Thankful for what we’re building at Allen Health Academy

The movement to equip and empower working Americans is growing, and we're doing it together!

I recently got an interesting email from one of my readers, the clinic manager at a private psychiatry office. She wanted to allow her insured patients to pay cash when the cash price was lower than their insurance company discounts. But she worried her insurance company contracts prevented it. 

I wrote in Never Pay the First Bill that insurance companies’ “discounted” prices are often higher than the cash prices for various medical treatments and services. Usually I’m hearing from patients who are being told by medical providers that they aren’t allowed to pay cash if they have insurance. In this column I provided a solution for patients: cite HIPAA to restrict a billing department from sharing your information with your insurance company. Then the provider can only get paid in cash.

I suggested this solution to the clinic manager. She could instruct her insured patients who wanted to pay cash to cite HIPAA to block her from billing their insurance plans. Her compliance with the federal HIPAA law would trump any obligation to abide by the clinic’s insurance company contract. Then she could charge the patients the cash price. 

You know the health care system is broken when both the patients and clinicians benefit from bypassing the insurance companies. (Direct contracts, anyone?)

“Wonderful idea,” the clinic manager responded. 

You gotta love a clinic manager finding better ways to serve patients!

Helping this clinic manager — and the holiday season — made me so thankful for what we’re building here at Allen Health Academy. We’re helping people every day as they navigate the high cost of health care, which remains one of the top financial concerns of working Americans. We’re making lots of progress. Allow me to update you on all the exciting things we’re seeing and share some ways we can partner to keep empowering more people. 

Thankful for you - my newsletter subscribers

This newsletter is growing fast. We’re at more than 4,400 subscribers with an open rate of almost 50 percent. You all are engaged! Each edition of the newsletter features patients and employers pushing back against the unreasonable costs of the health care system. The stories are informative and inspiring. 

Here’s my ask: Will you please share this newsletter and encourage others to subscribe? It’s free and can keep building this movement. 

Thankful for my paid newsletter subscribers 

Almost 200 of the subscribers are paid subscribers. I use the funds to hire patient advocates for people with complex cases, and provide scholarships for my Never Pay Pathway health literacy videos. 

It’s fun to partner with my paid subscribers to help people in such tangible ways. I’ve published several reader-supported Victory Stories and more are in the works. Check out the stories: 

• The Long Road To Erasing a $224,000 Medical Bill

• Health insurer denies 273 claims at once. Sticking the patient with the bills.

• Down Bad and Buried in Medical Bills. How You, My Subscribers, Helped a Patient in Need.

Here’s my ask: Send me the tough cases. If you know a patient who’s getting grinded up in the gears of the health care machine, let’s see if I can hire a professional patient advocate to help them! Also, please consider becoming a paid subscriber so we can continue to support these patients.

Thankful for the growing movement to educate employees

Lots of people talk about the need to boost the health literacy of employees, but few are doing it in a meaningful way. I am so encouraged by the employers, benefits advisors and insurance organizations who have built, or are looking to build, my Never Pay Pathway health literacy videos into their employee benefits.

The videos are getting excellent reviews and are a scalable solution to train employees. Here’s a testimonial I received yesterday from someone who has almost completed the curriculum: “The Never Pay Pathway helped me by providing great links and practical examples on navigating a complicated healthcare system.” Awesome!

Here’s my ask: Check out the videos and consider how they could help the people in your organization become empowered health care consumers. Want more information? Email me at neverpay@marshallallen.com. 

Thankful for NABIP and SHRM members equipping themselves to advocate for patients

The Never Pay Pathway health literacy videos are now available for continuing education credit through NABIP, the national association for insurance brokers, and SHRM, the national association for HR professionals.

We are in the early stages of educating and empowering people to become savvy health care consumers. Insurance brokers/advisors and HR people are a key part of this movement. 

Here’s my ask: If you’re a NABIP or SHRM member, please complete the video curriculum to earn your continuing education credits. And please share this opportunity with your colleagues, so they can also earn credit while learning how to protect working Americans from unreasonable health care costs. 

NABIP members sign up here for the NABIP version. 

SHRM members sign up here for the SHRM version.

Thankful for employers empowering their employees

I’ve done two employee education webinars in the past month - one for a manufacturing company and the other for a large journalism organization. My presentation, “10 Ways You Can Save Big $$$ on Health Care,” highlights practical ways employees can become engaged health care consumers. 

Employees pepper me with questions during the presentations, which demystify the health care system and show people how they can assert themselves to get the care they need at a fair price. “I feel this is probably the best presentation on health care that I have ever attended,” one employee wrote on the assessment. “I would recommend this to anyone. The information is invaluable!”

Here’s my ask: Let’s set up a session to educate the employees at your organization. Contact me at neverpay@marshallallen.com to learn more. 

Thankful for smart benefits advisors helping their clients

I serve as a subject matter expert for NABIP and love taking calls from benefits advisors who are helping their clients. I talked recently to an advisor trying to sort out a medical and dental billing muddle for a patient. I learn so much from these conversations. Together, we came up with a solution that should work - it might even become a future Victory Story! 

Here’s my ask: Reach out to me and let’s work together to find solutions!

We’re seeing an unprecedented confluence of events and circumstances that are making the need to equip working Americans to navigate the health care system more obvious than ever. I’m thankful to have the proven tools and expertise to help so many people. Let’s continue to build together to help people get the health care they need at a MUCH better price.