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Medical Billing Advocate?

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Christy:
Has anyone ever looked into becoming one? According to Time magazine, they can make $100 per hour...

PMRNC:
Who pays them the 100$ an hour? They used to be called CAP's Years ago and while today there is a need for advocates with the new ACA coming in.. again, who's going to pay that $100 an hour? Will it be the millions of newly insured's already being forced into buying from the exchanges with higher premium rates not to mention their higher out of pocket deductibles?

RichardP:
Google on "Medical Billing Advocate" .  A number of the links there talk about advocates charging from 25% to 33% of the money saved by examining medical bills.  One advocate spent 95 hours on saving her client about $25,000.  At 25% of the savings, that's about $66 per hour.  At 33% of the savings, that's about $87 per hour.

PMRNC:


--- Quote ---Google on "Medical Billing Advocate" .  A number of the links there talk about advocates charging from 25% to 33% of the money saved by examining medical bills.  One advocate spent 95 hours on saving her client about $25,000.  At 25% of the savings, that's about $66 per hour.  At 33% of the savings, that's about $87 per hour.
--- End quote ---
 

Oh I have researched this and more recently with the ACA, and I've actually tried this market before. Most of the links you see especially like to advertise fighting hospital bills, if you have insurance your insurance carrier already is auditing those bills and/or negotiating down as low as they can, and if you don't have insurance well it's actually even easier to get the bill knocked down more than 50% with a phone call and or a trip to the Medicaid office, plus hospital's have their own advocates that will work with patients and balances with or without insurance. I used to do hospital bill audit's at the insurance company, guaranteed we got down every bill 35-60% most times.  Same with surgical procedures the carrier may cut for U&C, doc sends in op report, carrier pays more or the rest on first and/or second appeal anyway. So patient gets bill paid and then pays the advocate?   People are not even liking having to purchase insurance policies I don't see them paying us.  Sure maybe it can be something we do on the side as an added service but our contracts would have to all be between the patient and us, there have to be HIPAA agreements completed and sent to the carrier on behalf of each patient, each claim.

With the ACA there might be a need for advising people on what plan's are most beneficial but again, I just don't see people who are being forced into buying insurance going to put out MORE money when the govt will be putting all the information out there. For the heck of it I put up a flyer and biz card at my local pharmacy advertising helping those choose plans, many nibbles but no one wants to pay. JMHO

RichardP:
For the record, I was not advocating for folks to become Medical Billing Advocate.  I agree with your thoughts on this issue.  I was just pointing out how some Advocates calculate their payment.  When charging a third of the reduced fee, as in the example I gave, that still does not get up to $100 per hour.

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