Michigan Healthcare Referral: Fill & Download for Free

In a word, YES. To illustrate my answer I will give you an example of how someone can and does die without healthcare insurance and the costs to the family, not the emotional but the actual financial costs.In 2010, a 20 year old woman decided to take a break from college and go to work full-time to save money and avoid having a huge amount of student debt. She had been able to pay down her student debt by working during summer break so she knew it was entirely possible.She was living in Kentucky, the state that gave us Mitch “I'm going to prevent Obama from passing any legislation”McConnell. Everyone in the area complained that there were very few jobs available in the area however she was able to find 2 jobs. The 1st was only part-time but there was the possibility it could become full-time. The 2nd job started out as part-time during the training however if you were good it would become full-time after the 2 week training. It worked out well because she was an extremely hard worker and after 2 weeks, she was working between 50 and 70 hours a week. She was feeling really good about the way things were going.At the beginning of the fall semester, her parents called to say that since she was no longer a full-time student the insurance company had dropped her from the policy. She was okay with that because when she had 90 days of full-time hours in, she would get benefits. Only one problem with her plan, she didn't plan on getting sick!It started as a stomach bug that wouldn't stay away. She would be sick for a few days then feel well enough to go to work, only to be sick again within a few days. Finally the manager said she needed a doctor's note to come back to work so she called a doctor's office. She was told that she would need $250 upfront to be seen but any tests would cost more. She decided to go to the ER because she could make payments. The ER thought it was her gallbladder so they ran a bunch of tests. The tests were inconclusive but the CT Scan showed an anomaly on her left hip. They gave her a prescription for something that would calm her stomach and a referral to a Orthopedic clinic. She called the clinic and was told that it would cost $300 for the initial visit and she would have to put another $1000 on account toward future visits because she had no insurance. There was no way that she could afford that. So after a few days on to stomach meds with the doctor's note, she went back to work. Unfortunately that didn't last long enough.She was able to work for almost 2 weeks before the pain got to her and she was off work for 4 days. This pattern repeated itself for several months. She even tried to get a “charity card” for healthcare but didn't qualify. One of the ER doctors even called her employers to see about getting her some temporary accommodations to no avail. The employers fired her because she was unable to stand for 4 or more hours at a time on a concrete floor. She still was praying for a miracle. She started using the money she'd saved for college to pay her living expenses.Finally her parents had had enough and persuaded her to come back home to Michigan so they could get her the treatment she deserved. Unfortunately it would prove to be too late. That anomaly that has been found was a rare and aggressive bone cancer and it was making her left leg and hip look like swiss cheese.Without healthcare insurance, what started as an anomaly the size of a pencil eraser that could have been successfully treated became dozens of cancerous lesions that even with an extremely aggressive treatment regimen proved fatal in 15 months.She was died surrounded by family and friends on Halloween 2011, 3 months and 2 days after her 22nd birthday. She left behind her mom, stepdad, 3 sisters, 1 niece, 2 nephews and numerous other loved ones. She wanted to become a virologist so she could help find a cure for AIDS and Ebola.You might think that that was the end of the story but you would be wrong. In February 2012, her parents started receiving overdue notices for unpaid hospital bills and student loans. The hospital in Kentucky even threatened to take the family to court. According to a hospital administrator, the state required the hospital to use whatever means necessary to collect a debt before the state would allow them to write it off. It's not like there was an inheritance because she had spent the money she'd worked so hard to save for college to pay to try to survive.I know that this is just one illustration but I know it's but one of many thousands of people who died without healthcare insurance. I know that this story is accurate because the young lady was my beautiful daughter. Her name is Pauline Maxine Hickok. She was born on July 29, 1989 in California and died October 31, 2011 in Michigan. I held her when she took her first breath and i held her as she took her last breath.Yes, real people die without healthcare insurance!!!

