they have to say about it.
Ill keep you guys in the loop
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My gut pretty much wasn't vibing with him
Go with your gut. Every time I ignore my gut feeling, it usually ends badly.
And no, you're not being cynical, you're being careful and that's a good thing. What they're offering does sound too good to be true.
There's got to be a catch somewhere in the fine print - probably fine print that is should be on one of their "Undergoing Maintenance" pages.
Please do keep us in the loop. That would be much appreciated.
BTW, Cozmik, welcome to the forums.
Ann
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Welcome to the forums, Cozmik! Glad you found us!
OK, so as you've seen, people around here tend to get touchy when we smell a scam that targets people with HIV. Personally, when I first read your post I thought it a repost of an earlier thread on the same (or a similar) company that we'd determined was rubbish, and I almost deleted it. Glad to hear that you are a real person, not a grifter.
Sorry for the rough treatment, and I hope you keep joining in the conversations. Look at it this way: you passed your initiation by flame test. 8)
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A lil searing never hurt anybody!
OK. So here's the scoop:
CPS is essentially a middle man. I spoke to my doctor (Doctor Takayama [part of AAF AIDS ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION]) who was referred by CPS and he pretty much told me that he was also skeptical at first.
All they are is a receptor of allocated funds for HIV healthcare, which there will be a huge influx once obamacare kicks in next year. What does this mean for us (those who are infected)? Not too much. It only means that instead of dealing directly with insurance we'll be dealing through them and their "network" of pharmacies <-- not too clear what that means exactly.
I'm less trepidations now that i've spoken to the doctor , yes, he was referred by CPS, but he offered up his hesitation before I did. which makes me feel a lil better.
I guess this is just the beginning of healthcare reform bureaucracy and the new structure of all things medical.
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A lil searing never hurt anybody!
OK. So here's the scoop:
CPS is essentially a middle man. I spoke to my doctor (Doctor Takayama [part of AAF AIDS ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION]) who was referred by CPS and he pretty much told me that he was also skeptical at first.
All they are is a receptor of allocated funds for HIV healthcare, which there will be a huge influx once obamacare kicks in next year. What does this mean for us (those who are infected)? Not too much. It only means that instead of dealing directly with insurance we'll be dealing through them and their "network" of pharmacies <-- not too clear what that means exactly.
I'm less trepidations now that i've spoken to the doctor , yes, he was referred by CPS, but he offered up his hesitation before I did. which makes me feel a lil better.
I guess this is just the beginning of healthcare reform bureaucracy and the new structure of all things medical.
I don't find your post very clear at all.
I am confused what this organisation CPS does. Is it a government agency? Registered non profit? What?
Who asked for its creation? Why does anyone need a pharmacy middleman? You make it sound like Affordable Care Act sanctions this CPS entity, or will require it somehow. DUBIOUS.
Furthermore, what is the AFF - AIDS ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION? The only info I can find is that it is a charitable gift shop in Long Beach, benefiting aids.
AFF is an AIDS Service Organisation? With doctors, social workers, etc.? LInk please. Doctor Takayama??
The AFF site is quite vague. Nowhere does it state it is a 501, at least where I could see. And a lot of its projects/services are written about using the future tenses, as if they do not yet exist....
Their charity benefit, date "to be announced" is sponsored by... wait for it.. CPS...
If you ask me, something is rotten in Denmark in this thread.
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I have to agree that something simply doesn't "smell right" about this thread. Everything is remarkably vague and incomplete -- add that to the fact that it has been started by a new poster, who has posted nothing beyond this thread.
Perhaps I'm being unfair, but this whole thinks stinks of SCAM.
Mike