PAF: Medicare assistance requests rose 30% in 2010
The Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), a national non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard patients through mediation, reported a 30 percent increase in requests for assistance from Medicare beneficiaries in 2010 compared with 2009.
The 2010 Patient Data Analysis Report covers national and state-by-state healthcare access issues, including insurance obstacles, medical debt crises and job retention issues confronted by patients in the U.S. served in 2010 by PAF.
Last year, the foundation received requests from roughly 25 percent of the patients it served, and patients had 278 different diagnoses and health conditions, the report stated. “PAF saw an increase in service to pediatric patients, as well, and witnessed a nearly 14 percent increase in service to those impacted by pre-existing health conditions.”
PAF served 82,963 patients in 2010—a 49.8 percent increase in patient cases compared to 2009, according to the report. Seventy-one percent of patients who contacted PAF for assistance in 2010 were cancer patients. The remaining 29 percent had chronic diseases including cardiac conditions, diabetes, osteoporosis, COPD, HIV, AIDS, chronic kidney disease and autoimmune diseases.
As in PAF's 2009 analysis, nearly two-thirds of patients contacting PAF in 2010 for information and assistance reported debt issues directly attributable to medical expenses and cost-of-living expenses, even though 76 percent of those patients had some type of private or public insurance.
The Patient Data Analysis Report collects and assesses data from each patient case received throughout the year by PAF's professional patient navigators, the Hampton, Va.-based organization added.
The 2010 Patient Data Analysis Report covers national and state-by-state healthcare access issues, including insurance obstacles, medical debt crises and job retention issues confronted by patients in the U.S. served in 2010 by PAF.
Last year, the foundation received requests from roughly 25 percent of the patients it served, and patients had 278 different diagnoses and health conditions, the report stated. “PAF saw an increase in service to pediatric patients, as well, and witnessed a nearly 14 percent increase in service to those impacted by pre-existing health conditions.”
PAF served 82,963 patients in 2010—a 49.8 percent increase in patient cases compared to 2009, according to the report. Seventy-one percent of patients who contacted PAF for assistance in 2010 were cancer patients. The remaining 29 percent had chronic diseases including cardiac conditions, diabetes, osteoporosis, COPD, HIV, AIDS, chronic kidney disease and autoimmune diseases.
As in PAF's 2009 analysis, nearly two-thirds of patients contacting PAF in 2010 for information and assistance reported debt issues directly attributable to medical expenses and cost-of-living expenses, even though 76 percent of those patients had some type of private or public insurance.
The Patient Data Analysis Report collects and assesses data from each patient case received throughout the year by PAF's professional patient navigators, the Hampton, Va.-based organization added.