ASA rules that Healthcare Society ads were misleading

The ASA has upheld two complaints against a Healthcare Society relating to a TV ad and a radio ad, which aired on 4th February and 12th March 2024 respectively, both of which included the phrase “…everyone is welcome. No one is excluded.”

One complainant challenged whether the first ad was misleading based on an understanding that several surgery related procedures and cancer treatment were not included in the Health Society’s healthcare membership.  Another complainant challenged whether the second ad was misleading based on an understanding that customers could only access medical treatment after two years of membership.

In response to the complaints, the Healthcare Society argued that the ads were intended to communicate inclusion for everyone, not that every condition would be covered irrespective of length of membership, and that relevant ‘subject to T&Cs’ warnings had been included.

The TV advertisement included the voice-over phrase “…everyone is welcome. No one is excluded” voice-over and featured prominent text stating “affordable private healthcare for everyone”. The Health Society believed that, due to the low price and visible disclaimer stating that terms, conditions and exclusions would apply, it was reasonable to assume viewers would not expect all medical procedures to be covered by the plan.

Whilst it would be unlikely for a private medical company to be expected to cover all unique medical problems, common and major health-related issues were excluded on the Health Society’s plan. The ASA considered that the references made within the TV ad gave the impression that anyone could join the Society to access private healthcare, and that, by association, their specific medical needs would be covered by the plan. The ASA also ruled that on-screen text stating “See T&Cs for limits and exclusions” was not sufficient to override the overall impression given that all types of treatments were covered by the plan.

In relation to the radio ad, the ASA considered listeners would have been likely to interpret the phrase “What’s the catch? There isn’t one” to mean there were no significant restrictions or limitations that would influence their decision to join the Society. It also considered that the phrase would have been interpreted as relating to both pricing and non-pricing issues, including key aspects of the membership plan, such as treatment restrictions or exclusions.

The ASA understood that as of 19th February 2024, surgical treatments were only available after two years of membership. Subsequently, the ASA considered that this would likely be viewed by consumers as a “catch” and was also material information likely to influence a consumer’s decision to join the Society.

Therefore, the CAP Code and BCAP Code requirements in relation to misleading advertising and qualification were judged to have been breached by both advertisements. The ASA ruled that the ads must not appear again in the forms complained of and told the Society to ensure that future ads did not mislead consumers or omit material information regarding their healthcare plan, including significant restrictions or exclusions relating to treatment options.

The Society assumed disclaimers referring viewers or listeners to terms, conditions and exclusions sufficiently clarified that claims made were subject to limitations and that the audience would not interpret their claims literally or derive a false impression, relying on listeners/viewers to uncover key material information themselves through further exploration.

The ASA’s ruling makes clear that information presented to an audience should not leave them with an impression or understanding that would be significantly altered by the discovery of omitted material information. Organisations should not assume that information will be interpreted in a certain way by an audience, or that stating terms, conditions and exclusions avoids an audience being misled. Advertisements which require further investigation from an audience to gain an accurate understanding of the true nature of claims made are misleading and risk influencing the perception and actions of an audience on false pretences.

Considering the ASA’s ruling, firms should review advertisements which make claims regarding products or services to ensure that no claims made, or omissions of material information, would be likely to mislead an audience or misrepresent an offering.