Advocating for Your Health
As the country continues to reform its approach to how medical care is provided, many of us seem to have gotten used to the conundrums and frustration in dealing with our own health issues as well as navigating the system in general. Older patients in particular face the daunting task of understanding medical bills, insurance coverage, doctors’ diagnoses and care management options.
To help individuals and families sort through the maze of decision making, the growing professional discipline of “healthcare advocate” is meeting the need. Other names for this function include: private patient advocates, health navigators, care coordinators and case managers.
While the concept of a separate and identifiable field of health advocacy grew out of the patient rights movement of the 1970’s, it has only been less than a decade since a professional association of health advocates was created. Today, the grouping of physicians’ practices into larger hospital systems is making it harder on patients more than ever before. This, in addition to the decline in access to affordable care, is driving the rapid growth of this profession.
Advocates provide a broad range of services, from accompanying patients to a doctors’ appointment to reviewing and negotiating medical bills. Some advocates concentrate on a specific disease or approach to care. For example, an advocate might work only with dementia patients. Another advocate might focus on alternative treatments. Still others have nothing to do with care itself; perhaps mediating for families that must make hard decisions in a short timeframe.
This growing profession often attracts nurses, social workers or people who’ve navigated their own challenges with the medical system. To date, no states license patient advocates, nor is there a nationally-recognized certification, accreditation or other credential assigned to patient advocates. However, there are a number of organizations and universities which have developed courses and programs for potential patients’ advocates to learn their new trade. Of a handful of groups organizing around the field, the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants (NAHAC), based in Berkeley, has gained the most traction and has designed a code of ethics.
Of course there is a cost. Most private health advocates charge and hourly fee from $75 to $225 an hour. In the case of insurance and legal claims, some advocates may take a percentage of whatever money is recovered. Others charge an annual retainer fee that covers a wide range of ongoing services.
Advocates can work intensively during a crisis or intermittently if a client’s needs are more irregular. They’re different from the advocates most hospitals employ directly, who offer patients more limited assistance only during a hospital stay and are exposed to potential conflict of interests.
Adding another supportive layer to the healthcare decision making process benefits both patients and caregivers allowing both more energy and time toward healing, or supporting their loved one who needs care.
Healthcare advocates have a place in the network of professionals we at Hatch Retirement Advisors work with. Their work plays an important role in the overall planning process. Our extended team also often includes an estate attorney, a CPA, insurance expert, and other professionals supporting positive aging. Coordinating this team, and weaving in your personal network of family, friends and community, is the art of longevity planning.
More on that next time…
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