What do advocates do you ask?
Hi all! I went to Chicago this weekend, oddly to escape the New England cold!
We got to see family and friends - both planned and unplanned visits. It’s always good to be spontaneous. We went to a jazz club, and celebrated my niece’s first birthday.
One of the best parts was getting to talk about what I’m doing now as an advocate. There were many questions, so I thought an FAQ would be helpful to have the answers all in one place!
Q: What kinds of billing issues can you help with?
A: I love this question :-) A billing advocate can help with any kind of wonky medical bill that is causing you stress. Some examples of issues I have helped rectify in the past:
Helped to get bills revised after insurance coverage was denied for duplicate services
Assisted in filing for financial assistance, and appealed denials of assistance
Reviewed insurance policies for coverage to find potential areas of reimbursement
Worked with collections agencies to place debt collection activity on hold while billing reviews are underway
Initiated a coding review after a patient was denied coverage because the billing codes did not line up with their diagnosis codes (UGH!)
Negotiated with a client’s HR, PCP and surgeon to process return to work paperwork
Appealed the denial of Temporary Disability Insurance for a client who was out on leave
Most importantly, we as advocates are able to connect the dots for people. There are lots of resources available in the healthcare industry to help you, but none that are a) unbiased, and b) entirely consumer-driven. Your advocate will go above and beyond for you and reach out to whoever they need to in order to get the job done. And of course – we’ll wait on hold for as long as we need to, saving you the joys of listening to all that lovely elevator music……..
Q: Does “Board Certified” patient advocate mean you are only certified to work in one place?
A: No! The Patient Advocate Certification Board is a nation-wide certification, and much of the support we have to offer is available over zoom/telephone so we can help people all over. I have had clients in Wisconsin, California, Missouri, and everywhere in between!
Q: Do you have to follow HIPAA laws? (Fun fact: did you know HIPAA stands for the “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act”....the word ‘privacy’ isn’t even in there. Wild, huh?)
A: No, but that doesn’t mean we don’t take client privacy very seriously. All communication is done via encrypted emails, and your health data is stored in encrypted cloud files.
Q: Are you covered by insurance?
No, not currently. However, the savings that you will likely find from working with an advocate far outweigh the cost in most cases.
Q: What do I need to start?
A: You can book a free intro call with me here to fill me in on your situation and see if I can help you out! Even if we don’t work together, I always want to hear your story and am happy to offer some advice on how you might be able to move forward on your own too.