The escalating cost of healthcare in the country has begun affecting patients. With the increase in expenses faced by employers and insurance companies in the healthcare industry, the need to implement a cost-sharing strategy arises. At this rate, the rise in medical bills presents an awkward and frustrating experience for patients who are unable to meet up with their financial needs. It becomes necessary to provide a service which can offer medical bill help and build an affordable payment system for patients. Going through the abundance of options with regards to medical care is already overwhelming. Factor in things such as selecting a provider, getting recommendations, tracking appointments and then add an astronomical bill to your mix. It's easy to get a headache just thinking about it all.. This is why, more and more patients are enlisting the aid of a medical bill help advocate. These patients are learning first hand that the advocate will save them additional money and headaches in the long haul. Clients often consult family members and buddies when they are looking for low-cost healthcare. But when bills begin stacking up and balances start increasing, family and friends are likely just as lost for answers.
Who are Patient Advocates?
Patient Advocates are trained professionals who support patients and assist them during clinical appointments by asking questions about available treatment options for patients. Patients, caregivers, and family members can obtain the services of a patient advocate to help a patient navigate through the confusing world of medical bills. Advocates concentrate on various areas. Some can help you with your whole experience, including intangible benefits, while others only help with the bottom line. When you choose who to get help from, try finding one that has handled instance just like yours. The field of health advocacy is fairly new, and you will find numerous backgrounds and different degrees of training among the list of advocates available. A large number of them come from a medical field, and several have a substantial familiarity with the industry. A patient can often save money right off the top because their advocate has an arsenal of surefire ways to save right off the bat.
The Role of Patient Advocates
1. They help to educate patients and their family members on the available treatment options and medical resources in order to ensure that they have complete knowledge of all the treatment requires.
2. They also ask relevant questions on behalf of the patients and family members so as to avoid any conflict and confusion that may arise between patients and health practitioners and also facilitate a healthy relationship between both parties
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3. They provide medical bill help by searching for better health insurance deals on behalf of patients who are uncomfortable with the medical costs.
Is it Worth it?
A typical concern regarding advocates I hear is that they're more expensive than they’re worth. That couldn't be further from the truth. Those who are not informed of all of the advantages of getting the assistance of an advocate are passing up on great cost savings. In reality, MedCard members do not spend anything additional to have an advocate review their medical bills and find a solution. If you do not desire to become a member of MedCard and opt to hire an advocate, numerous advocates just charge a percentage associated with how much they save you. This is like an attorney who does not charge the client unless they win.
Working With A Healthcare Bill Help Advocate
We will request an itemized version of your medical bills. Then, we will analyze that bill line by line, looking for possibilities of a mistake, such as clerical errors, mis-coding and un-bundled items. They are going to then ask you to answer some questions. How long did an operation take? What medications were you given? What doctor's came by to talk with you? How long? And so on.
Many people discover that after they make a decision to contact a medical bill help advocate, they start to feel a bit more at ease. That’s because medical payment advocates know where to check for errors in medical bills and they're confident that they will usually find mistakes on your bill. Because the auditing conducted by a medical bill advocate, it's a good idea to write down your experience as soon as you can. You'll want to make note of medications given, time spent with doctors and operations, time you got to the hospital , left the hospital and more.
Are You Uninsured?
A controversial issue is occurring in the health care industry in which several times, uninsured patients are being charged significantly more than insured clients when it comes to same procedure. Insurance providers have individuals on staff that will negotiate with medical providers, this is called network rates.
Uninsured customers need their own personal negotiator. Not only are uninsured s typically charged more but a large numbers of medical bills have some sort of inaccuracy. Since medical bills usually are laden up with codes and jargon, a professional should be the one to interpret them. Health bill help advocates usually have a razor-sharp eye for detail, negotiation abilities and considerable medical knowledge, making them quite effective whenever negotiating.
Patient Advocates
A slightly different type of advocate is a patient advocate. These advocates compare prices, and they know which physician will probably charge less for certain procedures and, therefore, can refer you to best provider for your situation. Also, patient advocates have access to information on various doctors, and additionally they can compare ratings with pricing to produce a truly educated recommendation regarding cost and benefit, since quality is an absolute must in regards to your quality of life.
If the need arises, a patient advocate can also find a nursing home or assisted facility for you. They weigh the good qualities and cons and then make certain you don’t lose quality or comfort. Dental and eyesight savings are another area by which the assistance of an advocate are used for. Consumers can save around 30 percent on dental charges and 40% on eyesight costs when they implement the aid of an individual patient advocate.
It’s important to realize that not all advocate businesses provide both patient advocacy and medical payment advocacy. Many will focus on just one area. MedCard members enjoy the use of both patient and medical bill help advocate solutions.
Advocates Could Help You Save Thousands
Whenever all is done, an advocate can save you 20% to 65% or even more on many of your medical expenses, plus some will even revisit old bills to ensure you were not overcharged within the past. Advocates are here to negotiate on your behalf, just make the call. MedCard members just login and click on Member Benefits. From there, find the advocate phone number and make the call to get started. Patient advocates not only provide medical help but also provide immense emotional support to patients during the course of treatment. They also serve as the contact between the health practitioners, nurses and the patients to ensure that satisfactory support is provided at all times.