A patient advocate business is viable, but it can be hard to get started as just an individual. You might want to start as an employee of one of the existing companies.The larger companies appear to secure a reliable revenue stream by contracting with insurance companies or employers to provide services to members/employees. Relying on individuals for revenue is obviously riskier, since there may not be insurance to cover the service and the client has to pay out of pocket. I know one patient advocacy startup that folded after a year or so, because they just couldn't convince enough people that the service was worth the fee.The largest company, simply named Patient Care, is based in Milwaukee, WI. It was founded in 2001 with an investment of $10,000, and now claims to serve over 1.6 million people. Most of these appear to be contracted through employers or insurance companies, who find it valuable for their employees/members to have assistance in navigating the healthcare system. Services include assistance with insurance claims and referrals, comparing cost and quality for specific services, help in finding a provider, coordinating services among multiple providers.Smaller regional companies I found with a brief search include:Liaisons For Health Care, which operates in the Houston area and promotes its services to employers as well as individualsElder Advocates, which operates in western Michigan and provides care management and patient advocacy services to seniorsRN Patient Advocates in Central TexasBeacon Oncology Advocates is based in Florida and offers services nationwide specifically for cancer patients.In order to be trusted by patients and their families, the advocate should have some type of credential in addition to being a concerned and caring person. Many are nurses, and some also have a specialized degree or certificate. Examples of educational/certification programs are:Sarah Lawrence College Master of Arts in Health AdvocacyThe Center for Patient Partnerships at the University of WisconsinAlfus Healthcare Advocacy Program at the University of MiamiHealthcare Consumer Advocacy/Patient Navigation certificate from Antioch UniversityThe national organization for patient advocates is NAHAC - the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants. I suggest contacting them for advice, or searching their Member Directory to network with an advocate in your area.

SummaryI can’t speak about consultant candidates right out of college. But at Booz Allen Hamilton, I was hired as a consultant with a BSEE, 8.5 years of total experience and 3.5 years of consulting experience with two small consulting firms. Booz Allen is known for hiring consultants with specific experience to meet particular needs.In other answers, the responders indicated that right out of school, as a bachelor’s degree or MBA candidate, there is considerable value in coming from a top university that top consulting firms regularly recruit at. Booz Allen also recruits these candidates; when I was with the firm, I participated in MBA recruiting at three top MBA programs- Penn/Wharton, Michigan and MIT. If you are coming from a lesser program or with only a BS/BA degree you can still get in, but you have to be aggressive and persistent.Personal Experience in Entering ConsultingI was working at General Electric Co. (GE) as a system analysis engineer- my second job after college. I had graduated with a BSEE from the Univ. of Pennsylvania 4 years earlier. I disliked engineering; I was analytical, but oriented more to business than science or engineering. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but felt I had a lot of potential.GE was diversifying from the aerospace business and got involved in a hospital planning project. I was a junior analyst and when the PM resigned, I became the project manager at 24. The project involved data collection by a team of registered nurses from a large hospital. The project involved data analysis, cost analysis, project management, presentation, and report writing. It was a quasi consulting project.Because I was a good writer, I was drafted into helping write a few competitive proposals for healthcare projects. I presented a paper based on the health care project at an operations research association. From the client project and proposal efforts plus an interest in consulting tools such as cost-benefit analysis, I began to see consulting as a viable career option.I began reading more about the consulting field and began an aggressive, targeted resume campaign. I sent out 150 resumes over a 9-month period, and at 26 got my first consulting job with a small consulting firm serving primarily State and local governments. Two GE referrals to the president of the consulting firm helped my hiring. That was the start of a 40-year career in management consulting.As it turned out, I had a real passion for consulting and did well. I selected consulting because it: (1) supported many of my interests and strengths, including analysis, writing, organization, presentation, numbers and business; (2) involved advising and helping organizations and people; (3) had opportunities to work for various size consulting firms; and (4) was prestigious and offered a good income.Joining a Top Consulting FirmAfter 3.5 years’ consulting experience with two small consulting firms, I joined Booz Allen Hamilton just before my 30th birthday. I got into Booz Allen by:Playing a major role in a successful joint proposal with my small consulting firm and Booz Allen.Developing relationships with Booz Allen staff and the managing partner on the proposal and subsequent project.Contacting the Booz Allen MP after 1 year wit the second small consulting firm, interviewing the same day, and getting hired on the spot.Later in mid career I established my own consulting firm coincident with completing my MBA in Finance. I managed my firm for 20 years before retirement.