Healthcare Advocacy – A Growing Industry

The healthcare advocacy industry started in the 1970’s during the patient’s rights movement. Because of this movement, in 1972 the American Hospital Association adopted the Patient Bill of Rights.

In the beginning, patient advocacy involved naming patient advocates or representatives for patients who were in the hospital for long periods of time. Those who were in particular need of an advocate were those who were unable to speak for themselves. A patient advocate would stand up for the patient’s rights.

Since the 1970s, the patient’s rights movement has evolved. Patient advocacy now encompasses many different aspects of a patient’s needs. The advocacy movement promotes the rights of a patient in the hospital, strives to improve the health of the community, and works hard to improve healthcare policy. Their main focus is ensuring all people are able to receive safe, quality healthcare.

Why We Need Medical Billing Advocates

Medical billing practices aren’t always done in a way that protects the patient. Although a doctor has sworn an oath to care for people, he or she is still running a business. All businesses need to make money.

However, some doctors and hospital staff employ billing practices that do not adhere to certain billing rules and regulations that are in place to help protect consumers from abusive billing practices. The result is higher healthcare costs. At times, laws are passed requiring doctors and hospitals to reduce costs. However, healthcare facilities will still find ways that they can make a large profit.

One of the ways hospitals and providers attempt to make money is by inflating medical bills. They might charge for extra procedures or not correct mistakes on denied claims. The patient ends up being responsible for extra costs that they should not have been charged at all.

A reputable medical billing advocate can help consumers pay only what is true, accurate, fair and reasonable. A billing advocate will look over your medical billing statements to ensure that you are only paying for True and Accurate charges. They will then give you what you need to contact your provider or hospital, or many will take care of this for you. When you have an advocate assisting you, you might be able to see a greatly reduced medical bill.

What Would Happen Without Advocates?

Without medical billing advocacy groups, billing offices would run amuck. More patients would pay for medical bill charges that are inaccurate. They would pay for treatments they didn’t receive, operating room time that wasn’t used, or pay providers they didn’t even see. These instances are already happening, but because of billing advocacy groups, the providers are getting caught, errors are being corrected, and erroneous charges are being overturned.

What Medical Billing Advocates Are Able To Accomplish

Medical billing advocates are often able to greatly reduce a medical bill. In fact, some advocacy groups have been able to reduce bills by up to 80%. An advocate will do the heavy work for you or they will show you what needs to be done. Here are some tips they give for being your own advocate:

• Know how much the hospital charges. There are a couple of great resources available for patients that show the average charges for a procedure. These books also tell how much would normally be discounted for an insurance company. If you’re interested in learning more, check out the Healthcare Blue Book. When you know these two figures (how much is charged and how much it can be discounted), you’ll be in a better place to be able to negotiate with your medical biller.
• Be confident when negotiating. First of all, tell the medical biller, doctor, hospital administrator, or whoever you’re speaking to that the bill you’ve received is very expensive. Tell them you know the usual and customary fees associated with the procedures you’ve had. Then ask if they would be willing to work with you to find a Fair and Reasonable price.

Why the Growth of Medical Billing Advocacy Groups Isn’t Necessarily Encouraging

At first glance, it may seem encouraging to see more people out there willing to become advocates. We’re all thankful for that. However, needing more advocates correlates to more medical billing mistakes and fraudulent charges or practices. It’s a sad truth, but as long as medical billing advocates are staying busy, healthcare facilities are billing inaccurately and abusively.

Can You Become an Advocate?

Did you know that you can become an advocate? First of all, you can become your own personal advocate. The more you educate yourself and stop backing down from medical billers, hospitals and providers, the more comfortable and effective you will be in continuing the process.

There are also advocacy groups that will train you to become an advocate for others. If you’re tired of seeing the unfair billing practices, contact Medical Billing Advocates of America for more information.

The patient’s rights movement has been active for more than 40 years. Medical billing advocacy groups have one goal: Making sure every patient receives quality medical care without paying charges he or she doesn’t actually owe. It doesn’t matter if their care is in an outpatient facility, a doctor’s office, or a hospital. All medical personnel should work to provide exceptional care, even the personnel responsible for generating and sending a patient’s medical bill. All aspects of the medical experience should be high quality. Thankfully, we have advocates to make sure this happens.