Patients Are Powerful » patient advocates

Where Health Coverage is Concerned, Patient Advocates Need to Stand Arm-in-Arm With Nursing Home and Home Care Workers

admin — Tue, 31 May 2011 18:34:36 +0000

Patient advocates who assist nursing home residents beware: Alarmed by the cost of providing health insurance to their employees, many nursing homes and home care agencies not only do not provide health insurance to their workers, or pay wages so low that employees cannot afford the coverage that is offered, but many are lobbying for exemption from the new health care law. As one who writes health articles regarding senior health care issues, I feel obliged to consider how uninsured nursing home workers might affect the health of nursing home residents.

It is a well-known fact that uninsured individuals are less likely to seek treatment for illnesses. Hands-on nursing home attendants who are not insured may work while they are contagious, infectious, and communicable, which can be a death sentence to elderly patients whose immune systems are already comprised by age and illness. In addition, even if an nursing home worker is not contagious, his or her untreated untreated condition might still impair mental and physical dexterity when needed.

Starting in 2014, the new health care law will require employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer affordable coverage or risk paying a penalty. For a midsize nursing home, that penalty could easily exceed $200,000 a year. Nursing home executives are urging Congress and the Obama administration to spare them from the penalties.

Patient advocates should join nursing home workers against this grievous treatment of employees that endangers everyone associated with patient care, including the patients themselves. Someone in the Nursing Home and Home Care agencies is making plenty of money on the backs of nursing home and home care employees! It is scandalous for these agencies to be lobbying for special treatment and it would be more-than-scandalous for Congress or the administration to relieve nursing homes of the obligation to provide coverage to employees!

Technorati Tags: health insurance for home care workers, health insurance for nursing home workers, home care agencies, nursing homes, patient advocates

Three Cheers for Live Chat For True Patient Advocacy!!!

admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:48:38 +0000

Patients are powerful, especially when they have resources available to them. As a chiropractor who has a “live chat” feature on my website, I was impressed to learn that the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) also has such a feature. There is a plethora of information and a complete section on patient education on the website. Plus, it offers a number of patient services such as assistance with arbitration, mediation and negotiation to settle issues with access to care, medical debt, and job retention related to patient illness. But, the best thing that this particular website offers is a “live chat” function. I have found that many seniors find talking to a “real” person not only more helping than trying to negotiate website directions, but also comforting. And, isn’t that what we, health care providers and patient advocates, want for our patients? A one-on-one conversation can ease frustration and clear confusion in all patients who need help, but in my opinion, it is our senior population who desires this feature most.

Technorati Tags: patient advocacy, Patient Advocate Foundation, patient education, patient resources

A New Healthcare System Will Still Require Patient Advocacy

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:24:16 +0000

As a Chicago chiropractor, I wait anxiously along with my patients and the rest of the country for the passing of a new comprehensive and compassionate Health Care Bill. And, along with the questions of cost and inclusiveness that everyone is asking, I believe that we should also be asking if an overhaul of the U.S. heathcare system will include simplification? Let’s face it, our current system is not only horribly expensive and amazingly ineffective, it is inherently complicated. When a person is ill, and may be in need of surgery or recovering from it, the last thing that they should have to worry about are complex insurance issues, sorting through mountains of bills, making certain that the proper medications are given, and that appropriate arrangements for follow-up treatment are made. Thanks to the dedicated patient advocate, these questions often do get answered.

However, if the new Health Bill falls short of simplification, as most Congressional Bills tend to do, through patient advocacy, patients will still have the “extra strength” they’ll need in order to stay informed when talking to the doctors, in getting to see a desired specialist, in ensuring that the pills that they are given are the ones meant for them, and, if necessary, in negotiating for any additional help that they may require and the fees charged for the services.

This is just part of the great service that patient advocates provide today. And, I suspect that no matter what happens to the healthcare system in the future, with the scores of aging baby boomers demanding, as they should, to receive the proper and affordable health care they require, the patient advocate will still be a vital part of any health environment.

Technorati Tags: healthcare system, patient advocacy, patient advocate, patient advocates

Internet of Helping Hands a Link to Free or Low-Cost Health Care Services

admin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:55:57 +0000

As an Oxnard Chiropractor I’m well aware that health care is expensive and that too many people go about their lives uninsured. Patients are powerful when it comes to speaking up for universal health coverage, but a comprehensive solution to the problem may be a long time coming (for those in need right now). Fortunately, there are patient advocates, i.e., nonprofit groups out there, particularly here in California, who are organized, informed, and ready to assist those in requiring free or low-cost health care services now to find the help they need.

—————————–

Thursday, July 2, 2009, 2:43pm PDT

Web site connects consumers to free health care

A Sacramento nonprofit has launched a Web site with a comprehensive listing of free or low-cost health care services for consumers.

The site, myhealthresource.org, is sponsored by Californians for Patient Care.

It provides information on health services throughout the state, including local, state and federal health care programs, insurance options, information about disease management prescription services, area hospital and clinics — along with locations and directions — mental health assistance, homeless resource and more.

A visitor simply enters a ZIP code, clicks on the category of interest, and is presented with information and a variety of options.

The online resource comes as unemployment continues to rise in the region and growing numbers of local residents lose their health insurance along with their jobs.

There are an estimated 250,000 people without health insurance in Sacramento County, said registered nurse Maria Robles, president of Californians for Patient Care.

“Sacramento’s teachers, firefighters and state government workers are losing their jobs at an alarming rate,” Robles said in a press release. The online service provides information on how to get coverage and/or treatment at no or low cost.

While the Web site is intended for consumers who need direction to services, doctors and other providers may want to use it to find out how to help an uninsured patient get access to further care.

Sacramento Business Journal – by Kathy Robertson Staff writer

Technorati Tags: free health care services, low-cost health care services, Oxnard Chiropractor, patient advocates