Checkup

Navigating through your health-care bills: National billing assistance company opens office at Mayo

Patient Care, a national health-care advocacy company based in New Orleans, has opened an office at Mayo Clinic to help patients with their bills. Patient Care helps consumers nationwide resolve health-care claims and billing issues. The company works with both commercially insured and Medicare members to assist with explaining, filing and appealing claims.

Patient Care has been available to Mayo Clinic patients by telephone since June. In mid-July, the company opened an office in the Davis Building, 2E, for patients to meet one-on-one with an advocate.

Rona Revels (left), advocacy manager, and Jane Cooper, president of Patient Care, help patients with their bills.

The decision to bring in an outside company to assist patients came after administrators at Mayo Clinic realized that many of the issues patients need help with are unrelated to the clinic's services.

"We heard from many of our patients that they needed help with some of the bookkeeping aspects of the health care system," says Joan Weber, vice chair of the Department of Financial Services. "Mayo doesn't have the resources to provide all the assistance that a patient sometimes needs. We wanted to offer a resource that would work on behalf of patients and their needs to steer through the insurance aspects of health care."

Mayo patients who need help with financial services that Mayo Clinic is not primarily responsible for are now directed to Patient Care for assistance. The cost to enroll in Patient Care is $180 for an individual and $250 per couple for one year. For those wanting to try the program for a shorter period, Patient Care is offering a one-time 90-day enrollment for $75. Patient Care advocates will assist with such things as filing claims to secondary carriers, deciphering what bills a patient is responsible for and translating insurance and Medicare benefits to make clear to the patient what is and what is not covered.

"Health care and insurance issues can be frustrating and intimidating to people," says Jane Cooper, president and CEO of Patient Care. "It can be stressful to manage, especially when you are ill. That's where we come in."

Patient Care's toll free number for Mayo patients is (877) 548-7714. Advocates are available to assist callers between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. EST Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Patient Care's office at Mayo Clinic is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Learn more about Patient Care online at www.patientcare4u.com.