What Does It Cost To Hire A Patient Advocate?
Understanding the healthcare system can be difficult for anybody. Luckily, there are professionals who can help you navigate any healthcare situation. These professionals are patient advocates, sometimes called health advocates, health navigators, or care managers. Whatever you call them, independent patient advocates can help you navigate this complex and confusing system. But how much does it cost to hire a patient advocate? That's a critical question for most people considering this service.
What are patient advocates?
There are two main types of patient advocates:
- Advocates who work for (and get paid by) an organization, including a hospital, clinic, or health insurer
- Independent patient advocates who work directly for you
One major difference between these two kinds of advocates is the cost of their services and who pays those costs.
Independent advocates work for you. You hire them like you would hire an attorney. That means their loyalty is to you. It also means you pay their fees out of your own pocket.
That may sound like a negative, but there's an upside of paying the bill. It means the advocate answers to you, not to the hospital, clinic, or health insurer. It means they put your interests first.
When you or a loved one is the patient in a complex healthcare situation, you want someone you know is on your side with no conflicts of interest.
Independent advocates are not usually covered by insurance. So you need to be prepared to pay for these services on your own.
The cost to hire a patient advocate
Advocate rates vary widely. The cost depends on a number of factors, including:
- The services you need
- How long it will take (days? weeks? months?)
- The advocate's credentials and experience
- Your location (you'll pay more in a large city)
Hourly rates can be as low as $100 per hour and as high as $500 per hour or more.
But an hourly rate doesn't really tell you how much it costs to hire an advocate.
Different situations require more hours to resolve your situation. After a care manager assesses your situation, they will provide an estimate if the time your case will take.
How do patient advocates charge?
There are multiple ways advocates could charge you, including initial assessment fees, hourly rates, deposit to an hours bank, retainers, and project fees.
Advocates will often estimate the number of hours they expect your situation to require.
They will start with an assessment, which is usually paid. This is because it takes the advocate time to meet with you, review any documents and understand your situation. From that assessment, they can make a plan for how they can help with an estimated cost.
Advocates ask for you to pre-pay before conducting work. You can start by paying an up front fee for the assessment and then purchase the hours needed once you have a plan.
If your case requires more hours, your advocate will let you know and you can purchase more time.
Some advocates will set a fixed fee for a specific type of service. In this case, be sure that the advocate outlines the work they will do and make sure it's clearly outlined the criteria for considering the case done.
If you need ongoing support, such as attending doctor's appointments, writing health reports for family members, or medication management the advocate will likely charge a monthly retainer.
Advocates will typically ask you to sign an agreement with them. The agreement will (or should) set out specific payment terms.
The cost of not hiring a patient advocate
As you consider the potential cost of hiring your own independent patient advocate, consider these other critical questions as well:
- What is your quality of life worth to you? How much better will your life be if you resolve this issue?
- What is your time worth? Chasing down providers, facilities and insurance companies can take time. Would your time be better spent doing other things and letting a health expert take care of this problem?
- What is the alternative? What happens if you don't hire the help you need? Will you survive? Will the hassle you face eat up even more of your resources in the form of wasted time and money? How much of your hard-earned savings will it cost you to manage on your own?
So the real question about cost is this: What is peace of mind worth to you? Can you put a price on it?
The Bottom Line
- Independent, private health advocates charge for their services.
- The charges will vary depending on your situation and the advocate's expertise.
- The total cost will also depend on how long it takes to resolve your issue.
- Important! Your advocate will give you an estimated total cost before they get started with your work. What harm can it do to ask?
- You may not be able to afford NOT to work with an advocate.
Find a patient advocate in our directory or submit a help request and we will find one for you.