{"id":11985,"date":"2017-06-01T07:00:15","date_gmt":"2017-06-01T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=11985"},"modified":"2017-09-19T18:45:03","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T23:45:03","slug":"should-you-hire-a-patient-advocate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2017\/06\/should-you-hire-a-patient-advocate\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You Hire a Patient Advocate?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Should You Hire a Patient Advocate?\"Should<\/a><\/h1>\n

Navigating the health system in the United States is hard. As if being sick wasn\u2019t bad enough, you also frequently have to deal with complicated administrative issues, difficulties scheduling appointments, health insurance complications, working with different doctors for different things (and making sure all of them are up to date on everything the other doctors are doing and saying), and a confusing medical billing process<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dealing with health care in this country could be a full time job, but most people have to manage it on top of a number of other life responsibilities and without the skill sets really needed to handle it all effectively. Fortunately, there\u2019s an industry of people who have those skill sets and are willing to do the work of managing the health system for you.<\/p>\n

What is a Patient Advocate?<\/h2>\n

A patient advocate is someone whose job it is to help people navigate the health care system. Some of them are specialists \u2013 you can find patient advocates that focus on helping people with specific illnesses like cancer and Alzheimer\u2019s, and those that focus on medical billing. Others aim to more generally help with whatever needs and questions you have that arise while dealing with doctors, hospitals, and health insurance companies.<\/p>\n

Patient advocates have a better idea than most patients do of the right questions to ask, the right steps to follow when you have a need, and how to read medical bills and insurance paperwork. Often, they\u2019re people who have worked in the health care industry before so are familiar with the inner workings of it all. They can recognize medical lingo and do the research necessary to understand and explain treatment options. Some of them join patients in the room with the doctor (but only if you want them to); others provide their help in between or after appointments.<\/p>\n

Across the board, patient advocates bring their skills and knowledge of how things work to helping improve your experience of dealing with your health care needs.<\/p>\n

When Patient Advocates Are Worth It<\/h2>\n

Some employers provide patient advocates as a benefit to employees and some hospitals may offer patient advocates to help their patients out, but for most people, hiring a patient advocate can get costly. If you\u2019re paying out of pocket, you should expect fees that range from $100-$200 an hour or a flat fee for specific services.<\/p>\n

Being that the cost is significant, how can you determine if a patient advocate is worth it for you or a family member?<\/p>\n

There are a number of factors and questions to consider to make a decision:<\/p>\n