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The Affordable Care Act / Obamacare Defines Perfect Roles for Private Professional Patient Advocates
The healthcare reform law called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – or Obamacare if you prefer the moniker (preferences seem to run about 50/50) – is being implemented over time. Of course, as most of us realize, the major portion described as the individual mandate, kicks in January 1, 2014 – only a few months from now. No matter how you feel about the legislation for your personal situation, you owe it to yourself to become familiar with the aspects of the law that define excellent roles for health advocates, no matter what type of advocacy they practice – medical navigational, research or decision-making, medical billing, hospital bedside advocacy or others. Last week, members of the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates were privileged to spend an hour with Linda Adler, a member of the Alliance, who has studied healthcare reform long and hard, talking about the important aspects of the ACA that clients may ask about, talking about resources to help answer client questions, and then, importantly, the many opportunities the ACA creates to help advocates market our advocacy practices. It was one of the most useful hours any of us have spent in a long time. From learning that we can tell our Medicare clients that the law does not affect them, to discussing topics for public speaking or living room discussions, to inclusion of Shared Decision Making and penalties for hospitals for readmissions within 30 days – the facts and creative ideas came fast and furiously. If you are a member of the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates, I invite you to log in to your membership dashboard, then link to the follow-up page (EXPERT CALL-INS > INSURANCE FOR CLIENTS > PODCAST PAGE) where there is a link to the podcast recording of the conversation, plus the list of resources Linda provided to us. If you’re not a member, join us! It’s worth it if only for this one membership benefit which can trigger the growth of a practice in big ways. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .…