NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Problems with health insurance coverage have become like chronic headaches for many Americans -- annoying, painful and difficult to cure.
Patient advocacy helps consumers navigate the complex coverage, technical language and labyrinthine claims process that have become part of the health insurance arena, according to Jane Cooper, President and CEO of Patient Care, a national patient advocacy company. See http://www.patientcare4u.com/ .
“If a service gets denied it can be for many different reasons and unless you know the business, it’s very difficult for the average person to understand what’s happened,” says Cooper, whose company serves over 55,000 members in the Midwest and Southeast.
Cooper, a former health insurance industry executive, founded Patient Care to bridge that gap, helping patients save time and money and avoid frustration. Many employers have caught on, and patient advocacy is emerging as a popular and money-saving employee benefit.
Publicly held companies like Briggs and Stratton and Whitney National Bank offer Patient Care to their employees. The company also has an office in the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida to help patients decipher their insurance coverage. Individuals can join Patient Care as well, for $15 a month.
Trained patient advocates, many of whom formerly worked in the health insurance industry, help employees resolve disputed claims with physicians, insurers and HMOs, explain complicated benefits structures, assist in the referral process, and more. “We save our members time, money and frustration,” notes Cooper.
For Ray Ansardi, 41, Patient Care was a lifesaver. Already on the waiting list for a heart transplant due to a complication following a severe case of pneumonia, he learned that a possible problem with one of his heart’s valves might make his situation even more serious. Ansardi needed a critical diagnostic procedure -- but his health insurer denied coverage.
Patient Care was able to resolve the issue and the procedure went forward. Ansardi was diagnosed with a congenital valve defect, and after a July 2003 valve replacement, he’s now off the transplant list and his health is improving. He insists that the help of his patient advocate helped ease the anxiety involved in navigating the healthcare maze.
Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Jane Cooper http://www.profnet.com/ud_public.jsp?userid=108299
Patient Care
CONTACT: Mary Mouton, +1-504-269-4895, for Patient Care
Web site: http://www.patientcare4u.com/