It is estimated that the health advocacy area will be a booming business opportunity over the upcoming years as patients face more denials and billing issues that require a greater level of knowledge and resources. At the present time, corporations are their biggest customers.
Indeed, the largest customers of health advocacy services are companies, not individuals. "The employers are interested because it means their employees are not on the phone taking care of doctor's visits" during work hours, Fischer said.
...
Health Advocate claims to be the largest. Founded in 2001, it now has more than 3,500 companies, unions and other organizations as clients, including Johnson & Johnson, American Express and The Home Depot Inc.
Altogether, about 2.6 million employees, or members, are signed up with Health Advocate. But the number who can use it is actually higher: Members can share the call-in number with spouses, children, parents and parents-in-law — including elderly kin who need help picking a Medicare prescription drug plan, finding a nursing home or arranging transportation for health care. With all relatives added in, Health Advocate's membership as roughly 12 million, Fischer said.
via USAToday.com$10,000 a year PinnacleCare is mentioned as a for profit health advocacy company that is used by some wealthy individuals.
The Baltimore-based company is essentially a club for millionaires and billionaires that puts nurses and social workers in touch with members. Not only will they help members find top-level care, they will get them moved to the head of the line. PinnacleCare advisers will even meet the patient at a doctor's office or hospital. via USAToday.com
Of course the irony- and even ethical dilemna- of this is that those who cannot afford this service are then pushed back in line even further, making it more difficult to access good care.
There is a nonprofit group mentioned in the article.
The Patient Advocate Foundation provides free help to people with chronic, debilitating and life-threatening conditions. Founded in 1996, the Virginia-based organization has 113 employees and an annual budget of about $8.5 million. It handled nearly 45,000 cases in 2007 — most of them cancer patients. via USAToday.com
The article ends by noting that it would be helpful if more pro bono services were offered to those in need of help. You can locate the Patient Advocate Foundation at this link.
3 comments:
I'm not encouraged.
My crystal ball tells me that if 'universal care' is legislated, the government will then fund agencies like these to help people get their 'right to medical care' and thus, creating more bureaucracy.
This is exactly what has happened to the right to education - see my post from yesterday, still on top, for while, titled "Group Support Meeting". Barbara
My mother's company uses Health Advocate. I attempted to use it once to make some appointments (MRI, EMG, other similar testing) and find some specialists. It was less that useless and it took me longer to do than it would have on my own. The woman also treated me like I was about 5. I don't know if it's changed since (this was about 2 years ago), but I wouldn't dream of using such a company now.
Penelope- Thanks for talking about your experiences.
I have a really difficult time with the idea of health advocacy services doled out in a corporate model,which can further serve to make access to good health care harder for those who have less advantages, but there is also the issue of whether the service itself is useful and how it's disseminated.
Post a Comment