In the 1970s, health advocacy was born in an attempt to recognize patients’ rights in a healthcare system that was becoming more and more difficult to understand. At the same time, the “Patient Empowerment Movement” was under way as a residual effect of the social liberation of the 1960s, in which a greater demand arose for treatment choices and alternative treatment methods in healthcare.
The jargon used at medical facilities is enough to render patients speechless – and clueless – when it comes to their own care. Not much has changed at healthcare facilities over the past few decades in that regard. What has changed, unfortunately, is a snowballing scheme to take financial advantage of the public in leaps and bounds.
Most Americans are wise to the gross amounts of money made in the healthcare industry, which has become “big business” in this nation. But, honestly, how does a person fight against this giant? One person at a time, that’s how.
Consumers have much more power than they might imagine, and that’s part of the motivation behind many consumer advocacy groups today. The public has numerous rights which, thanks to leaders in the medical billing advocacy field, are becoming more well-known than in years past.
For instance, twenty years ago, would you have known that you can ask for a detailed, itemized statement of your medical bill and that your healthcare provider must provide these to you if you so desire? Would you have known that you can “shop around” for healthcare and even negotiate the price before or after your treatment? Would you have known that billing errors occur in favor of the healthcare provider 80 percent of the time? If it hadn’t been for one particular pioneer in this area, you most likely would not have known these essential facts.
A necessary medical position has opened in light of the changes in healthcare billing, the inability to decipher certain aspects of billing, the cost-quality of care ratio, and abusive billing practices. Pat Palmer, nicknamed the “Robin Hood of Medical Billing Advocacy” by veteran journalist Chris Wallace, began a small business to help consumers find and fight erroneous charges in their medical bills.
Twenty years later, she is the most well-known advocate for fairness and accuracy in medical billing, creating the essential role of “Medical Billing Advocate”. Because of her efforts, your pocket book, bank account, home and assets are a little safer. Pat’s crucial efforts are paying off… and the movement she initiated is just beginning.
Won’t you join us? Explore our websites, social media pages, media interviews, YouTube channel and Pat’s own book The Medical Bill Survival Guide: What You Need to Know before You Pay a Dime before paying another medical bill. Spread the word of this critical information to your family and friends.
Help us celebrate twenty years of leading the medical billing advocacy movement and helping to create a brighter future for Americans, free of abusive billing practices in the healthcare industry.
