After I signed my second travel nurse contract in Edinburgh that Fall, I found out I was pregnant with my son. Working in a country with Universal Healthcare meant that I did not have to worry about insurance, medical bills, and all of the challenges associated with private healthcare. Unfortunately, those challenges were heightened when I returned to the US only to learn that I was being denied insurance due to my pre-existing medical condition, that condition being pregnancy. Our family is generally healthy, and yet the challenges associated with finding specialists covered under our healthcare plan, understanding medical bills, and advocating for necessary procedures can be stressful and confusing.

How to Navigate the Health Care System

As an RN, I am thankful that I have a bit of knowledge as to how our health care system works. I also have the advantage of a medical degree, which means I understand terminology, diagnostic tests, diagnoses, and medications. For the average family with little to no medical knowledge, understanding and navigating the health care system can be stressful, frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive. Here are my best tips for navigating the health care system in the US.

Do your research. From treatment options to medications, having some general knowledge can help you make the best decision for your family. I also recommend setting aside time to understand your plan, so that you are not surprise by unexpected bills, denied services, or medications that are not covered.

Ask questions. It seems simple enough, but many times people fail to ask questions when something is not understood.

Find an advocate. If a treatment or service is not covered, it may be worth seeking assistance to file an appeal.

Fairos

Patients continually find themselves perplexed by confusing medical bills and high premiums. Fairos is a new startup looking to help people navigate medical insurance. Their team has been working with large companies to help their employees get the lowest rates and highest quality care for many years. Through their research, they found that individuals are paying more for insurance, and plan to change this by helping individuals receive the medical care they need without the high medical costs traditionally associated with it.

How Fairos is Helping Individuals Navigate the Health Care System

Bill Negotiation: Fairos will negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf to determine what savings are possible, and where there are opportunities to reduce your overall costs.
TeleHealth: This service would allow you to complete non-acute appointments with a doctor via email, phone, or video call.
Care-Coordination: Fairos can help establish the right schedule for your journey including follow up appointments with your doctor and physical/occupational therapist post-hospitalization.

If you find the current health care system in our country to be confusing, I encourage you to share you thoughts with Fairos via the survey below!

Create your own user feedback survey

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Caryn Bailey

Caryn is a NICU nurse by day, blogger by night and mom 24/7. She savors the warm Southern California sun and loves to travel, shopping, baking, reading and frequenting her local tea room. Caryn created the column Lavishly Green for Peekaboo Picks Magazine to share her best tips for going green in style, she is the Former editor for Family Review Network, former OC Family Magazine online contributor, former Orange County Moms Blog contributor, former Evenflo Savvy Parent contributor, former member of the Totsy Advisory Board and former freelance writer for CBS Los Angeles.