Medical Billing Advocate Home Study Course
New - February 2010
Accepted for 15 CEs by the AFCPE
Accepted for 15 CEs by the CFP Board of Standards and Practices
Accepted for 15 CEs by the American College PACE and for RFCs

Medical Billing Advocates of America (MBAA) and the ICFE have come together to make available the MBAA's widely recognized course: Medical Billing Advocacy Home Study Course (MBAHSC) available to all ICFE CCRR®, CITRMS® and CHECMS™ Certificants and other professionals who do financial, insurance, health care, health insurance credit, and debt counseling, consumer advocates and educators.

Watch the ABC News Video "Fight Medical Billing Errors"

Introduction

Health care and health insurance reform have been at the forefront of the news and political discourse during most of 2009 and will be the same in 2010. Several proposals have been made to accomplish this reform. One thing is certain medical and health care costs will continue to rise and so will errors in billings and coding.

Specialists who understand medical billing and coding will be on the front lines as advocates for consumers, both insured and the uninsured, many who will require medical care. Subsequently they will need help with understanding their costs.

Every year in America, hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of dollars in medical billing errors now go undetected. In fact, even more would be wasted if not for professional advocates who are trained members of Medical Billing Advocates of America (MBAA). In bills that MBAA founder and chief advocate, Pat Palmer, checked for her first 22 clients, she discovered errors on 20.

As a Medical Billing Advocate, you can become a member of and be supported by MBAA. Students will be qualified to help clients find and recover thousands of dollars in errors and overcharges on their medical bills.

Some errors are so outrageous they're amusing to read about unless they appear on your own bill. Imagine being billed for circumcision of your baby girl. Or a man charged for time in the labor/delivery room. Or a $400 charge for something simply listed as "unknown" or "miscellaneous."

The overcharges are as disturbing as the incorrect billings: $57 teddy bear listed as a cough support device; an $11.20 box of tissues called a disposable mucous recovery system; a $15 plastic bag of ice listed as thermal therapy. An perhaps most astounding of all, a toothbrush billed at $1,004.50. Insurance companies paid for all these errors, yet we've seen claims for heart surgery rejected for no justifiable reason.

The MBAA's Medical Billing Advocate program is a comprehensive training and curriculum created by Pat Palmer, for MBAA and she is possibly America's foremost advocate on medical billing issues.

The first step is the MBAA's General Advocacy Home Study Course. It has been specifically developed for individuals who are brand new to the medical billing area. It is also the recommended training for new advocates with minimal or no medical background.

The General Advocacy Home Study Course emphasizes the techniques used to review medical bills and correct insurance reimbursements for individual consumers. This course of study prepares the student to make available the purest form of consumer advocacy, which is this foundation of Medical Billing Advocates of America's service to the community.

In MBAA's introductory course for individuals, you'll learn all of our proven secrets of success, including how to: 1) build a client base of individual consumers and the doctors who want to collect funds from insurance companies on behalf of patients. 2) Secure information and billing details from providers and hospitals. 3) Analyze provider codes and spot errors on bills and insurance statements. 4) Successfully recover money for the errors and overcharges you find - and collect your fee.

The MBAA's proprietary General Advocacy Home Study Course will stock your advocacy arsenal with the tools you need to be successful in your new business. You'll receive a comprehensive operating manual containing nearly 350 pages with 10 sections and with step-by-step guidelines, plus sample forms, exercises, and much more. The manual was written by trained seminar leaders and designed to take new advocates step by step through the research process.

A 100 question examination follows the course of study and is required for those seeking continuing education credits. 15 CEs have been accepted by the CFP, AFCPE and PACE.

Visit our Online Store to become a billing advocate now!

Who Is Enrolling in the Medical Billing Advocacy Course?

• CFP, CLU-ChFC, RFC, CPA, Notaries, Credit and Debt Counselors
• Health Plan Administrators
• Military Personal Finance and Readiness Counselors
• Employee Benefits Administrators
• Para-legals and Patient Advocacy Advisors
• In-house Collection and Recovery Counselors
• Faith Based Credit and Financial Counselors
• Bankruptcy and Financial Education Instructors

View ICFE News Release!
Specialized Credit Report Reviewer and ID
Theft Risk Management Credentials from ICFE Set New Standard

Why Become a Medical Billing Advocate?

Here's some of the reasons why people are taking the course:

• Becoming a Medical Billing Advocate makes a difference to your clients, your company and yourself and is a manifestation of your commitment to high standards of professionalism aimed at your employer, your colleagues, your clients and the general public.
• Demonstrate your professional qualifications.
• Enhance your experience in the field and promote your professional value.
• Learn critical elements of the three widely used medical billing codes.
• Stay current with the medical billing news through the MBAA.
• Join other with medical billing advocates to advance MBAA.
• Accepted for 15 CEs by the CFP, AFCPE and PACE.
• Listing in the ICFE Directory of Certificants

Become a Medical Billing Advocate

Here is what's included in the MBAA's enrollment package:

• MBAA Medical Billing Advocacy Home Study Guide (one) $429.00
  Independent Study Guide Table of Contents: Introduction, Setting up your business, healthcare costs, marketing individuals, researching provider billings, researching facility billings, wrapping up your research, other market opportunities, sample forms, and website resources.
• 100 Question Examination Booklet - 85% or better is a passing grade.
• Exclusive MBAA Resource CD ROM
  Health information release forms, health insurance information release forms, a variety of sample letters and forms disputing billings and resolving differences among others.
• Exclusive Introduction Membership - Medical Billing Advocates of America
  Three month membership with the enrollment in MBAA courses, a $90 value.
  Please review the MBAA Membership Benefits page

Exclusive MBAA trial 3-month membership - $90
Regular Enrollment in MBAA HomeStudy Course - $429
Subtotal - $519

Less Introductory Discount (through May 31st 2010) - -$120.00

Special MBAA Introductory Price (plus $11 priority mail) - $399.00

Visit our Online Store to become a billing advocate now!

Program Materials