CareGuide Advocates

11/13/2024

Top tips from our very own Dr. Bill on maximizing savings while still getting the health care you need!

10/18/2024

Happy !

This week, one of our CareGuide members was hit with a $120,590.29 bill from Stony Brook University Hospital after his hospitalization. CareGuide was able to cut his bill down by 90%—saving him over $100,000!

These wins are why we . 🎉

03/11/2024

Everyone knows that the healthcare system doesn't work. Not for the members who need it the most. That's why you need an advocate - one who isn't making the same empty promises as everyone else.

Who feels that making healthcare work better is about more than words. It's about integrity and standing up for what's right.

It means standing on the side of patients by making sure they don't overpay for the cost of their care.

It means holding providers to their word when they're legally required to offer free care to people who qualify.

It means helping people get rid of hospital bills that are larger than most mortgages.

It means giving patients who have been abandoned by healthcare a fighting chance at getting better.

Let us know if you're on the team.

03/06/2024

The reason why it's so hard to have a conversation about healthcare costs is because providers, insurers, and patients can't even agree on which problem we're talking about.

There's the problem about affordability - making sure that people can access and pay for the care they need to get better. Then there's the problem with how much we actually spend on healthcare as a nation. According to the (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) at $4.5 trillion dollars in 2022 (just north of 17% of GDP).

And so often these problems are at odds with each other.

But the truth is, patients do not care. Not most of them. Most of them want to know why their bill is so high and how they're going to pay it. That's why it's important to actually acknowledge the problems people are having, before you try to address it. That's what we do at CGA.

03/04/2024

Imagine how easy it could be. All you have to do is call...

02/28/2024

We know that MEC plans only cover preventative care.

We also know that MEC plan consumers are people. And people go to the hospital. The only difference is that now, when they get a bill that is for more than most people have in their retirement accounts, you won't have to just listen to them yell, you'll be able to offer them a solution.

That's the difference when MEC plans include CGA.

02/26/2024

Modern healthcare is a free-for-all. And it doesn't have to be. Instead of hoping you're getting the best price even for commodity care like bloodwork and labs, there is now a team to be sure of it.

With just your zip code and what services are needed, our advocates are your premier navigation team. That's it. The best price will be identified immediately, by location and provider.

That feeling washing over you is called relief - we know it's a new one.

https://zurl.co/iQkL

02/22/2024

Plan designers: Raise your hand if this complaint sounds familiar. How would you answer it?

We know that you get these questions all the time, and we also know that the answers are rarely satisfying.

Imagine if instead of empty buzzwords, you could give a caller a tool that will help them actually fix their problem.

It's not a fantasy. See for yourself.

https://zurl.co/Wcxu

02/15/2024

We know that retention is a problem for everyone. But what if your members didn't go anywhere because they felt like you had their back as they navigate the maze of healthcare services?

Imagine this.

When a member calls in complaining about their hospital bill, you can give them a number and someone else will fight the hospital for them.

Less turnover and higher retention, helping save your bottom line, your customer service teams, and your members all sorts of headaches.

02/14/2024

Imagine you walk into your call center and it's quiet. There are no angry members on the phone threatening to leave and there's no providers on the other line giving your team grief about a bill.

It's just peaceful. Put away the ibuprofen. No more headaches.

That's the reality of working with CGA. Don't believe us? Try out a demo and see it for yourself. Click the link below to check out your member's journey.

https://zurl.co/b9Be

Fifty-seven percent of American adults have been surprised by a medical bill that they thought would have been covered by insurance, according to the University of Chicago NORC Survey.

07/24/2023

Negotiating an emergency care center bill from multiple thousands to zero dollars? All in a day's work for Bill Hennessey, M.D. and CareGuide Advocates. Here's how we helped Micah's client save thousands.

06/21/2023

UPMC: Life Changing Bills; Four Sutures Nearly $4,000, Part II

Almost two months after care, CGA's Dr. Bill Hennessey received the itemized bill - but only for the hospital. He asked for the physician's ER itemized bill but did not receive it. That request will go in for a second time. Likely another month will go by before it's received.

The attached image shows the purposeful hiding of information, making the bill difficult to understand. Here's the translation of UPMC's bill:

1. Right hand X-ray, 3 views (CPT code 73130): $449
2. 2.5 cm simple laceration (cut) suturing (CPT code 12001): $1,663
3. Children's Hospital facility fee (CPT code 99282-25): $783
4. Lidocaine (numbing med & bacitracin ointment) (no code): $29.75

Total UPMC Children's Hospital Charges: $2,924.75
Total Cigna payment to UPMC Children's Hospital: $1,917.81

CareGuide Advocate Pricing Portal Database:
Total Medicare payment would have been: $318
Total BUCA carrier payment at the 50% percentile would have been: $1,069

Translation: UPMC paid almost double the national carrier average here and SIX times Medicare rate!

We will fight this bill on multiple levels. If this is happening to you, please give us a call.