Military Officer - June 2007 - (Page 58)

When my mother faced such a situation after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer, she immediately contacted a patient advocate who sprang to action on many of these details. That left my mother free to handle the things she believed were most important — and that was key to her mental well-being as she battled her disease. P Innovative support Patient advocates are a growing new trend in health care. Their roles can vary based on the situation or for whom they are working. In a nutshell, their job is to sort through the sometimes maddening layers of bureaucracy in the health care industry and make sure the patient gets the best care possible in the timeliest manner and, in many cases, to help ensure the care will be covered by medical beneﬁts. My mother had access to her advocate because it was a beneﬁt of the company from which she retired. Private companies also offer advocates for hire to individuals or families, and depending on the nature of your situation, advocates also might be available on a charitable basis. Some insurance companies offer advocate services to oversee your case to make sure your care falls within their guidelines, and hospitals occasionally offer advocacy for patients. These services differ from a TRICARE Beneﬁciary Counseling and Assistance Coordinator (BCAC), formerly known as a Health Beneﬁts Advisor (HBA), in that, among other things, the advocate likely will look at resources available outside your normal beneﬁts plan and work to get you coverage. is over and you’re trying to remember exactly what it was your doctor said. The advocate also arranged for slides from my mother’s biopsy to be sent to a leading cancer treatment center for a second opinion on the diagnosis and treatment. Her particular advocate didn’t get involved in insurance coverage issues. For some other advocates, however, dealing with insurance companies is perhaps the major part of their business. The nonproﬁt National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF), www.patientadvocate.org, has served about 17 million Americans since it was founded 11 years ago. “Our mission is to remove obstacles to access to care for people diagnosed with chronic, life-threatening, and/or debilitating illness,” says Nancy Davenport-Ennis, CEO of NPAF. That can mean making sure patients get in to see the right doctors, that their beneﬁts plans provide coverage, that they don’t lose their jobs, and that their medical bills don’t leave them in ﬁnancial crisis. It also can mean helping Medicare patients get access to medical trials to treat their illnesses when appropriate. Davenport-Ennis says sometimes senior citizens facing a health care crisis will opt to forgo treatment simply because they’re afraid to leave their spouse or children without any assets — they fear the cost of medical care will eat up all of their savings. “Using an advocate to intervene can indeed often result in preserving family assets,” says Davenport-Ennis. W 58 Lending a hand What, exactly, does a patient advocate do? It depends. If you’re thinking of hiring an advocate, it’s a good idea to discuss your speciﬁc needs and their perceived role in handling your case before making any decisions. Just as some of the options available in the health care industry can be confusing, so can understanding a particular advocate’s array of services. Take the extra time to double-check to make sure the advocate can help you with your speciﬁc needs. In my mother’s situation, the advocate, an RN, helped her get in to see a specialist sooner, explained test results, explored pain-management options, made regular visits to the hospital and skilled-care facilities in which my mother was a patient, and sometimes attended key physician appointments. Having that second set of eyes and ears at the doctor’s ofﬁce — someone who isn’t emotionally involved and can take notes for you — can be a big help after the appointment MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2007 K Tragedy to triumph Kevin Flynn, president of HealthCare Advocates Inc. (www.healthcareadvocates.org), founded his company after his own personal health crisis: He was hit by a car at the age of 18 and suffered head injuries. When his insurance ran out, he turned to Medicaid and had a difﬁcult time ﬁnding a doctor willing to continue treating his injuries. That’s when he vowed to help patients access the health care they need. Advocates with his company, which serves an estimated 80,000 people, don’t attend doctor appointments because they think it can be counterproductive. “That’s saying right up front, ‘Doctor, I don’t trust you,’ ” Flynn says. “When doctors think someone is second-guessing them, they tend to clam up. They become withdrawn because they know everything they say is going to be scrutinized.” That atmosphere, he adds, might prevent physicians from suggesting innovative or alternative treatments. Instead, his company helps people ﬁnd access to the right physicians for their needs, negotiates coverage during sticky insurance squabbles, and assists with obtaining second opinions and health research, among other things. He likens his services to those of an auto club. http://www.patientadvocate.org http://www.healthcareadvocates.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - June 2007

Military Officer - June 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Getting the Best Care Stand By Me Promise for PTSD Cover Story: Heavy Duty Unified Medical Command Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar MOAA Scholarship Donors Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - June 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.